car seats and booster seats. when do you stop using them?

[Anonymous]

I had a friend who has 3 kids who are in 1st and 2nd and kindergarden and says she still uses car seat for them.... 

I thought that was weird but she said the state ( AZ) has passed a law saying unless they are a certian wait they cant go without car seats and now even 2 year olds now need to face the back as well.. 

what do you think?

P.s

I have a DD, when i went to a volunteer parenting class, in 2009. the instructor told me that baby needs to be 1 or 23 pounds to be facing foward. so thats what i did. my DD is 2 facing forward and when my friend told me this i was totally surprised. cause, also i didnt have a booster seat when i was 6. 

[Kayla2013]

my 6yo cousin is 65lbs. and almost 4ft. my aunt and uncle dont make her use a carseat/booster. we had her today and we didnt make her use one.not my battle to pick if she was going to cry. i dont have kids right now. just angel babies.

[GotSomeKids]

I think it's a good idea.  My daughter because she is so slim stayed in car seat/booster until just after her 8th birthday.  She still hasn't met the weight requirement, but at the rate she is going, she won't hit the weight requirement until she is a teenager.

[alexsmomaubrys2]

We harness to the max for our seats, so it is 65lbs & 52 inches tall for my DD who is 6 yrs old and barely 40lbs and 42inches tall. So she has a while.

My DS is 7 years old and 58lbs and 48 inches tall is in a probooster and will be until he is 100lbs & 4'9" tall and can ride safely in a seatbelt.

[DropZoneMom]

My kids are older now (11 & 13) -- but both were rear-facing until they were a year (that was the guideline at the time).   Actually, DD was rear-facing until about 15 months, because she didn't reach 20lbs until then.

Both were in booster seats until they were 8 (again -- following the guidelines then -- not sure if they've changed since).   @Kayla -- you didn't want your cousin to "cry"??   I guess you'd rather get a ticket -- or have her seriously injured or killed in an accident?

[swmmra]

check out the new guidelines set by the AAP 

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/Pages/AAP-Updates-Recommendation-on-Car-Seats.aspx

[Mare1180]

My 15 mth is RF in his convertible carseat.He will be until at LEAST 2 if not longer.

My almost 6 yr old is in a high back booster. He's 40 lbs and 47" tall.

[Mrs.Miller11]

my 4.5 year old is still in a 5pt harness. Where she will remain until she no longer meets the seats standards. After that, she will be boostered until at least age 8 (which is our states law.  Then I will revisit the issue if need be.

[elle7777]

Well the law here is boostered to 8 years old, so a k-2nd grader would still be in a booster if you went by the minimums.

[Anonymous]

Many states, kids have to be in a booster seat until 8 years old. It varies by state though.

My 3 year old is still rear facing and my 7 yr old is still in a 5 pt harness. Both are 95% for height. They are in radian xtsl car seats, which RF to 45lbs and FF to 53" and 80lbs.

Car seats are a huge petpieve of mine. So many ignorant parents that put toddlers in booster seats and young children in no car seats.

[2girlsMom.MN]

My oldest was harnessed til age8. She was boostered for awhile but she is so uncomfortable in a booster and doesn't fit comfortably so she just uses a seatbelt now. She's almost 11, average height/weight not fat or chubby but she's getting that prepuberty butt, hips, and thighs and doesn't fit comfortably in any booster we've tried. So those who say their kids are going to be boostered til 100lbs. Good Luck on that. My daughter is 75lbs. 

My 3year old is in a harness forward facing and won't be going anywhere anytime soon but harnessed. She's 32 lbs.