# "You're STILL in a booster?"



## SAHDS (Mar 28, 2008)

It starts. We went in to town today and took DD's friend. They hopped in the car and DD jumped into her booster. Her friend said, with a smile, "you're *still* in a booster?" DD smiled and said "Yeah". I chimed in with an "Until she gains some weight." (to take any embarrassment off of DD).

It was so cute, though. She didn't care, her friend didn't care (although this is the friend who wears a shirt with a dress over it and leggings, tights, knee socks, and boots underneath - God love her).

Anyway, I've been anxious for a while now and it was just so nice how it was handled. I was so proud of those little girls. Good thing because DD is only 53 lbs. and nearing 10. She'll be in that booster for a while.

Although, I wonder if it will be different for DS (blah blah different for a boy blah blah) when his friends "find out".

Anyone else have any stories to share?

Anyone else with an older child still in a booster?


----------



## melijack1 (Nov 18, 2008)

Mona was in a booster until she was 8, at least at our house (she is my DSD who lives with her mother most of the time). She said she liked the booster, actually. We did not meet with too many raised eyebrows. She is now 11, but has always been big for her age, so she was tall enough and heavy enough at 8 to take her out of the seat and still have the belts fit her properly.


----------



## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

My almost 9yo is still in a booster- she just started using the booster full-time instead of a harnessed seat a few months ago. She's fine with it- we've talked about how it's irresponsible to let kids ride in a less-protected seat if they fit better in a harness, or high back vs. low back booster just because of what friends might think, etc.

My 33lb 6yo is still harnessed, too, and she is aware that she's way too small to fit safely in a booster. My kids have asked other kids (when teased about their car seats) why their parents don't love them enough to keep them harnessed till they outgrow the harnessed seats, though, so they're pretty confident with child passenger safety, I think









ETA- both of my girls have seen crash test videos, too and that made a huge impact on them. Saying that a seat is safe and being able to show them is a wonderful reinforcement.


----------



## ChristyH (Dec 10, 2003)

My 9 1/2 year old is in a backless booster and I'm about to get her the Sunshine Kids Monterey high back booster that goes to 120lbs

She was in a seat belt only until a few weeks ago when I felt like she really needed to be back in a booster. She protested a little but now she's fine with it and knows that she is safer for it.


----------



## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Christy, my almost 9yo rides in a Monterey and she LOVES it! Hope your DD does, too


----------



## beansricerevolt (Jun 29, 2005)

DD was in a booster till she was about 8 as well. A friend of hers did ask about it once but she liked her booster. She saw it as something comfy. she knew it was keeping her safe but liked that she could sit in a very comfortable seat instead of the stiff seats our car had.


----------



## Malva (Nov 2, 2005)

My 9yo is in a backless booster mainly because she says she gets carsick without it.


----------



## MonAmiBella (Sep 30, 2007)

My 12 year old finally hit the weight limit not quite a year ago and was allowed out then. Friends said things, but I let them know it was the best for their safety and left it at that.


----------



## SAHDS (Mar 28, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *MonAmiBella* 
My 12 year old finally hit the weight limit not quite a year ago and was allowed out then. Friends said things, but I let them know it was the best for their safety and left it at that.

Ah, nice to hear a BTDT. The thing that worries me is the height limit. DD will be over 57" well before she hits 80 lbs. (she's following my growth exactly) What then? Are there BB out there for taller kids?


----------



## an_aurora (Jun 2, 2006)

Weight doesn't really matter when it comes to booster use. She can move out of a backless booster whenever she pases the 5 step test. Usually that doesn't happen until at least 10-11. Most states have a "8 & 80" law or an "8 and 4 ft 9in" law but really most kids at that age don't pass the 5 step test, so that's really pretty early.


----------



## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KayleeZoo* 
My kids have asked other kids (when teased about their car seats) why their parents don't love them enough to keep them harnessed till they outgrow the harnessed seats, though, so they're pretty confident with child passenger safety, I think









This statement has been haunting me since I read it. A comment to a child suggesting that their parents don't love them enough can be very damaging to that child. It's the sort of thing that can just stick in a child's head & gnaw at them. I realize it was your child & not you that said it but it would be something I would be correcting.

Just because a parent makes a different choice about safety than you would does not mean they love their child any less. Who knows what info/feelings/situations they drew from in making their decision - but I doubt any of it was lack of love.


----------



## Eclipsepearl (May 20, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *lifeguard* 
Just because a parent makes a different choice about safety than you would does not mean they love their child any less. Who knows what info/feelings/situations they drew from in making their decision - but I doubt any of it was lack of love.

