4 ft 9 in. "is the magic number"???

[cgdmom]

I just drove past a large billboard that stated prominently that 4 feet 9 inches is the "magic number" for children to ride without a booster seat (the bill board was complete with a firy godmother-type figure with magic wand!).

Is this a new/different recommendation and if so, from whom? I thought it was something based on age and weight (8 yrs and 80 lbs, maybe?). Unfortunately, I drove by too quickly to notice who sponsored the message on the billboard, but I wondered if it was accurate. Does anyone know?

[schums]

ET delete incorrect info. Thanks Julie!!

Sarah
Mom to Alex (3/2002) and Catherine (8/2003)

[Joolsplus2]

No, there's not even a dummy that size, actually. The seatbelts, front and back, are designed for the 160 pound male dummy.
They stopped saying 8 or 80 some time ago (well, the magic 'they' who are really at the top of things, not all the dr's and advocates). 80 is an average 11 year old, but also a common top weight for boosters...they had to say it because they didn't want kids to be too heavy for boosters (same as it used to be '1 or 20 pounds' rf, because no seats ever went above 20 pounds rf). 4'9" is when seatbelts typically begin to fit children, though some boosters go to 60", owing to differences in body proportion (leg versus torso length). And why 8? Because if you told people 11, they would absolutely freak out... 'they' are trying to warm us up to that age recommendation, since that's really when seatbelts begin to fit most kids safely (on average, the 4'9" thing).
The most important way of knowing if your kid fits in a seatbelt safely absolutely disregards a standard weight/height/age measurement:
1) Can the child sit all the way back on the vehicle seat with
2) Knees bent comfortably at the edge and
3) Feet flat on the floor with
4) The lapbelt down low on the hips and
5) The shoulderbelt on the shoulder, not on the neck or off the arm, and can they
6) Sit that way the entire trip?

For instance, my 9 yo just barely fits in the center (with lap/shoulderbelt) in my Ford Escape, but he's got a ways to go, maybe a couple years, before he fits in the big captain's chair in my van (the seat is so deep his legs don't bend naturally over the edge, his feet aren't on the floor).

Hope that helps a little.. 4'9" just fits on a billboard best (and CUTE commercials, if you haven't seen one yet!), and age and weight recommendations are easier than making cops bring measuring tapes (it's easier to base it on age and ask the kid how old they are when it comes to laws, whether or not the kid actually safely fits in the belt or not :( )

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[shburks]

Thanks for all that information, Julie. HOwever, I'm barely 5'0" tall and I don't think my feet sit flat on the floor in any vehicle (especially in the back seat where you can't adjust the tilt!). Should I still be in a booster seat?? :)

Susan

[Joolsplus2]

Yup :)
I think we need an ad campaign...cars are like shoes, don't buy one if you don't fit in it, lol... "You, you're 6'3"...step AWAY from the VW Golf..."
Seriously, though, your hip bones are stronger and more developed (thanks to puberty) and more able to hold the lapbelt down low, off your internal organs, and your head is proportionately much smaller, so the shoulderbelt isn't trying to hold back a large part of your body (head) by itself, so it's not quite so critical.
But one company was going to make boosters for adults...wouldn't it be nice if they did? Maybe a little slab of memory foam with tiny armrests or just lapbelt clips that is made of car upholstery... be nice if they'd make that for older kids, come to think of it...

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 3 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

oh, and those billboards are done by Graco... and feature the disney princess turbobooster, so henceforth the "magic" and fairy godmother thing.

[mommyto4]

I'm sure this is not the case with all kids (due to height being torso vs. leg length) but my almost 9 1/2 year old DD is 4feet 6 inches tall and close to 80pounds. The shoulder belts in most cars do not fit her right. The belt rides up to high on her neck. Therefore, she still rides in a booster seat. So, I think that saying 4feet 9inch is better than saying 8years or 80pounds. Not all kids are tall enough at 8 yrs. or mature enough at 80 lbs. (my nephew hit 80 lbs. at like 5 yrs. old). And, there are many booster seats that are good beyond 80pounds so why not use them and keep the kids as safe as possible.

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

I am in total agreement here.

Anyone else literally swoon for the Britax Parkway holding up to about 5' tall?

I'm seriously going to buy one for Damian the MINUTE his shoulders are level with the top slots of the Regent... hehehehehehehehehehehehehe... he will not go into only a seatbelt until there is no seat to hold him.

Kat

[SusanMae]

I need a booster when I sit in the backseat of my Malibu Maxx. The shoulder belt cuts my neck. I'm really anal about keeping it in the seatbelt guide too.

Susan

[catfeet]

I need a booster in any car that does not have the seatbelt adjuster on the door frame. They _all_ cut me at that neck. I'm 5'3", but short torsoed, so ouch! If they made an adult booster I'd SO buy one.

Ann

[niccig]

Ann, I'm the same height and have the same problem. When we bought my car I made sure the driver's seat adjusts height as well as forward/back. First time I've been able to see to the end of the hood!

Nicci

[Kat_Mom2D_J_andRuthie]

you guys are both the same height as my grandma... she used to sit on two pillows in some cars.

it isn't even always the seatbelt, but seeing out over the wheel in bigger cars (my grandpa is tall so they have to get a car both can drive)

Kat