Once, a long, long time ago, I made my oldest son a promise. I told him that I wouldn’t make him ride to Middle School in a “seat”. But I also said that up until that point, it was my decision to make. He accepted my terms (maybe I should say that he learned to live with it because he knew arguing would have been pointless) and the years went by….
Backing up a bit – my first son has been around 50th percentile in both weight and height since he was 2 years old. That much hasn’t changed over the years. Last May, when he turned 11 he weighed 78 lbs and was 56.5″ tall. I hoped that with a little healthy food, some luck, and a whole lot of sleeping late over summer vacation that he’d have a growth spurt. He did, and for the most part I’m pleased with how he now fits in the captain’s chair of my van without a booster.
Still, it’s a big leap for me to make. He looks so short back there without his Combi Dakota LBB. But I guess after 11 years of looking back and seeing him in some kind of seat – this is just going to take some getting used to.
My only regret is that he’s not a little bit taller. My ’05 Freestar has side curtain airbags but unless you’re at least as tall as the 5th percentile female dummy when seated – there’s no guarantee that they’re going to protect your head. Unfortunately, the truth is that most curtain airbags do not deploy down far enough to protect the heads of child occupants. Currently, the only assurance that we have is that the IIHS does their SI crash testing using the 5th percentile female dummy. Vehicle manufacturers are aware of this so you can bet that they make their curtain ABs deploy down far enough to protect her head. Her seated height is 31″ tall. So, if your child has a seated height of at least 31″ (with or without a CR) then you can be relatively confident that your child may benefit from the additional protection of your vehicle’s curtain ABs.
My DS currently has a seated height of 30″ without a booster. Would I love to put him back into that Dakota until his seated height measured 31″? Absolutely. But he’d be really pissed at me if I did that. He’s waited a long time for this day and after all, I did make that promise.
Anne- I’ve never seen a list of this information. About the best you can do is browse the vehicle manufacturer’s website and hope they have a photo of the deployed airbags. Unfortunately, this is only good for the current model years, though other photos might turn up on a Google image search.
So… Where can we find stats on how far down different side air bags deploy?
The link to the info about the female dummies–I’ve stolen it and have shoved in with my passenger safety bookmarks. Never to be seen again, but I feel better knowing I’ve got it. lol
Thank you for coming by our booth BABYBEECOOL during tha ABC Kids Expo. What a great website you have! Lots of info. I am impressed!
I think you should explain to him why he had to be in one… in terms of the 5-step test and his height.
are his knees bending at the edge of the vehicle seat? It is hard to tell.
Anyway, It definitely takes getting used to.
my poor 98th percentile 8yr old is at the point where I’m FINALLY getting used to it… in January it will be a year… maybe I’ll be used to it then??
I was heartbroken when he spurted the last bit and outgrew his booster and was AT the limit so that he could make the move ON his 8th birthday.
UGH.
To this day I keep wanting to stick him back in a booster just to see if he’d still fit.
And, if he hadn’t outgrown it when he did, he would be the one in the Monterey and his little brother would be using Ruthie’s Nautilus as a booster… of course, then I’m not sure what Ruthie would use as a spare.
and since Ruthie isn’t ready for the 3rd row and Damian’s too tall to fit a highback back there… I have to keep reminding myself of why I made the decision I made… to give up and let him transition.
And yet, there is the longing to have my oldest baby in a seat… even though he doesn’t need one.
I really wish we had the Clek Oto available in the US, I think it’s the perfect solution for older kids who still need boosters.
I hear you! CJ was complaining the other day that his head was touching the ceiling when using a backless in DH’s car (the only car we have with head suport for the back seat.) Even DH is getting annoying about it because he’s TWELVE already. :p
They grow up too quick Kecia 🙁
FWIW – my 7th grader WILLINGLY rides in his booster by choice. But only in the way-back where the other kids on his CC team can’t see it 😀 That said, I’ve got funky LOW seats back there.