Does My Child Need A Seat Belt Adjuster
When your child is ready to move to a seat belt alone, don’t buy a belt-positioning device to make the seat belt more comfortable for her. These add-ons actually make safety belts less effective.
If your child needs something to make the safety belt snug or to keep the shoulder strap off her neck, she needs a booster seat.
What Age Can My Child Stop Using A Booster Seat A Guide
In this article, we will discuss at what age can my child stop using a booster seat. Even though it is recommended to keep your child in a booster seat until they are at least 40 pounds and about four years old, if you have the proper restraints available for them, there should be no issue with removing their booster before that point.
You can also remove the back of these types of car seats once your child reaches between eight and 12 years old depending on how tall they are because this will decrease the chance of injury or provide better protection.
Make sure that you check out all current safety guidelines before taking away any type of restraint from your little ones vehicle experience.
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At What Age Should My Child Stop Using A Car Seat
You can use a group 2/3 car seat from the age of about 4 years . Highback booster car seats from BeSafe will protect children up to the age of approximately 12 years . By following these steps, you will know if its safe to transport your child without a car seat.
In both Belgium and the Netherlands, its compulsory for any child up to 1.35 m in height to be transported in a car seat. The following steps will help you to check whether its completely safe to transport your child without using a car seat.
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Is Your Child Ready For A Booster Seat
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It happens in the blink of an eye. One minute youre bringing home a tiny baby in an infant car seat, and the next youre wondering whether your big kid is ready to move out of a five-point harness to a belt-positioning booster seat. Children outgrow their car seats at different rates, but contrary to popular belief, the right time to make the switch has little to do with age. So how do you know when your child is ready for a booster seat? Here are some guidelines for making the switch safely at the right time for your little one.
More Seat Belt Travel Tips For Best Protection
- If your child rides in more than one car, test the safety belt fit in each vehicle. You may need to keep a booster in one car, even if he doesn’t need it in another.
- Always keep your child in the back seat if he’s younger than 13, even if he no longer needs a booster seat.
- Make sure any booster seat you use is installed correctly. Check out these videos on how to install a backless booster and a high-back booster.
- Don’t let your child tuck the shoulder belt under his arm or put it behind his back. If you brake suddenly or are involved in a crash, the belt could put pressure on vulnerable parts of his body, and his upper body will be unprotected, which could lead to severe injury.
- Never let anyone share a safety belt. It’s not safe because in the event of a crash the two occupants can strike one another, or one can crush the other. Everyone in the car must have his or her own car seat or safety belt.
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Is My Child Ready For A Booster Seat
The safest way for your child to ride in a vehicle is to remain in a five-point harness until they exceed the maximum height and weight requirements of their car seat. Many convertible car seats and harness-to-booster car seats on the market can accommodate children up to 65 pounds. But if youand theyare ready to move on to a belt-positioning booster seat, make sure your child meets the following booster car seat requirements first.
1. Age.
Each state has its own laws and regulations for booster seat age and weight requirements. What is the law for booster seats? Always check your states requirements! That way, youll be best informed before moving your child into a different type of car seat. Most state laws and booster seat manufacturers require children to be at least 4 or 5 years old before using a booster. However, age isnt as important as the other three factors.
2. Weight.
Even if your child is technically old enough to legally ride in a booster seat, they may not weigh enough to safely sit in one. At a minimum, your child should weigh at least 40 pounds before using a belt-positioning booster car seat.
3. Height.
The height of your child is of equal importance to weight when deciding whether theyre ready for a booster seat. You can safely make the switch only if your child is at least 35 inches tall and can sit in the booster seat with their back against the vehicle seat and their knees bent comfortably at the edge of the seat cushion.
4. Maturity.
Can They Stay Comfortably Seated For The Whole Trip
Incorrect: Booster needed
An uncomfortable child will do whatever it takes to get comfortable in the car, even if that means using her seat belt incorrectly.
Correct: No booster needed
Comfortable children are far more likely to maintain proper belt fit throughout the ride.
