Backless booster seat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes it doesn’t help my cause that her friends are riding in the front seat!

My 9yo is really tall but I told her she’s not sitting up front for 5 years. She sees younger kids riding up front, which is not safe.

You’re only letting her sit up from for two years before she gets her permit and is in the drivers seat? I would let her come up at 13 at the latest — actually being able to watch someone else drive is an important part of being ready to drive yourself.

[Anonymous]

Our pediatrician said the recommended age minimum for the front seat was 13 yrs. This is due to bone density and not height, if the airbag did need to deploy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our pediatrician said the recommended age minimum for the front seat was 13 yrs. This is due to bone density and not height, if the airbag did need to deploy.

This is correct, 13 is the safe estimate for when kids are far enough through puberty to have adult bone density. That said, if your child is an early or late bloomer, bone age does not always correspond to chronological age and you WANT to be more conservative in your family. A child that hit puberty early (menstruation for a girl and peak height velocity (i.e., puberty growth spurt on the growth chart) for a boy) would have advanced bone age and density younger than the average. A child that went through puberty later may have delayed bone age and less density than their peers. My DD's bone age is 2 years behind and her endocrinologist advised to keep her in the back seat as long as feasible.