Children are vulnerable when car crashes happen. Their bodies can sustain major injuries due to the force of impact. Children can break bones or develop brain injuries that change the course of their lives. Collisions are one of the top causes of premature death among children and are also responsible for many serious injuries sustained by minors. Children are especially vulnerable in part because motor vehicle safety systems are not meant to protect young bodies.
Instead, safety features prioritize the protection of adults. To keep children safe and motor vehicles, parents usually need to install and consistently use specialized car seats. Infants ride in rear-facing car seats. As they mature, their parents can transition them to interchangeable restraint systems that work with strollers as well. They can also move older children into front-facing car seats.
Eventually, children graduate from special restraints to booster seats. Booster seats help ensure that the seat belts installed in the vehicle work properly if a crash occurs. Many grade-school children resent the idea that they need to ride in a booster seat. How long do parents have to keep their children in booster seats?
Every child develops differently
Most children can safely stop using booster seats before they start attending middle school. Typically, children between the ages of eight and 12 may be able to transition out of booster seats. However, age is less important than the size of the child. Seat belts usually are not safe and effective for people who weigh less than 80 pounds. Sometimes, waiting until a child reaches 100 pounds is safer.
They also need to be tall enough for the belt to safely fall at an appropriate position on their body. Until a child is at least 4’9″ or 57″ tall, they probably need to use a booster seat for optimal safety when traveling in a motor vehicle. Even in cases where most of a child’s peers have stopped using booster seats, those with small physiques may still require a booster seat for optimal safety.
Parents who understand the importance of consistently using booster seats for their children may have an easier time consistently pushing back when children fight about the use of booster seats. Even when children are very resistant to the use of booster seats, their safety should come before their short-term happiness.
Taking the right steps to protect minor children should a car crash occur requires an understanding of the ways in which they are vulnerable. Booster seats and other specialized restraints can save children’s lives in the event of a collision.