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Why You Should Know Your Booster Seat Rating

Before buying important items for your baby, such as a booster seat, it would be good to do your research. Go online, check out forums and message boards, browse through the official manufacturers' Web sites. Some Web sites offer extensive reviews and rating systems for various kinds of child safety seats. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site, for example, provides the definitive booster seat rating system, which tells you exactly which seats would qualify as "top of the line."

Even after you've already bought your booster seat, knowing your booster seat rating would allow you to become more familiar with the seat's functions and limitations. The first priority, of course, is your child's safety and comfort. After you and your baby have shopped around for the best booster seat and selected the best one for your budget, it is all right to bring it home and install it immediately. Note that all the child car seats that are commercially available have passed the safety standards imposed by the government on all child restraint products, so there should be no major concern on your part about whether or not a seat will fall apart so soon after purchase.

And yet, not all seats are created equal. The NHTSA's Ease of Use rating system tells you which seats are more convenient, compared to others of similar make. Different seats accommodate children of different sizes and ages, as well as different types of vehicles. The kinds of trips you'll take - that is, the amount of "rough riding" your child is expected to undergo - also spell out the difference in the quality of booster seats. Some seats are made to withstand frequent jarring, while some seats are made primarily with the child's comfort in mind.

Other good safety rating systems can be found in the Pediatrics section of About.com, and Parenting.com. There are user-defined booster ratings as well, though these are not as technical as the ones that may be found in official medical and government Web pages. You may find that the reviews left by concerned parents and guardians in forums, message boards and mailing lists could act as a more effective "rating system" than the neatly tabulated ones found on official websites.

You don't have to be an expert on child safety seats in order to purchase a good booster seat... but becoming familiar with an easily available booster seat rating would definitely save you a lot of time and money when selecting the best booster seat type for your child.