What You Need to Know About Car Seats – Booster Seat Stage
Can you believe that your child has already outgrown their car seat? Even though they are growing like a weed, and even though they have outgrown their car seat, they still need some added protection that cannot be provided by a seat belt alone – Enter the booster seat.
Booster seats protect against serious injury 3 ½ times better than seat belts alone – Ministry of Transportation
Continuing with our blog series about car seats, it is time to move from the forward facing seat and look at how to safely use a booster seat in your vehicle.
Car Seats and the Booster Seat Stage
Booster seats are a little different than car seats, but serve the same purpose - to protect your children when they are in a vehicle. According to Safekids.org:
Children seated in a booster seat in the back seat of the car are 45% less likely to be injured in a crash than children using a seat belt alone
According to Ontario’s Highway Traffic act, children need to use a booster seat when they weigh between 40 – 80lbs, are less than 4 feet 9 inches, and under the age of 8. Since seat belts are meant to provide protection for adults, booster seats boost up a child so they are in the appropriate position to use a seat belt and be protected properly.
Quick Tips for Car Seats for the Booster Seat Stage
- The child’s head must be supported by either the top of the booster seat, the vehicle seat or the vehicle headrest
- Never place the shoulder belt under the child’s arm
- Lap and shoulder belts need to be used with all booster seats
- Make sure the lap belt portion of the seat belt goes across your child’s hip – not the stomach
- The shoulder belt must be across the child’s chest – not the head or neck
Once your child grows out of the booster seat, it is time for them to ride in the back seat of the car using a normal seat belt. Stay tuned for a future blog post about the no car seat stage.
More Information
To learn more about properly installing your booster seat please visit the Ministry of Transportation websites page dedicated to Tips for Installing Child Car Seats.