The Fundamentals
How Your Child Fits in the Car Seat
4d - Booster Seats
Booster Seats work a little differently than other child safety seats. Instead of providing protection by securing the child, booster seats position the child so that the vehicle's safety belt can effectively do the job of protecting the child. Because safety belts are designed to fit an adult body, the best course of action is to keep your child in a child safety seat as long as possible. Child safety seats do have weight and size limits, but once those limits are reached you can't go straight to a safety belt. You need a booster seat. To properly use a booster seat, here's what to look for:
- The vehicle must have a lap/shoulder belt in the location where the child will ride.
- The lap part of the safety belt must be on the thighs, not on the child's tummy.
- The shoulder belt must go over the chest crossing the collarbone.
- The child must have head protection, whiplash protection. Something behind the head that is at least up to the ears. This prevents the head from going back to far.
Some booster seats may provide better protection for your vehicle than others. To review the three different types of seats, please see "Booster Seats" in "The Basics of Child Safety Seats."
