When Should You Use A Booster Seat?

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 our 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 and 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 it must always be used with the vehicle lap-shoulder seat belt.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend that all children aged 12 and under 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 or she needs a boost.