Although the booster car seats are designed for children, there is no opportunity to use them for children of all ages. This has been designed for the older child who has outgrown their forward-facing seats but still cannot use the vehicle’s seats. After this, you, as parents, may be concerned about when to let them sit and when to shift from a booster seat to a regular seat in the car.
In this article, I’ll demonstrate the recommended booster car seat height and weight to help you understand the required height and weight of your child to sit on a booster car seat when they are traveling.
What is a booster car seat?
Before diving into the main information, you should know about the booster seats. Here it is!
Booster car seats are a type of removable seat usually installed into a car seat to ensure children’s safety in case of an accident. It helps kids who have outgrown a car seat but are not big enough to use traditional lap and shoulder belts. The booster car seats uplift children to a perfect height to keep the seatbelts in position.
The booster car seats are a precaution for children to avoid possible injury in a car crash. Research says that if they are not using the booster car seats, there is a 45 percent greater possibility of getting injured during a car crash.
How many kinds of booster car seats are available?
Since the booster seats are designed to be installed on the regular car seats, you must buy them considering your car seats. Three kinds of booster seats are available on the market, and you can choose between them according to your car seat. These are;
High-back booster seat
The High-back booster seats come with a headrest that provides support to them. If your car has a short seat back and no headrest, you can use the high-back booster seats for your baby.
Backless booster seats
Backless boosters are typical seats that have no back to recline on. Usually, when your car has a long back seat and a headrest, you can buy a backless booster seat for your baby. Since the car seat has a headrest, you should not use another headrest, which can cause discomfort for your baby. Your child’s ears should be below the headrest.
However, the backless boosters are less cozy than the high-back boosters and are easy to carry from one vehicle to another.
Combination booster seats
It has an internal harness system, which can be used with the harness until your child reaches the maximum height and weight. It also can be used without the harness as a belt-positioning booster seat. That’s why it has been named a combination booster car seat.
When to use a booster car seat? It comes in the third stage!
It starts with rear-facing infant and baby car seats before progressing to forward-facing toddler car seats.
What is a rear-facing seat?
A rear-facing car seat is a type of car seat that is designed for infants and toddlers to keep them safe and sound during a car accident. It also provides them comfort when they are traveling. However, the kids are also likely to get injured in their neck, stomach, and ribs in the event of accidents or colliding as the lap and shoulder belts do not fit them properly. For them, these rear-facing seats are a precaution to safety.
It is installed in the back seat of a vehicle facing the car’s rearview. Rear-facing car seats are designed to cradle the child’s head, neck, and spine, which helps reduce the risk of injury in a crash. Usually, children aged 1-2 years can use this.
Forward-facing car seats
When your children have outgrown the rear-facing seats and are not big enough to sit in a booster seat, you should use the forward-facing car seat with a harness as much as possible. It is also a precaution for the children in case of a car crash.
One should let their children use a front-facing seat until they can sit in a booster seat. Usually, the road safety authority usually recommends using it until age 4. But, if your child outgrows this seat earlier, consider a booster seat for them.
When should you move your baby to a booster seat?
Children around four years of age are generally considered suitable for booster seats. But this is not the standard for every child. Babies are sometimes shifted to booster seats based on their weight and height, not age.
However, shift your baby to a booster seat when they have outgrown the front-facing seat but are not big enough to sit in a regular car seat. This could be the best version of the answer to the question, “When to move your baby to a booster seat.”
Booster car seat height and weight
Reading the statement above, you may be confused about a baby’s standard height and weight to consider them as fit for a booster seat. Here is the answer!
Start putting your baby in a booster car seat when they are 38-40 inches tall or weigh 40 pounds.
Since the booster car seats are not mended for elderly people, there is a boundary, and there is a boundary that has been fixed considering the height and weight of your child.
When your child measures 5 feet tall and weighs 80 pounds, consider them capable of using a regular car seat.
When should you stop using a booster car seat?
As booster car seats are installed to uplift the child to the right position as they can tie the car’s lap and shoulder belts properly, you should stop using these seats for your kids when they are capable of reaching the perfect height for seatbelts without the support of booster seats. Usually, experts opine that children should be shifted to regular car seats when they are 12 or outgrow booster seats.
To determine when to shift your baby to a regular car seat, consider the measurement, height 5 feet, and weight 80 pounds.
Are booster car seats safe?
Yes! Booster car seats are a safety precaution for children when traveling outside via vehicles. Vehicles hardly have children-friendly seats, so using a booster to uplift your child to a position where they can tie the car belts properly is important. Booster car seats are the only solution to the problem; you have no way other than using them.
Moreover, data shows booster car seats decrease by around 50 percent injury or death rate of children during a car crash.
Finally, I’ll repeat my answer to the question. Yes, it is super safe for your children. But, you have to know its proper use; for that, you can read another article titled “Booster car seat, how to install?”
Conclusion
Parents always try to keep their children safe and sound, whatever the situation is. For that, they have a lot to do. They have to introduce a handful of things to achieve this goal, and booster seats are one of them. It provides child safety during the traveling. So, without delaying much, purchase it for your kids and ensure a safe travel experience for your baby.