IMHO, if a child is teased by another, all bets are down. This is not an insult but an opinion and perhaps it will make the child think and ask questions of their own parent. If it "came back to me", I would say "but your child was teasing my child and questioning an important safety decision we have made as a family". End of story.

One little boy in my ds' class said something to my ds when he saw him getting into his booster. I found it ironic as I had offered his mother an extra helmut for his little sister when I saw his mom riding on her bike and her dd in back (on a seat) without one. She had declined. I than said this to the boy, that we have different safety standards in our family and the boy never made comments again.


----------



## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

This statement has been haunting me since I read it. A comment to a child suggesting that their parents don't love them enough can be very damaging to that child. It's the sort of thing that can just stick in a child's head & gnaw at them. I realize it was your child & not you that said it but it would be something I would be correcting.
I did not, in fact, correct girls when this came up. They know that my love for them and concern for their safety is what prompts the decisions we make regarding safety; sometimes when you love someone, you have to make a choice that is difficult for them (keeping my 8yo harnessed when all of her friends are out of backless boosters). I'm proud of them that they both made the deduction that my love and concern for them is what keeps them harnessed (thus, safer) or in a booster, as the case may be now for my oldest. If they respond logically to teasing, so be it. Other parents should teach their kids not to tease. We have.

If another parent chooses a less-safe option in the car, so be it. I'm not going to make it easier for them by changing what I tell my kids about our safety decisions. The facts stand- a harnessed seat is safer than a high back booster, a high back is safer than a backless booster, and a backless is safer than no booster. They are all steps down in safety (providing that the child's height and weight are appropriate for the seat in question). The reason why someone might choose not to keep their child as safe as possible isn't germane to me. Teaching my kids about why we do what we do, and making the best decisions possible is my job as their mom and I take that very seriously.


----------



## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

Teasing is not appropriate at all & children should be corrected when it happens. One hurtful thing said does NOT justify another hurtful thing said. I understand how you justify to your children your decisions but that statement hurts my heart for that child it was said to - safety issues aside.


----------



## JoyofBirth (Mar 16, 2004)

I have to agree that is a hurtful statement. The fact is that some parents are doing the best they can. My SIL is widowed and can barely make her monthly bills. She has her youngest in a high-back booster. She is 6 and 42 pounds and 43 inches tall. She shoud still be harnessed and would be, if possible. Her harnessed seat expired and she's been in the booster about 6 months. my SIL hates that she is in a booster, but absolutely cannot afford a higher weight harness seat. She's on the KDM foundation witing list. This has nothing to do with love and my niece's feelings could be really hurt and her relationship with her mother could be harmed if she believed this statement and didn't understand the finances of it.


----------



## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KayleeZoo* 
I did not, in fact, correct girls when this came up. They know that my love for them and concern for their safety is what prompts the decisions we make regarding safety; sometimes when you love someone, you have to make a choice that is difficult for them (keeping my 8yo harnessed when all of her friends are out of backless boosters). I'm proud of them that they both made the deduction that my love and concern for them is what keeps them harnessed (thus, safer) or in a booster, as the case may be now for my oldest. If they respond logically to teasing, so be it. *Other parents should teach their kids not to tease. We have.*









It seems odd to me that you say you have taught your children not to tease others in the same paragraph you support them telling children that their parents might not love them.

I, of course, don't know the level of teasing going on from the other children. I guess it's one thing if it is a, "Hey, why do you still ride in a car seat?" (which my kids get) versus, "Wow, you're a stupid baby who can't sit in a car right." If the second was ongoing, though, I would encourage my kids to reconsider the meaning of "friend" not say something so possibly hurtful.


----------



## LuckyTrish (Dec 29, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KayleeZoo* 

My kids have asked other kids (when teased about their car seats) why their parents don't love them enough to keep them harnessed till they outgrow the harnessed seats, though, so they're pretty confident with child passenger safety, I think









I'm glad your kids can stand up for themselves!! When I was growing up, I had been taught to be quiet and ignore the teasing and they would eventually leave me alone. It took me until high school, when I finally stood up for myself, for it to stop.

In your particular case, I don't think it's all that mean-spirited at all, merely an observation.


----------



## KayleeZoo (Apr 8, 2003)

Quote:

In your particular case, I don't think it's all that mean-spirited at all, merely an observation.
Exactly. My girls don't have a mean spirited bone in their bodies. Their logic is: mommy loves us so much that she wants us to be safe= riding in the safest seat possible helps us to be the safest we can be= other kids not riding in the seats they could to be the safest they can be and teasing us about our seats, proving that their mom hasn't told them about the safety of different seats= maybe that mom doesn't love her kids as much as our mom loves us.

We're talking about an 8yo and a 6yo. I can totally see where/how they came up with their theory.


