When will you say 'bye' to the booster?

[infomama]

Dd1 is almost 7 and very tall. Still over a year away from legally being out of the booster but I wonder what made you say adios to the booster seat. Was it reaching the legal limit or something else.

[graciebellesmomma]

My 8 yr old daughter just traveled across 12 states in 13 days in her
Sunshine Radian 80. She asked for us to bring it for her. She
still travels in a basic booster, but for any highway driving or long
road trips, she prefers the Radian. She calls it her "throne".
She prefers it, as she is a car sleeper and the Radian holds her
up and is very plush. Super comfy to sleep in, as well as safe.

She can barely stay awake in the car, after about 20 minutes in
any car (or plane), she passes out and sleeps for up to 3 hours.

Not exactly sure when we will say bye. I'll
keep her in it as long as she's comfy, I suppose.

[stillplayswithbarbies]

my 7 year old is still in a harnessed seat, although we do have a booster for car pools.

When she passes the five step test, then she will come out of the booster and use just the seatbelt. I suspect that she will be in a booster in one car but not the other since the seats are shaped differently.

Five Step Test: http://carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test/

I expect we have years to go yet in a high back booster. Actually we probably have another year or two in a harnessed seat at least. She still fits the Frontier and the Safeguard with room to grow.

[KrisM]

It'll be passing the 5-step test for us. They need to be able to sit in the seat with the seatbelt hitting them in the right places to be safe. If they're not tall enough, they tend to slouch forward to get their kness to bend over the edge of the seat, which means the lap part is on their stomach and not their hips.

[LD92599]

My 7 1/2 yo just asked me to put his regent back! We use a hbb in onecar and car pools, regent will be put back in the van.

[Neatfreak]

Passing the 5 Step Test here as well. DD1 just went into a booster a few months ago.

[o_mom]

When they pass the 5-step test. For my kids it will probably be 11-12 years or more. DS1 is 7 and still fits in a harnessed seat and no way will he be ready in a year. The 10 yo I drive regularly still needs a booster in my middle row, though she is out in the back row and getting very close to being out completely - however she is big (95% ht).

[SnuggleBuggles]

It'll be passing the 5-step test for us. They need to be able to sit in the seat with the seatbelt hitting them in the right places to be safe. If they're not tall enough, they tend to slouch forward to get their kness to bend over the edge of the seat, which means the lap part is on their stomach and not their hips.

When he's safe.

My friend moved her dd out of a booster b/c she turned 8, not because she was safe. I kind of called her on it because she wanted to know if my ds could skip a booster when carpooling with them and I said no since it wasn't a matter of age but size and other things. Told her I didn;t want ds getting decapitated since the belt would be by his neck. Of course, she frequently lets her kids ride around in the front seat with no seat belt so I doubt I made any progress.

Beth

[Joolsplus2]

http://carseatblog.com/6773/4%E2%80%...eed-a-booster/
(big kids not *quite* fitting the seatbelt safely)

http://carseatblog.com/5671/too-old-...ster-says-who/ (my own big kid, who was sad to outgrow his booster this year...now he has no way to nap comfortably on really long trips!)

5 step test...or longer, since I want my kids to have head protection from a highback as long as possible in my van (our SUV has curtain airbags, so they are out of them a little sooner).

[Melanie]

My son is almost 9 and is only just now not sitting in a booster. The parkway was at it's highest setting. He still uses the integrated booster in my car. I did notice on a recent trip that a van we rented (Caravan I think) was horrible. He definitely did not pass the 5 step test and I felt awful. Not only b/c of safety but he was very uncomfortable. We had borrowed my mom's Sienna many times and he fit very well in it that it hadn't occured to me this would be so different.

My 5 yo also passes the test in my car (with the built-in boosters) but not the bonus sleep test so we still bring the Parkway for long car trips, even if using my car.

What are the current "favorites" for older children? What would you use if you had a 65 lb 9 yo if they didn't pass the test? Just curious since, as I said, vehicles differ. Getting my car with the boosters was such a relief that we didn't have to go down this road, b/c socially as well, most friends are not in any booster anymore. I told Dd's friend who noted that Dd's big brother was STILL IN A BOOSTER that "Yes he was. He can see much better out of the window when the seat is up like that."