Or alternately titled:
In Which She Answers All Your Burning Questions
About the NEW Car Seat Safety Standards
Okay, so there actually aren’t any new car seat safety standards, but I thought there were. That was one of many interesting facts I learned last week when I spoke with Sarah Tilton, a Child Passenger Safety Advocate, and Kristen Penk, a Test Engineer for Britax. (And as you probably know already, I’m giving away a Britax Parkway SGL on All Things Chic, and it ends tomorrow, so if you haven’t entered, go! now! We’ll be here when you get back.)
I’d been hearing a lot about extending the height and weight requirements on booster seats and also the length of time children should be rear-facing in their convertible car seats so when I had the opportunity to interview a child passenger safety advocate, I jumped at the chance. I figured if I had questions about the recommendations, then you probably do too.
The first thing I learned is that the safety recommendations that come from the government are the very minimum requirements and not necessarily best practice. According to the ladies I spoke with, the current laws are not stringent enough. They also haven’t changed in six years, while research on car seat safety has certainly come a long way since then.
In addition, car safety standards vary from state to state. So you may live in a state where children are only required to be in a booster until they are six, but if you are traveling through a state where the requirement is eight, you need to comply to that state’s laws. Obviously that can get confusing.
Ideally, parents should not simply adhere to the minimum requirements by law, but instead they should take their child’s individual situation into account, along with the research and information we have at our disposal, and make the safest choice they can possibly make when it comes to car safety. As tempting as it is to transition them as soon as they meet the bare minimum, you may be putting your child’s safety at risk.
So let’s get to some basic questions. I’ll break it down by age and stage.
Infant Car Seats
We didn’t talk a lot about this stage, but I did ask about the proper position of the handle. Basically, it comes down to what the manufacturer’s instructions say. In the Chaperone, the only infant car seat Britax makes, the handle must be locked into one of three positions:
Again, that is ONLY for the Britax Chaperone. For any other car seat, you must refer to your instruction manual.
How long should a child be rear facing?
This always was the million dollar question. Back in the stone ages when I was raising babies, we were supposed to leave them rear facing until they were a year old, and we thought that was torture. Now the recommendation is to keep them rear facing until they reach the maximum capacity of the seat. So again, you must refer to your owner’s manual for specifics.
What does “maximum capacity” mean?
This is actually a VERY important question when it comes to many of the issues surrounding car seat safety and when to transition from any one stage to the next.
Basically, a child reaches maximum capacity when he or she outgrows the height OR weight requirements set by the manufacturer. HOWEVER. There are some variables, like how the child is positioned in the seat.
For example, a child with very long legs might be too uncomfortable to ride rear facing after a certain point.
When is a child ready to transition from a car seat to a booster seat?
Again, the stock answer is whenever he or she meets the maximum height OR weight requirements set by the manufacturer.
But again, there are other factors to consider. The height and weight is just a guide.
A child who has more height in his torso, for instance, may outgrow the height of the seat before his actual body height meets the maximum recommended height of the seat. Or if he is particularly stout and doesn’t fit in between the arm rests, then it’s time to move up as well.
It is ALWAYS safest to leave the child in the harnessed seat as long as he fits comfortably and meets the the height or weight requirement.
Again, government safety standards are not always best practice.
Not surprisingly, Britax holds their car seats to a higher standard than the government requires. For instance, the government allows boosters with a minimum weight requirement of 30 pounds, but Britax sets their minimum at 40 pounds and makes 5-point car seats to accomodate children up to 70 and 85 pounds because it’s best to leave a child in a 5-point harness as long as possible.
Of course, given those standards, my 11-year old son could still fit into a 5-point harness. You can imagine what a popular parent I would be if I required him to sit in a 5-point harness.
Fortunately there are other variables to consider when deciding to move a child from a 5-point harness to a belt-positioning booster seat.
One factor to consider is the temperament of the child. If the child is high energy or isn’t compliant about sitting properly, it’s best to leave him in the harness because the 5-point harness actually restrains the child, while a belt-positioning booster only positions him. So if he doesn’t sit properly in the booster, it is not safe. I thought this was a good point, and one I had not thought of before.
Britax actually makes two booster seat options — the Frontier 85 and the Parkway SGL.