----------



## Eris (Sep 11, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JoyofBirth* 
She has her youngest in a high-back booster. She is 6 and 42 pounds and 43 inches tall. She shoud still be harnessed and would be, if possible.

A normally developing 6 year old who is 42lbs and 43" tall is extremely safe in a high-back booster! Please don't feel that anyone is doing this child a disservice by having her buckled up properly in a well-fitting booster.


----------



## NikonMama (Jan 8, 2008)

My DS was in a high back booster until he was 9 1/2, when he was 4'9" and 80lbs. He was mildly teased a couple of times, but he immediately said "I'M NOT 80 POUNDS YET!" LOL He was never embarrassed at all with having to sit in a booster seat, b/c he knew very well that it was the safest way for him to ride in a car.


----------



## PassionateWriter (Feb 27, 2008)

my son is almost 11 (in 2 weeks) and rides in a low back booster. he was in a high back booster until last year.







he KNOWS its safest...and agrees that he wants to be as safe as possible.


----------



## mommy2maya (Jun 7, 2003)

Not a booster, but my ds who is 6 in 2m, is still in a harnessed seat, and we often carpool and noone has ever said anything about it. Also, my seats all have boosters in them, and kids who I know odn't sit in a booster in their car sit in them in my car, and I have yet to have anyone balk at it. I've also put kids in a marathon who are typically in a booster who have not balked. I find that if noone makes a deal about it, it's not anything to moan about. I told ds that when he is six he can move to the booster, but honestly, I think he likes the marathon better. I offer to let him ride in teh booster now and again in my car when we are doing quick trips, but he always chooses the marathon.


----------



## 3boobykins (Nov 21, 2001)

DS, nearly 9, and only around 45 lbs/48inches, just moved into a high-back booster from a harness this fall. DD, 4.5,(around 32 lbs) and older DD, 6,(under 40 lbs, maybe 38lbs), are still in 5pt. harness seats.

Very few kids in my older two DC's school, including kindergarteners, are in any type of car seat at all, boosters included. The law in AZ is that at age 5, children are no longer required to be in any type of restraint, other than a seatbelt--unbeliveable, imo. Because of that law, many parents in AZ don't feel that it's necessary to use a seat past age 5--oh, the law says up to age 5, so my kid must be fine with just a seat belt now. I see small 5-6 year olds sitting in front seats all the time, in cars with airbags, shoulder belts tucked under their arm. I have a friend who allows her kids to sleep in the back of her station wagon, completely unrestrained, while travelling, and the youngest is 4.5 and very small for his age. I have another friend whose petite 8 year old daughter sleeps stretched accross the back seat, no belt, of course, travelling on freeways at night. I've spoken up, but no one listens.

I have considered becomming a certified safety seat tech, because then maybe my comments would have more weight. I just don't get people sometimes!


----------



## TEAK's Mom (Apr 25, 2003)

Alaska has very weak laws and almost zero enforcement and I hate it. I know two year olds in boosters and four year olds with no seat at all. My almost seven year old is the only one I know still in a HBB and she didn't move into it until she was over 55 lbs and six and a half years old. My four year old is the only one I know still in a five-point restraint.

Why people are so lax with carseats on icy, hilly roads is completely beyond me.

Yikes, I'm ranting today.


----------



## 3boobykins (Nov 21, 2001)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TEAK's Mom* 
Alaska has very weak laws and almost zero enforcement and I hate it. I know two year olds in boosters and four year olds with no seat at all. My almost seven year old is the only one I know still in a HBB and she didn't move into it until she was over 55 lbs and six and a half years old. My four year old is the only one I know still in a five-point restraint.

Why people are so lax with carseats on icy, hilly roads is completely beyond me.

Yikes, I'm ranting today.

Yeah, it kinda blows my mind, too. I love my friends, and I know they love their kids beyond belief; they just somehow choose not to make them as safe as possible while riding in the car. I guess people tend to have an "it could never happen to us" attitude when it comes to car accidents. We have been rear-ended twice, at very slow speeds, but if our kids hadn't been restrained properly, I'm sure they'd have at least sustained minor injuries.


----------



## TEAK's Mom (Apr 25, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *3boobykins* 
Yeah, it kinda blows my mind, too. I love my friends, and I know they love their kids beyond belief; they just somehow choose not to make them as safe as possible while riding in the car. I guess people tend to have an "it could never happen to us" attitude when it comes to car accidents. We have been rear-ended twice, at very slow speeds, but if our kids hadn't been restrained properly, I'm sure they'd have at least sustained minor injuries.

Exactly!


