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Preventing Booster Seat Accidents

Road accidents strike when you least expect it. Before they occur, you must be sure you've taken the proper precautions. Is it enough to secure your toddler in his seat with a seatbelt? Is it even enough to put your child in a booster seat? Even if you've placed your child in a booster seat, accidents could still happen.

Sometimes parents who are in a rush forget to secure the safety seats their toddlers are placed in, and this causes more booster seat accidents than any parent could expect. There are a couple of important things for parents to remember when operating your child's safety seat - they could save your precious little one's life!

Booster seats were devised so that little children could take advantage of a vehicle's shoulder and lap belts, while they're still too small to be fully protected by them. Booster seats act as a sort of "buffer stage" between the heavily padded infant car seat and the regular adult seatbelts. You'll know if your child is big enough for the adult seatbelt if the adult lap belt stays on the upper thighs, away from his stomach, while the shoulder belt comes across the chest without rubbing his neck. This usually precludes that your child is less than 8 years old, 80 pounds, and 4 feet nine inches.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that you answer a 5-step questionnaire to find out if your child isn't ready for adult seatbelts yet. If you answer "no" to even one of these questions, it's time to buy her a booster seat:

1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Does the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Is the lap belt below the tummy, touching the thighs?
4. Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

When installing booster seats, always read the manufacturer's instructions. These will tell you how to properly install the seat and buckle in your child safely. Read the car manual as well, as this will tell you the capacities of your vehicle for accommodating certain models and sizes of booster and infant seats. Even if you're in a hurry, double check the restraints on your baby, and triple check if you can! An estimated 90% of child restraints are used incorrectly.

In short, you can protect your child against booster seat accidents by being aware of the kind of safety restraints she needs, as well as being careful about installing the seat itself and buckling her in. Remember, your child's safety depends on you!