At what age do kids typically pass the 5 step test?

[Green_Tea]

I'm curious - at what age would you stop booster use even if they didn't pass the 5 step test? My kids are petite. My 12.5 year old can't pass the test, and she's going to be a 7th grader. I don't make her use a booster anymore. Her sister, going into 6th grade, is even tinier. I can't pass the test in the captain's chairs in my Ody. I am under 5 ft and have proportionally short legs. I'm wondering in those cases when parents decided to stop. I am all for safety, but can't imagine making a middle schooler ride in a booster.

Around here it is rare to see a child older than 8 in a booster. My DS doesn't seem to care, so he's mostly still in one at almost 9 years old. I don't make him bring it when he goes in someone else's car.

[HannaAddict]

I am one of those uptight lawyers, child of an uptight doctor, haha. I have read the research and I am just completely comfortable with not having a carseat. The parents in our school are frankly, as a whole, very well informed on these sorts of things. Reasonable minds can differ on if a booster is really required or if a seatbelt is enough. I try not to judge people by their personal and legal choices.

Just sharing my experience and school demographics. Most 8 year olds I know IRL still need a booster seat to be safe in their parents' cars and guess that is judging but so be it. In my car they use a booster. These parents don't read the research or anything, they might know the minimum legally but just so what is easiest (not arguing with their kids who don't want to ride in a booster because others aren't) and figure it is safe enough. It is fine for parents to do that, it is their child, but just sharing with the OP that she can decide to stick with a booster and not cave in to often uninformed peer pressure and that she shouldn't be judged as too uptight for sticking with a booster and some people (my in-laws!) suggest.

[essnce629]

I'm curious - at what age would you stop booster use even if they didn't pass the 5 step test? My kids are petite. My 12.5 year old can't pass the test, and she's going to be a 7th grader. I don't make her use a booster anymore. Her sister, going into 6th grade, is even tinier. I can't pass the test in the captain's chairs in my Ody. I am under 5 ft and have proportionally short legs. I'm wondering in those cases when parents decided to stop. I am all for safety, but can't imagine making a middle schooler ride in a booster.

Around here it is rare to see a child older than 8 in a booster. My DS doesn't seem to care, so he's mostly still in one at almost 9 years old. I don't make him bring it when he goes in someone else's car.

DS1 passed the 5 step test in DH's car and our carpool's car (sedans) when he was 10 years old. He didn't pass in my car till he was a few months past 11.

My carpool boy is 11 years old and in 5th grade, but is only about 2" taller than my 6 year old DS2. He's pretty much the size of a first grader and is no where near passing the 5 step test. He stopped using a booster in his own car this year, but I still make him sit in a backless booster in my car. I think he actually prefers sitting in a booster in my car because he can actually see out the window and the seat belt is not hitting him in the face. I drive him every single day to or from school on the freeway at 70 mph and wouldn't be able to live with myself if we got in a crash and he was injured because he wasn't in a booster when I knew he needed one. I told his mom that and she was fine with me making him ride in a booster in my car. She can do what she wants when she drives him. There's now the $20 Safety First Incognito booster that is so low profile and matches the car interior that it's pretty much barely noticeable. DS1 had to use it in my Mazda5 captain's chair for the first few months of middle school (6th grade) since he didn't pass the 5 step test yet. He didn't mind since no one could even notice it since it's like 2 inches off the seat! Car accidents are the number one cause of death in children of all ages and if a seat belt doesn't fit without a booster then it's not going to protect you properly in a crash. It’s important to understand that a child’s body is not just a smaller version of an adult body. There are many physical changes in bone density and bone formation that happen just before and during puberty. The best advice is to use a booster if it’s needed up to age 12 years when some of those internal changes to bone density and structure (especially in the hip bones) have had a chance to mature. Which is why a small adult, who's bones are mature, will probably fare better in a crash without a booster than a pre-pubescent child without a booster. Isn't this correct Jools? One of the girls in DS1's 5th grade class last year (so 10 or 11 yrs old) was in a car accident with her mom and 2nd grade brother last year. Both the mom and the DD (who was not in a booster) were in the hospital for several days with several broken bones and injuries. The DD was in a wheelchair and then crutches for months. The little brother, who was in a booster, was perfectly fine with no injuries at all. I really don't see why people are so against using boosters when there's so many options nowadays.