----------



## MGBoutique (Jun 29, 2005)

My oldest daughter, who will turn 15 this summer, was in a hbb until she was 10 years old. She can't really talk much, so she was never able to complain about it, lol.

My dd that will turn 8 this summer is still in a Britax Regent 5 pt. harness most of the time. (In my van.) She's almost 60 pounds and about 58 inches tall. She rides in a Turbobooster in her dad's car. She said yesterday that she couldn't wait to be 8 so she wouldn't have to sit in a special seat anymore. I asked where she heard that and she said my next door neighbor.







I let her know that we'll be going by how tall and heavy she is, not by her age, even if that means she's in a seat until she's 15. She accepted that, because she wants to be safe, once I explained that to her.

The baby is in a Britax Boulevard, rear facing, at 15 months.


----------



## SAHDS (Mar 28, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *TEAK's Mom* 
Alaska has very weak laws and almost zero enforcement and I hate it. I know two year olds in boosters and four year olds with no seat at all. My almost seven year old is the only one I know still in a HBB and she didn't move into it until she was over 55 lbs and six and a half years old. My four year old is the only one I know still in a five-point restraint.

Why people are so lax with carseats on icy, hilly roads is completely beyond me.

Yikes, I'm ranting today.

See, I live in WA and we have the toughest laws, yet I'm still one of the few going over. It's almost like people celebrate it as a milestone. "Oh, 1-yr old today, let's flip your seat!" Blah.

I like to rant too


----------



## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

We have a full size van so we often have extra kids riding with us. I have 3 Nautilus seats installed for my 3 girls. we also have a HBB and a LBB for transporting friends. If Maidson is not with us then I will put kids in her Harnessed seat (wed. night I take a 6 year old friend home from Gymnastics, she is in a HBB with her parents but I explained that our family thinks that Harnesses are safer and that when available she would ride in Madison's Harness, she is totall fine with it) Other kids are not in any booster at all, but I will not allow them to ride in my car unless they are in one. the whole "my car, my rules" thing. Could not live with myself if I allowed someone elses child to not be in a Harness or Booster (if they were under the size requirements) and I got in an injury accident.

Maia (6 1/2 and in Kindergarten) said she just tells her friends that her seat is much much safer, and much more comfortable than a booster. (she was in a HBB from 5-5 1/2 and I switched her to the Nautilus. She is in a LBB with her dad, trying to at least get him to put her in a HBB


----------



## SAHDS (Mar 28, 2008)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *mommyto3girls* 
Other kids are not in any booster at all, but I will not allow them to ride in my car unless they are in one. the whole "my car, my rules" thing. Could not live with myself if I allowed someone elses child to not be in a Harness or Booster (if they were under the size requirements) and I got in an injury accident.

Within the laws or to your requirements?

I ask because when I took took the girls shopping (from my OP), I asked Z's mom if Z was in a booster. She looked at me for a second and said "No, isn't it 8?" I said yes but my DD... blah, blah. So, would you not have taken her (fwiw she's 10 and about 4'7-8"?

I have extra boosters but if DD or DS is riding with someone other than myself or DH (which is *very* rare), I leave their boosters with the parent in charge.


----------



## mommyto3girls (May 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SAHDS* 
Within the laws or to your requirements?

I ask because when I took took the girls shopping (from my OP), I asked if Z's mom was in a booster. She looked at me for a second and said "No, isn't it 8?" I said yes but my DD... blah, blah. So, would you not have taken her (fwiw she's 10 and about 4'7-8"?

I have extra boosters but if DD or DS is riding with someone other than myself or DH (which is *very* rare), I leave their boosters with the parent in charge.

If they can fit in my car seats or my boosters, they ride in them







So if they are under 65 pounds and under the shoulder straps on the harness I will put them in one of my already installed Nautilus Seats. Under 100 pounds but too big for the nautilus then in my HBB or LBB depending on height. I I have the seats available and the child fits in them, imagine how I would feel if the booster was under the back seat (storage place) and instead of putting a kid in it I just used the seat belt because because thats what the parents do, and then I got in an accident and the child was injured.


----------



## NaturalMindedMomma (Feb 5, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *ChristyH* 
My 9 1/2 year old is in a backless booster and I'm about to get her the Sunshine Kids Monterey high back booster that goes to 120lbs

She was in a seat belt only until a few weeks ago when I felt like she really needed to be back in a booster. She protested a little but now she's fine with it and knows that she is safer for it.

120lbs??? This confuses me. I am only 115 non pregnant????


----------



## TCMoulton (Oct 30, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *KayleeZoo* 
Exactly. My girls don't have a mean spirited bone in their bodies.


One child telling another child that their mommy mustn't love them enough is definitely mean.


----------

