I’ve been patiently waiting, just like other parents, for my oldest child to grow up—he’s 10 and a half now (born New Year’s Eve, 1999, and yes,
we had our bathtub filled with water—did you?). I know, I know. They’re only little once, I should appreciate him being small while he is, yada yada yada. Small is not a word I’ve ever associated with my ds. He was big from the get-go and only got bigger, lol. Since I’ve been a child passenger safety technician for most of my ds’s life, I’ve had a keen interest in how he fits in carseats and vehicles. Now that he’s 4’11.5”, he’s tall enough to be riding in just an adult seatbelt, right?
You’d think so. When he’s walking around in his shoes, he’s definitely 5’ tall, little bugger. He’s catching up to me 😉 and is taller than some women already. Generally the only kids taller than him in his class at school are the girls. So why is he still in his backless booster when he’s clearly over 4’9” and close to 80 lbs., which is what NHTSA tells us is the safe height for kids to move out of boosters? Even the Ad Council has these great ads educating us about 4’9”. Twenty states have laws based on 4’9” and of those twenty, five states have added provisions about 80 lbs.: children must ride in boosters or some other form of child restraint until they meet the height and/or weight criteria before moving to an adult seatbelt. Only two states, Wyoming and Tennessee*, have laws requiring kids to ride in boosters to age 8.
In my vehicles, he simply doesn’t fit. “What? What’s that?” you say. How could he not fit? He fits the criteria. Ah, but not the tried and true SafetyBeltSafe USA 5-Step seatbelt fit criteria that is very much more accurate than a height and weight fit criteria. First, what does every parent know? That every child is shaped differently. Child A may have longer legs than child B; child B’s torso is longer than child A’s. This completely affects the way carseats fit these children and also the way the seatbelt will fit these children. My ds would pass the 5-step test but for the length of his thighs. Yep, it’s hard to believe that a kid whose feet fit in my shoes and whose t-shirts get mixed up in the laundry with my workout t-shirts doesn’t fit in our vehicles because of the length of his thighs. Poor itty bitty guy, lol.
Let’s review the 5-step test:
- Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
- Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
- Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
- Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
- Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
So my kid passes all of the 5-step test in my vehicles except for #2. When he sits all the way back against the vehicle seat, his knees won’t bend at the edge of the vehicle seat; his thighs are about an inch too short. He passes the 5-step test in smaller backseats, like sedans, but not in my van or SUV.
Here are pics of my kids, two kids who are presumably old enough and one who is technically big enough to ride without boosters. Ds is 4’11.5″, weighs 77 lbs. and is in the 97th percentile for height. Dd is 8, 52″, 51 lbs., and is in the 75th percentile for height. Both are “tall” kids, right? Like I mentioned before, ds passes all of the 5-step test except for his knees bending at the edge of the vehicle seat in our cars. Dd only passes steps 3 and 5. Her picture is deceiving because of the lighting, but her feet are not touching the floor of the van.
We keep trying to come up with something snappy and cute for parents to remember, but I don’t think it’s particularly safe for booster-aged kids. These kids aren’t going to fit into a cute jingle; how they fit onto a vehicle seat is as individual as how their feet fit into athletic shoes and yet we spend more time buying them shoes that fit every year than we do finding a booster seat that fits them. It’s nice that parents are starting to become more educated about boosters and that the booster use rate is going up, but we need to work harder on getting the proper message out, not just some message. It doesn’t do anyone a favor if we don’t do it right.
*Information on state laws can be found on the IIHS Child Restraint Laws web page.
I would like to keep my kids in boosters until they pass the 5 point test. Do you have a recommendation for a child that is 8years old and over 4 feet. She is looking cramped in our current seat. Is there a wider seat or one that boosts a little and doesn’t have her at the roof of the car?
Hi Whitney – are you looking for a highback booster or backless booster? What seat is she in now? The Diono Monterey highback booster is tall and wide and tends to fit bigger, older kids well. If you only need a backless booster you can try a Harmony Youth or Harmony Big Boost – both are available exclusively at Walmart.
do you have a recommendation for a backless booster that fits in snug spot? i have a 2015 range rover sport and have had 3 across – Britax Frontier 90, Clek Fllo, Britax Frontier 90. Kids are 6, 2.5 & 8 in order. The 6 year old is no where near booster ready but my 8 year old is requesting (last of anyone he knows his age in a 5 point and has been a great sport about it). Its a snug fit but works because of the indents on the sides of the Fllo match the widest parts of the Frontier exactly. I thought i could get the clek ollie which we have in our other car (denali, captain seat) but it just wont go because of the armrests. He is 54″ tall and 68lbs. do you have another recommendation? i am looking at the incognito? i have the bubble bum that i use for my rear jump seats when we have extra kids but i don’t like it for every day because it moves around a bit and its difficult to buckle – the kids usually need help and sometimes miss the clip – in reality im not checking him every time at this point… suggestions would be great!
Can you recommend a booster for a 7 year old who is 4’10” and 90 lbs? I’m a pediatrician and got this question from one of my patients who wants to be as safe as possible and doesn’t feel that her 7 year old is ready to be out of a booster but just outgrew her britax frontier 90.
Hi Tyanne. I love the Safety 1st Incognito for kids like this: http://amzn.to/1Qte1hu. It’s designed to look like the vehicle seat so it’s not so “booster-y” and it’s great for bigger kids who need a bit of a boost. Another seat to consider is the Harmony Big Boost Deluxe with LATCH: http://fave.co/1oQQyQ0. This one is comfy and has lower LATCH connectors to keep it in place when the child isn’t sitting in it. Both of these seats are great for bigger kids and have weight limits above 100 lbs.
What about kids who are 4’2 100# and meet all the steps? My Kia he is able to do all the steps and we moved him out of a booster. For the van he’s still too short so we have a booster. What is the recommendation?
Veronica, your son is the perfect example of a kid who is in that in between stage of being fully out of a booster. He’s able to 5-step in 1 vehicle with a smaller back seat yet still needs one in a vehicle with a fuller size back seat. Perfectly normal! Keep doing what you’re doing until he’s tall enough to not need a booster in the van (I wouldn’t measure him very often, but back sure that the booster you’re using has a high enough weight limit to accommodate him).