Safety First Incognito
http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Inc.../dp/B00FLXBHIU

[Green_Tea]

DS1 passed the 5 step test in DH's car and our carpool's car (sedans) when he was 10 years old. He didn't pass in my car till he was a few months past 11.

My carpool boy is 11 years old and in 5th grade, but is only about 2" taller than my 6 year old DS2. He's pretty much the size of a first grader and is no where near passing the 5 step test. He stopped using a booster in his own car this year, but I still make him sit in a backless booster in my car. I think he actually prefers sitting in a booster in my car because he can actually see out the window and the seat belt is not hitting him in the face. I drive him every single day to or from school on the freeway at 70 mph and wouldn't be able to live with myself if we got in a crash and he was injured because he wasn't in a booster when I knew he needed one. I told his mom that and she was fine with me making him ride in a booster in my car. She can do what she wants when she drives him. There's now the $20 Safety First Incognito booster that is so low profile and matches the car interior that it's pretty much barely noticeable. DS1 had to use it in my Mazda5 captain's chair for the first few months of middle school (6th grade) since he didn't pass the 5 step test yet. He didn't mind since no one could even notice it since it's like 2 inches off the seat! Car accidents are the number one cause of death in children of all ages and if a seat belt doesn't fit without a booster then it's not going to protect you properly in a crash. It’s important to understand that a child’s body is not just a smaller version of an adult body. There are many physical changes in bone density and bone formation that happen just before and during puberty. The best advice is to use a booster if it’s needed up to age 12 years when some of those internal changes to bone density and structure (especially in the hip bones) have had a chance to mature. Which is why a small adult, who's bones are mature, will probably fare better in a crash without a booster than a pre-pubescent child without a booster. Isn't this correct Jools? One of the girls in DS1's 5th grade class last year (so 10 or 11 yrs old) was in a car accident with her mom and 2nd grade brother last year. Both the mom and the DD (who was not in a booster) were in the hospital for several days with several broken bones and injuries. The DD was in a wheelchair and then crutches for months. The little brother, who was in a booster, was perfectly fine with no injuries at all. I really don't see why people are so against using boosters when there's so many options nowadays.

Safety First Incognito
http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Inc.../dp/B00FLXBHIU

Thanks for the link to the Incognito. I might get one for myself . I am well aware that children's and adult's bones are different and the risk level decreases. It's likely that my kids will never pass the test. I am not against boosters at all, but also don't expect that my kids will ride in one on to the prom. Just curious at what age parents in the same boat as I am would choose to go boosterless.

[mnosky1]

I'm curious - at what age would you stop booster use even if they didn't pass the 5 step test? My kids are petite. My 12.5 year old can't pass the test, and she's going to be a 7th grader. I don't make her use a booster anymore. Her sister, going into 6th grade, is even tinier. I can't pass the test in the captain's chairs in my Ody. I am under 5 ft and have proportionally short legs. I'm wondering in those cases when parents decided to stop. I am all for safety, but can't imagine making a middle schooler ride in a booster.

Around here it is rare to see a child older than 8 in a booster. My DS doesn't seem to care, so he's mostly still in one at almost 9 years old. I don't make him bring it when he goes in someone else's car.

My 12 year old is 5"2 and over 125 pounds and out of a booster but in a new car I still check - lol.
A couple very petite friends of hers sometimes need a booster in my cars. They laugh because they think I am kidding - I just say, my seats are low, so you need one in my car to fit the seatbelt right.

My 7 year old is 42" and 42 pounds (small) and in a 5 point - most of her 1st grade friends are a backless booster, sometimes nothing. She'll be in a booster well into middle school I am sure. She will not be out until she passes the 5 point test.