The Parkway is strictly a belt positioning booster seat that accommodates children from 40 to 120 pounds. This is the one we have. You can read my full review here.
The Frontier 85 has a 5-point harness and also transitions to a belt-positioning booster. This is a great option for a child who is big for his age and not mature enough to sit properly at all times in a belt-positioning booster but is outgrowing his convertible car seat. Or perhaps a younger sibling needs the convertible seat but he isn’t ready for a belt-positioning booster. The Frontier 85 offers the best of both worlds.
The minimum weight requirement for the Frontier 85 is 25 pounds with the harness and 40 for the booster.
Proper Positioning is Key
According to the experts I spoke with, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death of children ages 3 to 14. Unfortunately, and I know I’m guilty of this, parents tend to see car seats as less of a priority as the kids get older. There is always the prevailing mantra that we survived just fine. But every year children die unnecessarily because of negligent car seat safety practices. It just doesn’t pay to be cavalier about car seat safety.
It’s not good enough to be in an appropriate seat; they must be positioned properly at all times to get the maximum safety benefits.
The reason Britax products cost more than many of their competitors is because they have extra safety features like the Click & Save, the Quick Adjust Head Restraint, and the Secure Guard, which helps position the lap belt. (See their website for more details.) Features do carry a price tag, but considering the fact that there’s an 80% misuse rate when it comes to car seats, these features are well worth considering when you make your next car seat purchase.
When are children ready to sit in a car without a booster?
There is actually a 5-step test to determine when a child is ready to ride without a booster. It varies from car to car, so there is no hard and fast age or height/weight requirement. A child meet all five requirements simultaneously:
- The child can sit comfortably with his back completely against the seat back.
- His knees bend at the front of the seat.
- His feet rest flat on the floor.
- The lap belt fits low across his hips.
- The shoulder belt comes across the mid-point of his chest.
If a child is not positioned properly in the seat belt, damage to internal organs can occur, so it’s really not worth the risk to move out of the booster seat too soon (or to move him into a booster seat too soon.)
I hope this was helpful and that I answered all of your burning questions. I know I’ve been guilty of putting convenience over safety at times through the years, and researching this post was a wakeup call for me.
I’m actually debating purchasing another Parkway SGL for my 8-year-old, who has been sitting in just the base of a booster for a while now. And I need to do the 5-point check with my son.
Will this information change the way your children ride in your cars? I’d love to know.
Lots of great info in this post! It is always so confusing. Thanks for helping clear things up!
This is great info! I have a question that wasn’t addressed though, and it could be a really dumb question, but no matter. When using a booster seat, do you all pull the seat belt out all the way into the locked position, or do you just buckle them in as normal. I have a different friends with a million opinions AND some cars don’t have the locking mechanism. I can’t really find a definitive answer online. Anyone want to throw out their opinions? Thanks!
Bobbi Lynn, I emailed your question to Britax, and this was Sarah Tilton’s reply:
“The purpose of the booster is simply to provide proper positioning of the vehicle seat belt on the child’s hips/upper thigh and across the center of the chest and collar bone area – the strongest parts of the body. The intent is that at this the point the child is seated just like us as adults – we have free range of movement. In the event of a crash an Emergency Locking Retractor of a seat belt system will lock and hold the occupant in place.
Many caregivers want to pre-crash lock the seat belt system as you described by pulling it all the way and then letting it retract in locking in position because their child is maybe a wiggle worm (can’t sit still) or frequently sleeps in the car and may tip over in a booster sleep. This is a common lack of understanding the difference in how a harnessed child restraint restrains a child vs. how a booster seat positions a child so that the seat belt restrains a child.
Caregivers should refer to both the booster seat user guide and vehicle manual to see if this is acceptable use of the seat belt system with a booster seat.”
Hope that helps!
If we went by weight alone, my 23 pound 3 year old would still be in an infant seat. LOL. Can you imagine? Seriously though, she is so small (height and weight) that I am afraid that she might ride to the prom in a booster.
Very confusing subject … because the actual science and data can be quite contradictory.
These guys have been writing about the subject for years. All of the links at the bottom are worth reading.
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/05/we-are-not-the-only-ones-who-think-child-car-seats-dont-work-well/
Interesting….
The booster seat laws changed for Texas in 2009.
Once a child reaches eight (8) years old, they are not legally required to be in a child safety seat system.
