Booster seats -- the forgotten car seats

By: FRANCES CERDA - For the North County Times | Saturday, June 23, 2007 9:29 PM PDT ∞

The United States, and California in particular, has made major strides in promoting the use of child passenger safety seats (aka car seats).

The most recent national data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that in 2006, 98 percent of infants and 89 percent of children ages 1 to 3 were restrained in a car seat. However, only 78 percent of 4- to 7-year-olds were restrained in a car seat or seat belt. Because of the lower usage rate among this age group, they have become known as the "forgotten children" to traffic safety advocates.

Few child restraint laws provide adequate protection for older children. Although NHTSA recommends booster seats for children until they are at least 8 years old or 4 feet 9 inches tall, most state laws do not require this. In California, the law requires only children who are younger than 6 years old and who weigh between 40 and 60 pounds to be restrained in a booster seat.

Child Passenger Safety advocates across the country encourage the states to adequately protect children ages 4 to 7 by requiring the use of booster seats for this population. A series of recent studies by the Partners for Child Passenger Safety have shown that child safety seats and belt-positioning booster seats provide significant reductions in injury risk compared with seat belt alone for children through 7 years of age.

Based on this evidence, parents do not need to wait for California to update its law. They can already implement the NHTSA's recommendation by using a booster seat for children until they are at least 8 years old.

The five-step test for booster seat use

Want to know if your child should be in a booster seat? Use this five-step test:

1. Does your child sit all the way back against the auto seat?

2. Do your 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 your child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered no to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to ride safely in the car. Riding in a booster is more comfortable, too!

-- Frances Cerda is the program manager of Vista Community Clinic's child care safety program. For more information about booster seats and child passenger safety, contact her at Vista Community Clinic at (760) 407-1220, Ext.153.

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