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Car and Booster Seats for Your 4- to 8-year-old

Belt-positioning booster seats provide the best protection
Your young child needs to be in a child safety seat or belt-positioning booster seat. Restraining your child with only a seat belt is putting him at risk for serious injury. If the belt is at your child's waist instead of across the hips, in a crash, he could suffer damage to internal organs and/or a spinal injury if a crash occurs.

A belt-positioning booster seat raises your child up so that your vehicle's lap-shoulder belt is properly positioned across his chest and hips.

CHOP Research has shown that the use of belt-positioning booster seats lowers the risk of injury to children by nearly 60 percent compared to the use of seat belts alone.

When should your child use a belt-positioning booster seat?
Once your child completely outgrows a forward-facing child safety seat with an internal harness, you should switch him to a belt-positioning booster seat. Kids should use belt-positioning booster seats from about 40 pounds and until they are about 80 pounds and 4'9" tall (about 4 to 8 years old).

Many children don't reach 4'9" until they are older than 8 years. You may want to keep your child in a booster seat beyond 8 years of age if he or she does not weigh more than the weight limit printed on the booster seat.

If you have a combination car seat/booster seat that your child was using with a harness, just remove the harness. The seat is then a belt-positioning booster seat.

You should use a belt-positioning booster seat in the back seat of your vehicle, and always with the vehicle lap-shoulder seat belt. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend that all children under age 13 ride in the back seat of a vehicle.

Why aren't seat belts good enough?
When used correctly, a belt-positioning booster seat can prevent injuries in a crash because it corrects the positioning of the adult seat belt across the child. Any restraint is better than no restraint, but boosters are 60 percent safer than seat belts alone. In a crash, poor-fitting adult seat belts can result in serious injury to your child's abdomen, neck and head. Until your child is big enough, he needs a boost.

There are four types of belt-positioning booster seats

Backless
You can use these in vehicles with high seat backs or head rests.

High back
Its important to use a high back booster if the seating position has no head rest. However, you can use these in any rear seat position with a lap and shoulder belt.

Combination child seat/booster seat
These seats convert from a child safety seat with a 5-point harness system to a belt-positioning booster seat. Use them with the internal harness until your child weighs about 40 pounds, and then without the harness as a belt-positioning booster seat.

At 40 pounds, remove the harness straps, and your child can use the seat as a belt-positioning booster secured with the lap-shoulder belt. Some seats may be used as a booster for kids up to 100 pounds. Be sure to check your safety seat instruction manual or the car seat label for exact weight and height limits.

Built-in child restraints
Integrated booster seats are built into the vehicle by the manufacturer. Some are similar to combination child safety/booster seats. They have a five-point harness system that you remove when your child reaches a certain weight. Your child will then use it as a booster seat with the vehicle lap-shoulder belt . Some cars have only booster seats. Check your vehicle owner's manual for weight and height information for your built-in restraint.

Choosing a belt-positioning booster seat
Follow these suggestions to help choose the best seat for your child's needs:

• Let your child help you pick out the seat. Ask him to try out seats to find one that is comfortable. Teach him how to buckle himself up.
• Make sure the seat meets national standards. The label should say: "This child restraint system conforms to all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards."
• Show your child that the booster will let her see out of the window better and help make the seat belt comfortable. Tell her that boosters are for "big kids." Don't call a booster seat a child's seat.
• Explain to your child why he is using a booster seat and not just the car's seat belt. Let him know that a booster would help keep him safe if a crash occurs.

Using a belt-positioning booster seat
First, read both your vehicle owner's and booster seat manuals. Belt-positioning booster seats are much easier to use than child safety seats. Place the booster in the back seat of the vehicle in a seating position that has a lap-shoulder belt. Remember: Only use backless booster seats in seating positions with a high seat back or head rest and a lap-shoulder belt.

Make sure your child uses the seat belt properly while in the belt-positioning booster seat. Check the booster seat manual for the proper way to position her in the seat. After she sits in the booster, pull the lap-shoulder belt across her body and buckle it.

Remember: Don't negotiate
Safety is non negotiable. If your child tries to squirm out of the seat or under the seat belt, find a safe place to pull over. Explain to him that the car will not move until everybody is buckled up correctly.