- Kids should stay comfortably seated for the whole trip. Uncomfortable children tend to sit in out-of-position posturesslouched forward, lying to one side, or with the seat belt behind their back or under their armleaving the belt unable to provide the best crash protection. Children who move excessively aren’t ready for a booster and may be better off remaining in a car seat with a harness.
If the answer is no to any of the questions above, then your child is not ready to get out of a booster. Transitioning your child too early can significantly increase the risk of injury in the event of a crash. Additionally, because vehicle interiors vary greatly, your child may fit fine in one of your vehicles but not in another, because the seats and belts can work differently in each one. Be prepared to keep a booster seat handy for the car where your child may still need a boost.
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Lap And Shoulder Seat Belts
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Most children are ready to use a lap and shoulder seat belt without a booster when they are about 49 tall.
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Children are required by law to be secured in a child safety seat or seat belt until they are 15 years old.
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For best protection, everyone in the car should be buckled up on every trip
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What If The Vehicle Seat Has Only Lap Belts
Lap belts alone do not offer adequate car safety for the young child. Car seat safety specifies that you need both lap and shoulder belts to restrain a child’s body properly. However, if your vehicle has only lap belts in the back, here is what you can do.
- Install a shoulder belt: Consult with the car seat manufacturer’s instructions and see where you can install a shoulder belt.
- Look for a local CPST: Find a child passenger safety technician and advice on proper installation.
- Keep using the forward-facing car seat: Don’t throw away your forward-facing car seat yet! Instead, keep using the toddler seat with a harness for as long as possible until you install a shoulder belt in the back. The other options are to get convertible seats or an all-in-one seat that accommodates as the child grows.
- Invest in a vest: A travel vest is great for big kids’ car safety solutions! The vest installs with a tether anchor and can be used only with lap belts. Travel vests are equally safe as car seats in offering upper body protection. However, vests do have a smaller weight limit.
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Check How Your Child Sits In The Seat
The “5 points” checklist makes it easy to see if your child is ready to travel without using a car seat. Can you tick off all the following points? If so, then its safe to transport your child without a car seat. Is there still one point that you cant tick off? Then its best to use the car seat for a while longer.
The “5 points” checklist:
The iZi Flex Fix i-Size can be used until your child reaches the height of 1.5m. A car seat will provide extra protection at the sides, so its a good idea to use it for as long as possible. The iZi Flex Fix i-Size is also really slender, meaning you can use up to 3 car seats next to each other!
Ohio Child Passenger Safety Laws
- Parents and caregivers are required by Ohio law to obey the following safety practices:
- Infants and young children must ride in a child safety seat until they are 4 years old AND weigh at least 40 pounds.
- Every child ages 4-8 who is no longer in a car seat must use a booster seat until she reaches 49 tall.
- Children and teens ages 8-15 who are not in booster seats must use adult seat belts.
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Why Can’t Kids Ride In The Front Seat Before The Age Of 13
The vehicle’s back seat is considered the safest for children, while front seat rides are not allowed before age 13. In addition, the deployment of airbags presents a grave danger to children riding in the front seat. The airbags are designed to protect an average adult of 150 pounds and are at least 5 feet tall. A child wearing a seat belt in the front is more likely to suffer internal injuries from an airbag than an adult. In addition, the rapid deployment of the airbag often results in head injuries in children, as the force of the airbag raises the child of the vehicle seat. If the child is over 13 years old and wants to ride in the front seat, a parent can ensure a safe ride by doing the following:
– Make sure the child is always wearing the seat belt properly.
– Move the front seat as far as you can from the airbags. Since crashes impact the front seat first, ensure the seat is at least further back.
Once a child outgrows the car seat, the safest riding position is in the middle back seat with a lap and shoulder belt. However, whether your child can legally ride in the front seat will depend on your state’s laws.
Car Seats Booster Seats And Seat Belts
Motor vehicle injuries are a leading cause of death among children. Many children may be riding at risk because of improper car seat use — or how and where they are sitting. It is important to use the right type of restraint based upon your childs age and size. As your child ages, follow these four steps one step at a time to keep your child safe in the car.
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How To Find If Your Child Can Stop Using Car Seat
To test if your kid is ready to let go of their car seat, see if all conditions below are met:
- The childs entire back rests on the vehicle seat with his or her knees bending comfortably over the seats front edge.
