The best protection you could ever give your child whenever you’re inside a car or any transport vehicles such as planes, and trains, is a properly secured child safety seat. Using an age-appropriate child restraint that is properly installed is the very key to lessen the possibility of any injuries to your child if in case you’ve been involved in a car accident.
Infant and child safety seats offer a variety of shapes and sizes you can choose from. Choose the best for your child – it must fit in the vehicle’s seat, is compatible with your vehicle’s seat belts, and lastly, it should be the proper size for your child.
One kind of child safety seat is the booster seat. This child gear is very necessary once your child outgrows his or her child safety seat top – usually over 40 pounds or age of four. Parents should be aware that children still do not fit in the normal car’s shoulder/lap belts until they are about 58 inches tall and weigh up to 80 pounds, according to the CDC. Booster seats should always be placed in the back seat of the vehicle.For more insight to booster seats click here.
Listed below are the easiest steps to properly install your child’s booster seat in your car:
- As we mentioned earlier, a child needs to weigh between 40 to 80 pounds and must have a height of 4’9” tall before switching to a booster seat. However, children aren’t the same. Some may not reach the required height, even if they are already 8 years old and above – so don’t just go by the age of the child.
- When buying a booster seat, always choose the right one for your child. There are two kinds of booster seats you can choose from: the high back booster seat and the backless booster seats. Might as well bring your child with you whenever you’re planning to shop for a booster seat so that they can try it out and tell you if they are comfortable seating in it.
- To ensure that your child breathes properly, the seat belt should go over your kid’s shoulder. As seat belt cutting into the child’s neck may lead to choking.
- With regards to the lap belt, it must rest across your child’s thighs, not across her belly. Why? Because the belly is too soft leading to injuries when the lap belt sits across your kid’s abdomen.
- If you are still having a hard time installing the booster seat in your car, you can always ask some help or even find a car seat fitting station in your area.
For further information about booster seats, here are some of the several types you can choose from:
- High back booster with five-point harness.A booster seat that helps protect the head and neck in back seats that do not have head restraints. The five-point harness can be used up to a weight of 40 pounds, after which the harness can be removed to convert the seat to a belt-positioning booster
- Belt-positioning booster. A booster seat that uses the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belts to restrain the child.
- Shield booster.A booster seat with a removable shield to convert to a belt-positioning booster seat. Shield booster seats should not be used for those children over 40 pounds.