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While driving, we cannot avoid road inconveniences like a flat tire, overheating, zero visibility, and worst of all, collisions. Putting on seatbelts is not enough, especially for our little ones who are on the backseat. Good thing, it is required for every parent to use seat boosters to provide extra safety in case of a collision. But how long do kids need booster seats? But before we answer your question, let us start with the perks of having a seat booster.
Why Is It Good to Have Booster Seats for Kids?
Using a seatbelt is not enough to reduce the risk of unwanted injuries to your precious children. Booster seats can effectively protect your children from a car crash. It works by raising your child to get a properly positioned lap-shoulder belt across your child’s chest and hips, which will help properly distribute the crash force. According to a study, using booster seats can reduce 82% of the risk in injuries from car collisions.
How Long Do Kids Need Booster Seats?
It Is Based on State-to-State Car Seat Laws
To ensure the safety of your kids inside the car, every state implements its law in restraining children. Therefore, the most legal answer to your question of how long do kids need booster seats is this. You should refer to your states’ law before getting rid of your child’s booster seat to avoid being fined or committing a violation.
It Is Based on Your Child’s Age
In most scenarios, you can determine how long do kids need a booster seat based on their age. In your case, your child can only switch from booster seat to seatbelt once he reaches the age of 8. This is the age advised to ride out on boosters. However, your child may sit longer on boosters if his height is shorter for his age, and in some states, kids are allowed to switch to seatbelts once they reach the age of 12.
Measure Your Child’s Height
In determining how long do kids need booster seats, height is a big factor. Some kids may be at the right age but lack in the prescribed height. So if you want to make sure, measure your child’s height if he reaches 4’9 tall. Only then can you be sure that he’s ready to move out in his booster seat.
Check on Your Child’s Comfortability
Another method that you can use to determine how long do kids need booster seats, check on your child’s comfort. Below are the tips in checking your child’s comfort:
- Check if his hip slides forward and if the lap belt moves up into his belly.
- Check if these a gap between his back and the backseat. If there is a gap, that means your child is not in a proper sitting position, and the lap belt is causing discomfort to his belly.
- Check if your child’s knees can bend comfortably on his seat’s edge. If he cannot bend his knees, he is not tall enough to leave his booster seat.
- Check if the belt is properly positioned between his neck and shoulder when seated.
- Check if your child’s lap belt is positioned far from the belly and sits across his thighs.
- Check if your child doesn’t complain about discomfort.
Measure Your Childs Weight
Weight is also a factor in determining how long do kids need booster seats. Most states will not grant your wish to get rid of your child’s booster seat if your kid is 4 to 7 years old and weighs 40 to 78 pounds. Safety experts and doctors will approve your child’s transition to seatbelt once he reaches the right age and weight about 80 pounds.
Conclusion
Road trips and family outings should be made with proper safety. On family trips, kids should be put to safety before traveling. This is also a law where every parent should abide. The use of booster seats as safety products will effectively help in harnessing the kids from collisions or hard impacts from car accidents. Kids will also enjoy sitting in booster seats because it will give them a better view from the window, which they could not get from a normal seat belt.
But sitting on boosters is not a permanent solution to kids because let’s face the fact, they grow old. Now that we have given you the idea of how long do kids need booster seats, you can never go wrong. Just be patient, soon your child will graduate from using booster seats! Enjoy your trip and stay as long as you can, so you won’t miss the precious details of their milestone. Find out more about Child Safety.