- The lap belt crosses over the hips or the upper legs of the child when buckled up by both the shoulder and lap belts
- The shoulder belt rests on the collarbone or the shoulder, not the face or neck.
- The child sticks with the correct seating position while buckled under the safety belt during the entire trip.
If the belts rest on the kids neck or face, then a car seat or a booster belt must still be used. It is the same if the child changes positions or slouches while wearing a regular safety belt. If he or she does this, the belt then touches the face, neck, or stomach, which can be dangerous if an accident happens. The only time your child can stop using a car seat is when they meet all the conditions above.
Compared to using a safety belt alone, car seats protect your child much better. If an accident happens, a loose seat belt that doesnt really fit the child can cause more injury. If the safety belt rests on the childs tummy or under his arm, it can either cause damage to the spleen, stomach or liver, or it can crack his ribs when a collision happens. Car seats suitable for toddlers can do much in preventing it.
Should You Wait To Switch
Any step up in car seatsfrom rear-facing to forward-facing, from the harness to boosteris actually a step down in safety. The 5-point harness spreads crash forces over more points on a childs body, lessening the potential force any one part of the body must take in a crash.
While some high-back booster seats have a minimum weight of 30 pounds, kids should weigh at least 40 pounds before riding in any booster seat.
From a practical standpoint, parents find that it is easier to keep the child sitting properly when in a car seat than in a booster in a booster the child can unbuckle themselves more easily than in a car seat. They can also lean and slouch, which is dangerous. They cant do that in a car seat when the 5-point harness is properly adjusted.
The seatbelt cannot protect a child who is not in the proper position. Most children cannot be trusted to sit properly until at least five years old.
Many parents find that their child is actually much older than four before they can be expected to sit still in a booster. If your vehicle has lap-only seatbelts in the rear seats, keep your child in a harnessed car seat as long as possible. Harnessed seats can be installed with a lap-only belt.
Booster seats absolutely must be used with a lap/shoulder belt. Extended harnessing, or using a harnessed car seat with a higher weight limit, is vastly preferable to moving a child into a lap-only seatbelt.
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Safety Standards At Home
Although many state car seat laws do a reasonable job guiding parents in protecting babies and toddlers in the car, you should consider going beyond the requirements in most cases. For example, most states only require that infants stay in a rear-facing car seat until they’re 1 year old and 20 pounds. Car safety seats may reduce the risk of serious injury by over 70% in children less than one year and by over 50% in children aged two to four years.
There are convertible and 3-in-1 car seats available today that can accommodate a toddler rear-facing until age 3 or 4. Car seat safety experts, and many manufacturers, now recommend keeping your child rear-facing until they reach the limits of the car seat.
Similarly, it’s safest for children to remain in a forward-facing 5-point harness for as long as possible before moving to a booster seat, and to stay in a booster seat until they properly fit in the adult seatbelt using the 5-step test. The state car seat law may only require a harnessed car seat until age 3 or 4, but car seats are available for much larger or older children.
The harness spreads crash forces over a greater area of the body versus a seatbelt. For booster seats, a child who can legally move out of a booster seat at age 8 might be too small to fit well in a seatbelt and is at greater risk of serious injuries in a crash.
Maturity Check: 5 Step Test
A five-step test should be conducted before the child stops using the booster. The five-step test will indicate whether the child is mature enough for the seat belt. If the child has not reached one of the five steps in the test, then he should continue using the booster seat.
- A child should sit properly in the vehicle seat with his back against the seat.
- While sitting in the vehicle seat, the child must keep his knees bent over the edge of the seat and feet flat on the floor.
- The lap belt should cover the child’s upper thighs and the pelvic area.
- The shoulder belt should lay flat across the child’s shoulders and not near the neck.
- The child should remain in the proper position for the rest of the ride, with no reclining or playing with the seat belt.
Even if the child outgrows the current booster seat and is still not ready for a vehicle’s seat belt, consider switching to the higher weight limit booster. The majority of belt-positioning booster seat models accommodate up to 120 pounds. If the child has a long torso, a booster seat that can reposition the lap belt is a perfect choice!
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