A booster seat is a car seat without a harness. It raises a child up so the lap and shoulder belt fit right. Children use a booster seat when they are too big for a car seat but not big enough for an adult seat belt. Once they outgrow their forward-facing car seat, they can ride in a booster seat.
Your child should be at least 40 pounds before they use a booster seat. In Washington state, it is the law for children to ride in a booster seat until they are 4 feet, 9 inches tall 57 inches. Most kids will need a booster seat until they are 10 to Children under age 13 should ride in the back seat when possible. Text Size. Booster Seats for School-Aged Children. Page Content. As a general guideline, a child has outgrown a forward-facing seat when any of the following situations is true: They reach the top weight or height allowed for his seat with a harness.
These limits are listed on the seat and in the instruction manual. Their shoulders are above the top harness slots. Types of Booster Seats: High-back and backless are 2 standard types of booster seats. If your booster seat has lower anchors or tether attachments, check its manual for installation instructions. Common Questions about Booster Seats: What if my car has only lap belts in the back seat?
What is the difference between high-back boosters and backless boosters? High-back boosters should be used in vehicles without headrests or with low seat backs. Many seats that look like high-back boosters are actually combination seats. They come with harnesses that can be used for smaller children and, later, removed for older children. Backless boosters are usually less expensive and are easier to move from one vehicle to another. Backless boosters can be used safely in vehicles with headrests and high seat backs.
Types of booster seats. High-back booster seat High-back booster seats are appropriate for cars with low seat backs or no headrests. Pro: You can get this kind of booster in a combination seat.
This means you can use the seat longer without replacing it. Backless booster seat Backless booster seats are appropriate for cars with headrests and higher seat backs. Pro: These seats are usually cheaper and easier to move between cars. Kids may also prefer them because they look less like a baby car seat.
How to use a booster seat. Have your child sit on the booster seat. Never use a booster seat if a car only has a lap belt.
Children must use both a lap belt and a shoulder belt. Never use a booster seat in the front seat because a child who still fits the requirements for a booster is too small to be in the front. Front car seat air bags can hurt kids.
Car safety tips. The takeaway. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Carissa Stephens, R. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Many parents wonder if their tall young child is ready for a booster seat , or if there's an age requirement. It's easy enough to check the weight and height limits of various boosters to see if your little one will fit according to manufacturer instructions.
Before deciding whether your child is ready to move on from a car seat to a booster, you must first understand the difference between the two. Car seats use a five-point harness to restrain the child. Booster seat age refers to the age of a child at which they are ready to move from a car seat to a booster seat.
The appropriate age is generally at least 4 years old. If you can safely keep your child in a harnessed car seat for a while longer, do it. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids use a car seat until they reach the maximum height or weight for that five-point harness. Three-year-olds are not ready to ride in a booster seat, even if they fit within the manufacturer's height and weight guidelines.
To sit in a booster seat, children should:. Many convertible and harness-to-booster car seats have harnesses rated to hold kids up to 65 pounds. In fact, children in the U. Thanks to advances in car seat safety technologies, four-year-olds that might have been moved into a booster 10 years ago can still safely ride in a rear-facing car seat.
Even fairly tall children can remain rear-facing through toddler years and then switch to a forward-facing harness until kindergarten age. Any step up in car seats—from rear-facing to forward-facing, from the harness to booster—is actually a step down in safety. The 5-point harness spreads crash forces over more points on a child's body, lessening the potential force any one part of the body must take in a crash. While some high-back booster seats have a minimum weight of 30 pounds, kids should weigh at least 40 pounds before riding in any booster seat.
From a practical standpoint, parents find that it is easier to keep the child sitting properly when in a car seat than in a booster; in a booster the child can unbuckle themselves more easily than in a car seat. They can also lean and slouch, which is dangerous. They can't do that in a car seat when the 5-point harness is properly adjusted.
0コメント