[apple123]

I have an almost 8 year old boy who is around 26kg. He is above average height for his age, but not really tall. He still fits in the hiliner fine.

Does anyone still have an 8 year old still in a booster or should I take him out of it? Is it still much safer with the booster than without?

[lucky 2]

Hi, I have a tall 8 yo (97th percentile) who still fits well in her hi-liner and will for some time to come.
I keep her in it based on the fact that her eyes are still well below the level of the top of the head rest.
I don't weigh her so I don't go by weight.
She was telling me this morning how comfortable her seat was and how she really wants to keep using it for as long as she can. Yay!

[zande]

My DD came out of her Infa Vario only late last year, when she was nearly 9. She was just on 26kg but was 149cm tall and was definitely looking too big for the seat. I wasn't happy about it, but she literally didn't fit! I didn't think about the age thing, she was safer in the booster so was happy she was in it. I definitely don't know any other children (other than on EB) that are still in boosters past about 7. My DD didn't ever mind or comment tho.

[Puggle]

My DD7 will be in her booster for some time to come - going by her current weight and height she'll still be in there at close to 9, I'd say. Fortunately she's fairly sensible and realises it is the safest place for her at this stage.

She also knows my sister died in a car accident as a child and understands I am trying to keep her as safe as possible.

[lsolaBella]

My kids will be staying in a booster until they pass the five step test.

http://childrestraints.co.nz/seatbelts.php
1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?

2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?

3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?

4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?

5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

I anticipate DS2 will be 10yrs, DS1 12 yrs.

Generally speaking it is not j til a child is around 145cm that they are Ok without a booster. I can say this with some authority... I am 150cm small and there are some car rear seats I wish I had a half booster for me.

Eta your booster is tested with a 32kg test dummy. Also the HiLiner is sold in the Us as a seat for kids to 50kgs. The booster seats are seatbelt positioning tools.

This post has been edited by lsolaBella: 07/01/2013, 10:59 AM

[roses99]

My kids will stay in 5 pt harnesses until they grow out of them. Then they'll be in dedicated boosters until they physically grow out of them. They may complain, because it seems most kids take their kids out of carseats as soon as they're legally able to, but I'll just explain that safety comes first.

[Rolex]

I have a DS who is 10 next month, still in an Infa Vario. He's just started complaining in the last few months so I've ordered a seatbelt height adjuster out of the UK (there is a thread here, should be fairly recent). Once that arrives he can come out of his booster, but the seatbelt alone is still too tall for him at the moment.

[sparkler]

The 5 step test is a good guide, something to think about is that in the UK children are expected to be in boosters until 12yrs now so when you think of it in that context 8 is not so old after all!

This post has been edited by sparkler: 20/01/2013, 11:37 PM

[lsolaBella]

EU law is booster until 12yrs/145cm in height.

They did consider this too for here, but as our boosters only need to fit a max height of 128cm, plus they were increasing the laws from 1yrs to 7yrs they thought that was enough. They are considering though changing the law to 10yrs 135cm once more Type F boosters are out (which are built to 135cm).

[sparkler]

EU law is booster until 12yrs/145cm in height.

They did consider this too for here, but as our boosters only need to fit a max height of 128cm, plus they were increasing the laws from 1yrs to 7yrs they thought that was enough. They are considering though changing the law to 10yrs 135cm once more Type F boosters are out (which are built to 135cm).

My mum has been saying they have a lot of issues with compliance over there (UK) but it still makes sense to have the laws in place, I read a car safety article saying that cars are designed to protect people from about 5'4" up and smaller women and children under that height are more vunerable in a crash.



This post has been edited by sparkler: 20/01/2013, 11:38 PM