[Joolsplus2]

Thanks for the link to the Incognito. I might get one for myself . I am well aware that children's and adult's bones are different and the risk level decreases. It's likely that my kids will never pass the test. I am not against boosters at all, but also don't expect that my kids will ride in one on to the prom. Just curious at what age parents in the same boat as I am would choose to go boosterless.

That's why I've given up telling people to make sure the lapbelt is low and the shoulderbelts on the shoulder (the 'five step test' that's popular and works, especially for people who think that it's totally appropriate to put belts under arms or behind backs and need some remedial training )...I've been in SO.MANY.CARS where the lapbelt rides up, shoulderbelt is on the neck, and there's literally nothing I can do about it, even for my 'same size as the adult male dummy this seat was designed for' 17 yo! Of course, obviously my super simple butt back/feet flat thing doesn't always work for even adults. Just do the best you can do, try to get them to puberty, and maybe the Incognito will make it into auto stores so people can actually FIND it, with a higher weight limit, so the vertically challenged can use something safer than a cushion without belt straps (the straps on the incognito are important, they keep the belt low on the hips, other cushions just let you fly forward, belly into the belt, ouch). Back when the evidence still showed a highback was better for side impact protection, my boy was probably the only kid in middle school in a booster. Thank god for the school bus

[AnnieW625]

My Dd1 is still in a low back booster, and is just 54" tall. Dd1 knows how to check herself in others cars and knows if she is leaving town and freeway use is needed for more than a few exits in someone else's car I would prefer for her to be in a booster seat. We just started riding w/out a booster this summer in friends cars so she is 9, but yes the bulk of her friends are not in boosters full time past age 8, so many stopped by the end of 2nd grade. She fits okay in the third row of a 2002-2008 Pilot, and the middle of a 2013 CRV, a 2011 Hinda Odyssey (I think, I haven't checked her but I trust the mom driving the car), a 2009-2015 Honda Pilot, and a early 2000s Nissan Pathfinder. She doesn't fit as well in my 2013 Passat and for continuity sake she is still in a booster in both of our cars. I will most likely check this out again when she turns 10, but don't anticipate her fully being out of a booster until at least 11, if not 12 as her full adult height is estimated at being 5' to 5'2" so maybe she'll hit 4'10" or 4'11" by that age.

Looking back to when I was almost 12, and 4'11" and my parents bought their first car with shoulder belts I was really uncomfortable in them until I hit about 5'2" about a year later. I would have been more comfortable with a booster and I have told DD1 this.

[twowhat?]

I'm not looking forward to dealing with this. My kids are 50th %tile but that means that they're tinier than most every other kid their age!! They're nearly 7 and still in harnessed seats (and still have a couple inches of growing room, height-wise, in their Radians). They will be in boosters for a long time unless they hit a good growth spurt. There are plenty of 2nd graders here who aren't in boosters. The other problem here (affluent area) is that everyone drives a big SUV, so that means that for carpool it will take even longer for kids to pass the 5-step test in those big, tall seats.

I feel like I'm going to have to explain the booster use every time, with families who clearly thing a seat belt only is 100% safe.

Does anyone have a good catch phrase that they use that gets the point across politely without offending and without inviting additional questions? If I said something like "they're not big enough to ride safely without a booster", what if that family has a child who is the same size? Would they be offended? I guess the good news is that since most every other kid is bigger than ours, the "they're small kids" argument would hold, for a while at least.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I usually go with something like, "don't mind me, I'm just way too paranoid and we plan to stick with a booster until [his feet touch the ground, the seatbelt hits him better, he's 10yo...]. "

[twowhat?]

I usually go with something like, "don't mind me, I'm just way too paranoid and we plan to stick with a booster until [his feet touch the ground, the seatbelt hits him better, he's 10yo...]. "

Oh that's a good one and reminds me that I've used something similar before. "Sorry, I'm 'that mom' and paranoid about car safety." but love how you replace "sorry" with "don't mind me" - that's SO much better. Why should I apologize? LOL.