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Why Even Your
Older Kids Need a Car Seat
by Cheryl Levey Copyright (c) 2004.
All Rights Reserved.
State mandatory car seat laws have
saved thousands of children's lives. However, there are still 1,800
deaths and over 280,000 injuries every year due to people either not
restraining their kids or more likely - not restraining them properly.
When we have our kids, we are
inundated with information about infant car safety seats and how to
install them - straps just right, facing backward and at a certain
angle. Heck, lots of hospitals even have someone on staff who will
install the seat correctly for you before you take your baby home. We
also know that our babies need to be turned around to forward-facing
seats once they reach 20 pounds and 1 year of age.
But, at least in my experience,
once our kids are in forward-facing car seats, the car seat safety
educational campaigns seem to stop. We're left on our own to figure out
when our kids don't need those seats any more. Unfortunately, many
people seem to think that kids don't need any seat at all once they
reach about 40 pounds or about 5 years of age. Many of the car seat
safety resources out there briefly mention the importance of using a
booster seat, but there is very little information specifically about
older kids and the need for them to use a booster from the time they are
about 40 pounds until they weigh 80 pounds, or are around 8 years old.
See, kids under 8 (generally
speaking - your child may be bigger or smaller than the "average") just
aren't tall or heavy enough to wear a regular seat belt properly. The
belts and seats just aren't made for a child's frame. When a child is
seated in a car without a booster seat, the seat belt does not fit
across their chest properly. Instead, it goes across their neck. In a
crash, that seat belt could become deadly - causing injuries to the neck
and spine, strangulation, and even death.
Here are just a few tips for car
seat safety for kids between 40 and 80 pounds, typically between ages 4
and 8.
* Never, ever let your child ride
unrestrained. Most accidents occur within 5 miles of home on routine,
every day trips. Could you live with yourself if you let it slide "just
this one time" and your child was injured or killed?
* Once your child reaches about 40
pounds, continuing to use his previous car seat with the shield or
5-point harness is actually dangerous for him. It does *look* safer, but
it isn't. His weight, in an impact, could cause the straps, latches, or
shield to break - which is just like having no restraint on at all.
(Many seats are made so that you can remove the straps and use it as a
booster seat - if your child's seat is one of these, be sure to do this
if your child is over 40 pounds.)
* Always use a shoulder-lap belt
with the booster seat. Never use just a lap belt unless your seat's
instructions say it's ok.
* Never let your kids ride in the
front seat, especially if you have air bags. The impact of an air bag
deploying is hard enough to snap a child's neck and can also suffocate
him. Even without an air bag (and even restrained), in a high-impact
crash, a child can hit the dash or windshield. In the back seat, at
least they hit the back of the front seat, which is typically cushioned.
* There are basically two kinds of
booster seats - backless and with a back. Your child can use one with a
back (these are typically the converted car seats with straps removed)
if his head is still below the top of the back of the seat. If any part
of his head is higher than the back of the seat, it's time to get a
backless booster.
* At 6, my child started
complaining that car seats were for "babies," so we got him a backless
version. It's a great compromise as your child gets older (and bigger).
It boosts him so that the shoulder belt fits properly (which is the
primary point of using a booster), but it is less visible to his
friends.
Please check out the resources
below to learn more about the importance of using a booster seat for
your child aged 4-8 weighing 40-80 pounds. If you have a child who
should be using a booster seat, get one today. The backless versions are
very inexpensive - less than the cost of a dinner out for two. And using
it could save your child's life.
Resources:
http://www.boostamerica.org - particularly the *Parent's Guide*
section.
http://www.safekids.org/tier3_cd.cfm?folder_id=680&content_item_id=2530
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/
http://www.seatcheck.org/
http://www.carseatdata.org/
Cheryl Levey left the traditional
job world in 2003 to pursue writing and freelancing full-and writes
about a variety of topics. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter by sending
a blank email to
cherylsweblist@bizonlineinc.com |
