Booster Club

Once kids are old enough to wiggle into their car seats and buckle up by themselves, they’re just as likely to wiggle out by themselves – and keeping them safely strapped in becomes a wiggly proposition. At some point, it’s easy to throw up our hands and just let them skip the “baby seats.”

But is it safe?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), some 350 children ages 4 to 7 die in traffic crashes each year, and about 50,000 are injured. Half of those who die are not in any type of restraint (child safety seats, booster seats, or seat belts).

Once children outgrow their front-facing seats (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds), says the NHTSA, they should ride in booster seats in the back seat until adult seat belts fit properly. As mature as your little weed may look to you, that may happen later than you think. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest, not the neck – usually about age 8 or when your child is 4’9” tall.

“That’s crazy!” you may exclaim. “Nobody does that!” Safety-minded parents do – but not nearly enough. In the first-ever probability-based survey of booster seat use in the United States based on actually observing children in vehicles, the NHTSA found that only 41 percent of 4- to 7-year-old children were restrained in booster seats in 2006 – a shockingly low total. Your child’s safety, after all, is one area where you don’t want to be guilty of going with the flow. Let your child help you pick out a comfy booster seat with a cup holder, pockets to hold games or whatever they think is cool. Then use it every time you pull away from the curb!