Since laws have been passed requiring the use infant safety seats in cars, their use has risen dramatically. Unfortunately, appropriate restraint for children four to eight years old has not. A 2004 study found that 62% of children age four to eight years old were inappropriately restrained in adult seat belts. Children using seat belts instead of booster seats are three and a half times more likely to suffer significant injury and four times more likely to suffer head injury than properly restrained children.
Parents need to know about the proper use of booster seats. They should be used when children are too big for safety seats but too small for adult safety belts. Children who weigh 40 to 80 pounds, are less than 4' 9" and up to eight years old should use booster seats which bring them up to the appropriate height to use safety belts correctly.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics car seat guidelines, you can tell when your child is ready for a booster seat when one of the following is true:
• The child reaches the top weight for the car seat.
• Her shoulders are above the harness slots.
• Her ears have reached the top of the seat
A lap and shoulder combination belt must be used with both the high-back and low-back booster seats.
A child nine years or older needs a booster seat if the shoulder part of the belt is on the neck rather than the shoulder and the lower part of the belt is not on the hip and off the abdomen. The booster seat needs to be properly installed and not loose or unstable.
Parents are sometimes pressured by their children, or even other adults, to stop treating their kids like "babies." However, incorrectly placed safety belts can cause severe injury. Twenty-eight states have passed booster seat laws.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has published "Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2005." This detailed report includes all aspects of car seats, booster seats and seat belts. There are answers to commonly asked questions and a detailed comparison of many of the car seats and booster seats available. This report can be found online at www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm
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