•If the child is younger than eight years old, BUT they are already 4’9” tall, they are not legally required to be in a child safety seat system.
•If a child is eight years old or older, and not yet 4’9” tall, they are not legally required to be in a child safety seat system.
And I wish I could say I had that from memory but I actually copied it from TXDPS website. My oldest was OK and ended up not having to be in a booster, he was past the age and weight/height requiremnt. My youngest still has a few more years to go. And thank you for the information, I found it very helpful.
Thanks, yeah, it does vary from state to state. I try to err on the safer side, but it is hard when you have kids that are small for their ages.
Thanks for this info! As a NONNY, I like to keep up with the correct way to do things!!!
I’m sure your children appreciate that!
Thanks for this very important info. I have a 7 year old who is 58 inches tall and weighs 85 pounds. She no longer sits in a booster seat because she out grew it. I just had my second child 3 weeks ago. The thing that bothers me the most is that my 7 year old is now asking to sit in the front seat because when I go to pick her up from school, other parents are allowing to their 7 and 8 year olds to sit in the front seat! She didn’t understand why they get to sit in the front seat and she doesn’t! I had to have a talk with her about child safety in a car, and apparently I need to have a talk with some of the other parents at her school about child safety in a car as well!
Thank you! I appreciate your help!
My son is 5’2″ and 91 pounds. I’m doubtful he would pass the 5 point test. No seriously. But he has his driver’s permit. Oh the irony.
LOL, I know. My son doesn’t quite pass but I’m not going to force the issue with him. I do demand that he sits properly, though.
Interesting stuff. According to those requirements, I think there are some moms who would need to be in a safety seat!! I’m like you — I have an 11 year old who is around 70 lbs. No way would I make her sit in a booster seat.
Yeah, the expert I spoke with said that she actually doesn’t fit correctly in all cars! LOL.
My 2 year old is 27 pounds and can stay rear facing until 35 pounds. I have a feeling it’s going to be a while before she’s 35 pounds but we haven’t decided how much longer we are going to keep her rear facing. I know it’s safest but it’s getting more and more difficult to get her in and out of the car.
Thanks for getting this info out there! I don’t know anyone else with a baby over one still rear facing.
Thanks for sharing all your research! My almost 4 year old has been in the Britax Marathon forever. Some of her peers are already in tiny little half booster seats. Let me say-that FREAKS me out! My little Miss will be in her 5 point harness in the middle of the back seat for as long as possible! Just when I was starting to wonder if I was too uptight on the issue, here you come with timely insight. Thanks again!
Yeah, I waffle on that. I do think we take things a bit too far these days with parenting and safety concerns. And yet, the statistics about deaths in car crashes is sobering. I would never want to have to wonder “what if…”
I’m a CPST as well and want to say “Thanks Jo-Lynne!” for getting information from a child seat safety tech and sharing it with your readers. There is only one point I’d like to address.
Long legs do not mean you need to switch your child from rear-facing to forward facing. They are not at risk for broken legs or anything like that. Children are very flexible and will easily find a position their legs are comfortable in. There are often times, children’s legs are more uncomfortable forward-facing because they’ll fall asleep from dangling unsupported.
Thanks again for putting (accurate) car seat safety out there!!
Interesting. Thank you!
Great post! I just started using the Frontier 85 for my 3 yo son in my husband’s car. I actually like it better than the Recaro signo I’ve been using in my car for the past two years. It fits him well, fits in our Jeep well, and I like that it has a 5-point harness.
When he was still in an infant seat I had it inspected by a local safety expert to make sure I installed it properly. He suggested leaving him rear-facing as long as possible, even if his legs were bunched up. His explanation for that was it is easier to treat and heal from a broken leg than a neck or spinal cord injury if the seat was in an accident. Rear facing provides better neck support. Just thought I’d share that!
Thanks, Diane, that’s great info. Makes sense.
Moms have been posting links about the AAP’s new rear-facing guidelines all week…and I have to admit sheepishly that I sort of want to just put my head in the sand. I obviously want my baby to be as safe as possible, but it really is torture to have the baby rear-facing. My babies were both so much happier when we switched them around at age one.
Our 4.5-year-old is probably about 33 pounds (?) and we recently switched her to a Sunshine Kids booster.