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The Best Seat for Your Child: Four to Eight Years Old

Minnesota's new law regarding booster seats

Booster SeatBooster seats are used by children who have outgrown a car seat with a harness. Most children under the age of eight are not big enough to fit the adult seat belt properly. In fact, they can be injured by the belt in a crash. A booster seat makes an adult seat belt fit correctly on a child’s body. The booster’s design helps keep the lap belt low on the hips and the shoulder belt across the chest (rather than across the neck). It also makes children more comfortable: the raised base gives them a better view and allows their legs to bend normally. There are two types of boosters: high-back and no-back.
  • Make sure the booster seat you use is approved for use in a motor vehicle, and check labels and instructions. Booster seats designed for use at a dining table do not keep kids safe in a crash.
  • If the child’s ears come above the top of the vehicle seat back, use a high-back booster.
  • If the booster seat comes with a clip or strap to hold the shoulder belt in place, make sure to thread it correctly.
  • Use a booster seat until the child reaches the upper weight limit or can sit comfortably without slouching on the vehicle seat. The lap belt should stay low on the hips and the shoulder belt should cross the chest and shoulder comfortably. Most children do not fit the adult seat belt until ages eight to ten, and approximately 4' 9" tall.
NOTE: Shield boosters are an older type of booster seat which are no longer manufactured. They were designed for use when only lap belts were available in rear seats. Any existing shield boosters are more than six years old, which is the recommended age span of any child safety seat. Therefore, it is recommended that they be dismantled and thrown away.

Source: Buckle Up Kids! A Guide for Choosing the Right Child Safety Restraint and Instructions for Correct Use, Minnesota Child Passenger Safety Program

The best seat for your car: carseatdata.org


The Truth about Booster Seats
Parents Must Find the Right Fit for Their Child
Booster seats are a proven way to help keep kids safer in vehicles. In fact, for children 4 to 7 years old, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59 percent compared to restraining children with vehicle seat belts alone, according to researchers at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. On-going evaluations continue to demonstrate the positive effects of booster seats in crashes.

A recent report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety provides their assessment of vehicle seat belt fit when using a belt-positioning booster car seat in a wide range of vehicle seat belt systems. The Institute rates 9 belt-positioning boosters Best Bets, 6 as Good Bets and 11 boosters as “not recommended” out of 60 models examined in a new round of evaluations. Safe Kids Worldwide reminds us to not panic if your booster seat shows up on a “not recommended” list. The seat that does not fit the crash dummy may fit your child perfectly and all boosters on the market meet federal crash test standards. Read more.




Protect children from the greatest risk they face: traffic crashes. You can do it!
Content provided by the Minnesota Safety Council, AAA Clubs of Minnesota and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety.