What child seat for an 8yr old?
 

I just got an FR-S and love being able to bring my 8yr old son along for joy rides. He's been using a backless booster seat, but Momma thinks that's not enough protection for little-man.

So I've been looking through consumerreports.org to find something, but the FR-S isn't your usual minivan when it comes to rear seating so I was hoping for some guidance/ideas from any other folks that have a child of similar age and what you're using for seat protection?

Thank you.

I found the standard Graco backless booster seat fits perfectly snug in the bucket part of the rear seats and is good fit for my 7 year old (on the small side), seems good enough for me protection wise, it is kinda tight back there, not sure what else would fit there and even if it did, it would probably take up more legroom and thus make the front passenger seat unusable, so am happy with the arrangement.

Standard backless booster when my son was that age. He's ten now and doesn't use any booster at all. He's normally up front with me at this point; we rarely use the backseat.

Graco high-back TurboBooster seat works great. I had an 8 year old and 6 year old in them in my BRZ. They have a back. They are strongly recommended vs the backless kind.

Like this:
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Highback-Turbobooster-Seat-Green/dp/B00GY8J8GO/ref=sr_1_5?s=baby-products&srs=2592900011&ie=UTF8&qid=1389991201&sr= 1-5&keywords=graco+turbo+booster"]Amazon.com: Graco Highback Turbobooster Car Seat, Go Green: Baby[/ame]

Cosco ....they are priced right .....:thumbsup:

Depends on the kid's height. The booster seat is designed to re-position the kid so the seat belt works properly if they're below 4' 9". If they're too tall for the booster seat back they could hit their head outside of the zone the back is designed for, ie. their head could crack down onto the top of the back. You can use the ear test, as in the top of the ears should not be above the top of the seat back.

Recaro makes highly rated booster seats:
http://www.iihs.org/iihs/news/deskto...nt-recommended

This is the one I have in the FRS:
http://www.recaro-cs.com/us/product/...caro-vivo.html

It was easy to install, and has side protection.

I couldn't be happier with the Combi Kobuk: [ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003TOJA1O/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1"]Amazon.com: Combi Kobuk Air-Thru, Licorice: Baby[/ame]

I have 4 of those (2 per car) and they fit so snuggly in the BRZ back seat, you'd think they were molded for it. Plus, they match the black seats and look very sporty.

My 8 yo and 5 yo love them.

When I have kids I will be buying Recaro car seats for them!

wow...anther year of lugging that GD seat around? man...I hate having to switch it from car to car and she feels like shes in the "baby seat". My step daughter is 7. (I understand the safety side dgmw) but it also makes me think back to bench seats in grampas old car with no seatbelts.

This is the one I have for my daughter.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/ap...l#.Utn1p6VyZ0s

As long as you adjust the seat belt correctly, it holds her well during daddy's mild hooning.

......makes me think of all the miles I rode in the back of farm trucks ..... and I turned out just fine ..... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ages/crazy.gif

Thanks for all the responses folks, it got me looking in the right direction and after some homework we got the Evenflo Big Kid Amp. Highly rated on consumerreports, it's one of the "Best Bets" on the IIHS list, it's in matching color to the interior AND it was only $40!

http://www.toysrus.com/graphics/prod...-9995948dt.jpg

8 year olds still in child seats?

I believe, depending on height, it is state required to keep children in boosters or car seats.

Edit : certain States pertain

I don't know what the law in our state is...Momma bear wasn't satisfied with just the booster, and that's why we got a new booster with the high-back.

In NC I believe its supposed to be 8 years old or 80 lbs whichever comes first.

They are now saying that you should keep children rear facing for 2 years and in a booster seat until they are 4' 9" tall. And that they should always ride in the back until they are at least 13.

I personally think its a bunch of baloney.

Wow thats crazy. Growing up in Jersey, I was out of a child seat by the time I hit 1st grade. My nephew in Jersey is turning 9 this year and he hasnt been one in a while either. He's pretty tall though.

Yep, same here on the other side of the world - law has just been changed to booster seat until 7 years of age (until after 7th birthday).

The recommendation is until 140cm (4' 7") but they decided that would be too difficult to enforce. Imagine measuring kids height on the side of the road.

My six year old (at 120cm, approx 4ft) is in a backless booster while my nine year old doesn't use one.

Yeah, these guidelines/laws are crazy! 7 years old! I think I was out of my child seat at 3-4.
My 2 1/2 year old is closing in on 4' quickly.... I can't imagine keeping him in one until 7.

If he is my height (which it looks like he'll be taller) at 13 he could be over 6' tall.... and crammed in the back seat :bonk:

https://scontent-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/...96149702_n.jpg

Well you can also blame safety features. Many of us were not riding around in the front seat with all these airbags.. I was in physical therapy several years ago and there was a 14 year old girl in there who had both her arms completely shattered to bits from an airbag deployment. She was really petite (my guess is well under 90lbs) and probably did not meet the height and weight requirements for the front seat even though she was 14. It was an eyeopener to me and had she been sitting in the backseat would not have been getting rehab...

If you're going to think all this is baloney and stick your kid in an adult seat belt before they're big enough (4'9"), then go ahead and google "seat belt syndrome".

Yeah, height/weight are definitely the measurements to go by, not age.

@namura How do you like the booster? I just ordered the same model (but the newer version, I guess) for my FR-S. My 4.5 year old had sized out of the Cosco Scerena that I was using.

what's a good infant seat to be used in the FRS?

I used a Graco brand for my son. I think it was called click connect, or something along those lines. Your front passenger will be cramped though.

When it comes to choosing such devices you should pay attention to their safety. Like, it's better safe than sorry, after all. Usually, I try to find reviews on different models and then I compare them. You can check these guys out and read one such review. Maybe it'll be helpful for someone who's in search of children seats.

i have 2 Graco seats in my back seat.. it fits perfectly

It is a height and/or weight limit thing...NOT an age thing.

If the child is deficient in one or both categories, it is the LAW to have them either in a full back seat (usually comes w/ a 4-pt harness or could be used with the car's seat belt) or a bottom booster to raise them up so the car seat belt crosses their chest in the right area.

Moving out of certain seats into other seats like boosters is 40 lbs. A lot of the seats on the market can handle kids up to 110-130lbs.

For my son, 7yo, both his height and weight will keep him in some sort of seat/booster until he is probably 12-ish. That's what he gets for not choosing taller parents. :)

Despite laws about having kids in seats who don't meet the height AND weight limits, I see a whole of of parents who transport their kids around with no seat/booster of any kind. Granted, this was me 35-40 years ago, but times/things do change and this one is for a good reason.