Car seat for 8 year olds??

Question

my mom works at a daycare. during the summer while parents check out kids i help out by loading them up in the carseats/seatbelts ( i stand out there until the mom comes out)

today i help this lady out with her 3 year old and 8 year old. I put the 3 year old in the carseat and looked up and the 8 year old was getting into the other carseat!

is that normal? i stopped using one at like age 5ish. (i use to be embarrassed that in pre-k i was like the only one with a car seat on field trips so i can' imagine how she feels!)

Answer 1

The law is 4 foot 9 inches.  I would think at 8 though that most kids are out of a car or booster seat by then.

Back seat until they are 12 in most states.

Answer 2

In Washington State it is the law to be 8yrs old or 4ft 9in (i may be off an inch or two) before you can be out of a booster seat.  It is a bit ridiculous, but if it keeps them safe...I am all for it.

Answer 3

She may be short. And its the law. So not tease. Be nice. She's fine.

~`Brandi, Mother Of 2`~

Answer 4

well it depends on her weight if she is smaller she has to be in a carseat if not then maybe her mom is just over protective

Answer 5

Was he in a booster, or a hrnessed seat? Though there are harnessed seats out there that fit 8 year olds, and experts do recommend keeping them harnessed as long as possible.  If he was in a booster, that's aboslutely 'normal' in what he should be in. Most kids need boosters to properly fit the seatbelt until they are 8-10 years old AND 4'9" tall and 80lbs. Also, they need to pass this 5 step test to be able to use just the seatbelt: 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?

If he was still in a harnessed seat, and is average sized, then there's a good chance he outgrew the seat long ago, b/c there's only a few out there that have the potential for fitting an older child: Britax Regent, Britax Frontier, Graco Nautilus. And that's about it! So if it wasn't one of those, then you are right that he outgrew the harness and it would not protect him in a crash at all. He'd go flying. Unless he's under 40lbs.

Here's the stages of car seats from safest and most protected, to least protected:

1)rear facing - most protected

2)forward facing 5 point harness

3)high back booster

4)no back booster

5)seatbelt-  least protected

And you want to keep kids in each stage as long as possible, b/c the safety factor goes down significantly with each step up in seats. My son is 4 and will stay in his harnessed Regent until he outgrows it - to at least age 5, 6 if he'll still fit. And then he will use a high back booster until he outgrows it.

Answer 6

8 yrs old AND 80 lbs, not one or the other.

Answer 7

I own a Britax Regent and it goes up to 53 inches in a five point harness. It does sound crazy, but when it comes to the safety of my son I do not want to take my chances.

Answer 8

Safety techs generally recommend that a child sit in a booster seat until he or she can pass the following test....

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?

Typically, a child will be able to pass the test between the ages of 8-10. And a child who is between the ages of 4 and 8 is 59% less likely to be injured in a crash than a child of the same age who is just wearing a seat belt.

So that mom deserves a pat on the back, in my opinion. She is following the advice of car safety experts. And if more parents did, there would be less reason for any child to feel embarrassed.

http://www.thecarseatlady.com/booster_se...