Unfortunately, seat belt doesn’t fit to all. Basically, it is designed only for adults to protect them from a crash, but not with a young child. Many parents tend to move their child into the vehicle seat belt system when they have outgrown the car seat. A child safety seat has a 5-point harness system that can be used by a child until she reaches 40 pounds. Nevertheless, that’s not always the case – a child may gain weight but not tall enough to fit in the vehicle lap/shoulder belt.
Kids don’t fit well in the vehicle lap/should belts that were intended for grown ups who are no less than 4 feet and 9 inches tall. Contrary to fitting appropriately over the lower hips, it may hit the delicate tissues of your abdomen and can bring about extreme damage or fatality. Since the child is not that tall enough, instead of hitting a person’s shoulder and lying flat across the chest, it hits a child’s neck or face. The role of the booster seat is to help the child gain extra height so that the lap/shoulder belt will fit properly and protection in a car accident.Booster seat reviews will help you to choose the best for your child.
To ensure your child’s safety, proper usage of a booster seat can prevent your child from being thrown off the car. During a car accident, if your child is not properly restrained by a lap/shoulder belt, they are more likely to experience serious injuries to their head, internal organs, and backbone.
Based on the police reports, car accidents are the leading cause of mortality for children ages three and up. Utilizing a car or booster seat has proven to be very effective in decreasing the possibility of having injuries, or worse, death.
Basically, booster seats are a very cheap and affordable solution to prevent and protect your child whose age varies from 4 and up. Normally, a booster seat can cost you about $15-$40 utmost. To sum it all up, a booster seat will definitely offer you a low-cost solution to a high-cost problem (hospital fees, medicines, and a lot more).
Listed below are a few of the questions you need to ponder on when you’re thinking about switching your child from a car/booster seat with a regular seat belt:
- Does the kid sit all the way back against the seat of the car?
- Is your child’s knee are comfortably bent at the edge of the vehicle?
- Does the belt cross your child’s shoulder between the neck and arm?
- Is the belt as low as could be allowed, touching your child’s thighs?
- Could the child stay situated like this for the entire trip?
If your answer to all of these questions is ‘no’, then your child absolutely needs a booster seat to make the shoulder and lap belt fit properly for the best car accident protection. Not only that, your child will be much more comfortable, as well.