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A new survey in this week's Pediatrics found that parents are good at using booster seats when driving 4 to 8 year-olds in the family car, with 76 percent using boosters. But they were not so good when carpooling. Only half make their children use booster seats when they are riding in the family car with friends who don't have boosters, and 21 percent let their own child ride booster-less when in someone else's car.
Some parents resorted to obviously unsafe choices, including buckling two children in one seat belt, or putting a child in the cargo area.
That means a lot of children are being exposed to the risk of serious injury.
I've found booster seat usage to be really regional and of course different states have different laws. I make my 4'4" 7yr old ride in a booster which is the law here in WA. But in SC where we spend our summers most of the 6 and up crowd are just in seat belts. I always feel a little silly making my tall girl tote her booster with her, but I do
My son is 5 and has many friends here still in a 5 point harness, again in SC no one that age is still in a carseat.
I pass no judgement, we all only do what we have been trained to do, but it is interesting.
My 9 year old girls will not give up their booster seats for anything. We have a Honda Odyssey and they like riding up high where they can see. Dad drives a Honda Accord and they don't like riding in his car cause no seats and can't see.
I definitely see this in carpooling and unfortunately, my very petite 9 yr old ( only 42 lbs) is very in tune to this.
She gets very upset when I make her sit in her booster in front of her friends when we are carpooling.
She is very embarrassed and we talk all the time about the safety, etc...
The problems with the car seat/ booster seat laws is there is no consistency from state to state, all the laws are different.
In PA it is all based on age, which is just absolutely ridiculous! As I said, I have a 9 yr old who is very small ( both height & weight), but there are other girls her age who are much bigger.
The age should be the last factor and height should be the 1st!
The booster is to "boost" them up in the seats and to guard where the seat belt lies in them. Their age has nothing to do with this.
I am always very Leary about having my girls travel with other people, especially when I know they don't have their children sit in boosters. I do give my booster to parents who are going to be driving my girls around for whatever reason, but again, my daughter is just beside herself .
I think the guidelines for booster seats are the same everywhere, and are height and/or weight based, but the laws vary by state. Personally, I go with the more stringent guidelines. My 8 yo doesn't need a seat by law here, but he's in one anyway until he gets a little taller.
I was surprised to see a FB post from a friend about her having to buy a new booster for her 7 yo because the law changed on Jan 1. I guess she got rid of it at 6, then the law changed to 8 years. I wouldn't have tossed it yet.
My 5-1/2 year old just outgrew her 5-point harnessed seat this week. She will be in a booster until she meets all of the seat belt fit criteria perfectly, and if that is at age 12, so be it:
Great information here:
Car Seats, Booster and Seat Belt Safety Fact Sheet (http://www.safekids.org/our-work/research/fact-sheets/car-seats-booster-and-belt-safety-fact-sheet.html - broken link)
DH and I met working in EMS. We certainly have seen first-hand the consequences of improper or even no car seat/booster use and are adamant about safety with our own children.
Now that my daughter is in kindergarten, she seems to be the only kid still in a harnessed seat. She is starting to notice that the other kids are in boosters, or even just seatbelts. She has asked about when she can switch to a booster, and I have told her not until she is at least 40 pounds, but she can stay harnessed a lot longer than that in the seat we have if we choose. She knows it is safer to be harnessed, and safer than that to be rear-facing (like her sister). I would not allow her to be transported without a carseat, regardless of carpool or whatever. I am more worried about my daughter being rude to another kid about why they *aren't* in a carseat than I am about her wanting to ride without one though.
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