Tips for getting the best seat belt fit with a booster seat

• Use both the lap and shoulder belt.
• The lap belt should rest comfortably below the hip bones, touch the thighs, and be snug.
• The shoulder belt should cross the center of your child's shoulder and not cut across her neck.
• Never put the shoulder belt behind your child's back or under her arm. Remember the rhyme: Under the arm, seat belts cause harm. Behind the back, safety will lack.
• To make the shoulder belt fit better, use the shoulder belt height adjusters if they are built into your vehicle. Don't use after-market or "add-on" belt adjusters that can be bought in retail stores.There are no safety standards for these products.
• If your vehicle doesn't have shoulder belts in the back seat, consider having your auto dealer or auto repair shop install (retrofit) shoulder belts. Learn more about retrofitting your vehicle.

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Using seat belt guides and positioners
Boosters have belt positioners to guide the belt into the safest position Check your booster seat manual to see how to thread the shoulder belt through the positioners.

Lap belt guides are wide grooves cut out of the sides of the booster. The guides position the lap portion of the seat belt so that it lies low on the hips and touches the thighs.

A shoulder belt positioner is on the side of the seat and may be needed to to guide the shoulder belt across the center of your child's chest. Positioners may be plastic slats near the top of a high back booster or a strap that comes with an adjuster on a backless seat. Depending on your child's size, you may get a good fit without using a positioner.

Getting help
Free Car Seat Fitting Stations are held nationwide. Trained professionals help you make sure your child's seat is properly installed and is being used correctly.

Seating more than one child
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend that all children under age 13 ride in the back seat of a vehicle.

If you have more children than back seat seating positions, contact a certified child passenger safety technician for help. If you don't have enough safety seats for all children, arrange to use a safer vehicle with enough seating positions to keep all kids safe.

Getting help to install your car seat

• Watch a short video to learn how to choose and safely install a car seat for your 4-to-8-year-old.
  This video will open and play in a new window.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's installation tips for child safety seats.

Finally, as your child grows, you may be faced with times when she will not want to stay in his safety seat. Here are a couple of suggestions to try:

Don't negotiate on safety
Sitting in a car seat is non negotiable. If your child tries to squirm out of the seat, find a safe place to pull the car over. Explain that you will not continue driving until he is safely seated in the child safety seat.

Let kids know why safety seats are important
Explain why she is in a child safety seat. Let her know that the car seat will help keep her safe in a crash, just like the seat belt you are wearing helps keep you safe.

Is your child's car seat safe?
You will need to check the safety of your child's car seat under certain conditions:

After a crash: do I need to replace the seat?
Safety experts and many car seat manufacturers recommend replacing your child's safety seat after a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends replacement following a moderate or severe crash . Visit the NHTSA website for a detailed explanation of how to tell if your crash was moderate to severe.

Recalls
Sometimes a defect shows up after safety seats are sold. The manufacturers will then recall the seats that have been bought. Check these websites to find out if your child safety seat has been recalled:

• SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Used seats
New seats are best, but if you must use a second-hand child safety seat, keep the following in mind.

• Check the date of manufacturer. Look for the manufacturing date on the seat's label. Makers usually recommend not using seats more than 6-10 years old. Check with the manufacturer to be sure.
• Seats with obvious cracks, holes, dents, or missing parts are not safe to use.(unless you can get replacement parts from the manufacturer).
• If you don't know its history, don't use a seat. It may have been in a crash.
• Don't use a seat without a label. You will not be able to check on seat recalls, and you will not know how its age.
• Avoid seats without an instruction manual unless you can get a replacement from the manufacturer. Check the seat maker's website.

Finally, don't rely on state law. Often parents rely on their state child restraint laws for advice on the best way to keep their kids safe. Some states laws don't require child safety seat use for older children. If that's the case in your state, follow what experts at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention consider the best ways to keep kids safe. Kids should use belt-positioning booster seats from about 40 pounds and up to 4'9" tall. (4 to at least 8 years old) The belt-positioning booster seat should be positioned in the back seat of your vehicle.

Restrain your child on every trip.

Video: Car safety for your 4- to 8-year-old Learn when your child should begin using a booster seat and why. View more »