Too Many Parents Skimp on Booster Seat Use
After years of wrangling with heavy child-safety seats, Latch systems and five-point harnesses, booster seats seem so “easy.” At their most basic, these car seats raise up a child so a seat belt is positioned correctly to protect them in a crash. However, even this easy car seat is being used incorrectly — or not used at all — by parents.
Related: 19 New Booster Seats Earn IIHS Best Bet Title
A new study from Safe Kids Worldwide found that 9 out of 10 parents move their child out of the booster seat too soon. Based on a national online survey of 1,000 parents of kids between ages 4 and 10, the study also found that 70 percent of parents didn’t know when a child should be moved out of a booster seat.
The study, which was partially funded by a General Motors Foundation grant and released during Child Passenger Safety Week, also found that 1 in 5 parents with children in carpools “bend the rules” when they’re the driver, allowing kids to ride in the car without their seat belts or without their car seats. One in 4 parent respondents said they don’t make their child buckle up on every ride.
“We found there’s a need to remind parents, and anyone who drives a child, about the importance of using a booster seat until a seat belt alone fits safely,” said Kate Carr, president and CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide in a press release. “Here’s an easy tip: A child needs to be at least 57 inches tall and between 80 and 100 pounds to ride with just a seat belt.”
Even though a car’s backseat is often considered a child’s domain, rear seats and their seat belts are designed for adults. This means that a seat belt often doesn’t fit correctly on a child sitting in the backseat without a booster seat.
Boosters raise up a child to allow a shoulder seat belt to be positioned snugly across their shoulder and chest — not across the neck or face. The lap belt should rest on the child’s upper thighs instead of on the stomach.
Simple, right? But a booster is an important tool in protecting a child in the car. For children ages 4 to 10, car crashes are the second-leading cause of death, according to Safe Kids Worldwide.
The solution is simple: If your child is less than 4 feet 9 inches tall, make sure they’re riding in booster seat. Once they’ve hit that height number — my son was almost 11 years old when he was finally tall enough and heavy enough to graduate out of his booster seat — make sure that your child rides in the backseat instead of the front seat. They shouldn’t be in the front row until age 13.
Cars.com photo by Jennifer Newman
