Car Seats and Booster Seats Save Lives
The trauma team members at University Hospital know that properly installed car seats and booster seats help prevent serious injuries in kids. When children move to a booster seat or seat belt before they are ready, the restraint may not fit properly, putting them at a greater risk of injury in a crash.
Properly used car seats and boosters keep thousands of children out of our Level I pediatric trauma center every year. Those kids never see the Surgical Trauma Intensive Care Unit (STICU), and they don’t require any rehabilitation after an injury. That’s why we believe so strongly in car seats and support those who use them with education and advice.
Car Seat Installation
University Health is the leader of Safe Kids San Antonio, a coalition of organizations dedicated to keeping your kids safe. Through the coalition, we host car seat checkups and offer free installation education throughout the community.
To schedule an appointment to have your car seat checked, please call 210-358-4295 for our next available appointment.
Plus check out Safe Kids’ Ultimate Car Seat Guide online.
Choose the Right Car Seat
Car seats and booster seats are designed for specific stages of a child’s development. Follow these tips and guidelines so you can be sure your child meets the age and height requirements for each new stage.
Car Seat Safety
Children aged 2 and younger should sit in rear-facing car seats. This provides the best brain and spinal cord protection.
Typically, your child will be ready to sit in a forward-facing car seat at age 2. They should remain in a car seat with a five-point harness until they reach 65 pounds.
More Car Seat Guidelines
- Don’t install rear-facing car seats in front of an airbag.
- Your child is not ready to ride forward-facing just because they outgrow the infant carrier. You should purchase another rear-facing seat that will allow you to keep your child rear-facing until they reach 40 or 50 lbs. For the best protection, keep your child rear-facing until around the age of 2.
- All seats should be installed in the back seat of your vehicle. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats, they should be buckled into forward-facing car seats with a five-point harness until at least age 5.
- Tether forward-facing seats according to your vehicle manual’s guidelines for your child’s weight after you tighten and lock the seat belt.
- Conduct the inch test and pinch test to make sure your car seat is installed correctly.
- A five-point harness car seat provides more protection than a booster seat or seat belt for a small child. Replace your car seat if your child outgrows the weight or height limits. You may need to purchase a forward-facing seat with higher weight limits before your child can be safely moved out of a five-point harness and into a booster seat.
Booster Seat Tips
After your child turns 5 and reaches any one of these milestones, they are ready to move into a booster seat:
- Your child exceeds the car seat’s height or weight limits
- Your child’s shoulders are above the car seat’s top harness slots
- Tops of your child’s ears are above the top of the car seat
Booster Seat Guidelines
- Check the location of the lap and shoulder belts with your child buckled in the seat.
- A booster seat must always be used with a lap and shoulder belt. Using a booster seat with only a lap belt can seriously injure or kill a child.
- Don’t allow children to tuck the shoulder belt under their arm or place it behind their backs. In a crash, a significant amount of force would be placed on the child's abdomen and could result in serious injury or death.
How Long Should My Kid Be in a Booster?
Check your child’s growth periodically. Generally, kids should use a booster until they’re about 57 inches tall and weigh between 80-100 pounds.
Keep using the booster seat with the vehicle’s lap and shoulder safety belts until your child passes the safety belt fit test.
High-Back Booster Seat
A high-back booster should be used for smaller children, especially if you do not have the head protection offered by a headrest.
No-Back Booster Seat
A no-back booster can be used when the vehicle’s shoulder belt crosses the chest correctly. This is a good option for older children who still need the protection of a booster.
Seatbelt Safety Tips
Children are not ready to graduate out of a booster seat into the adult lap and shoulder belt until they pass the safety belt fit test.
Safety Belt Fit Test
- Your child’s knees bend at the edge of the seat when his or her back and bottom are against the vehicle seat back
- Vehicle lap belt fits across the upper thighs, not the stomach
- Shoulder belt fits across the shoulder and chest, not the neck
Children may be between 8-12 years old before adult seat belts fit properly. Also, a child can be ready to use a seat belt by itself in one vehicle but not another. Conduct the safety belt fit test in all vehicles your child rides in.
Teach children the importance of buckling up in every vehicle, every time. Set a good example by wearing your seat belt. When adults wear seat belts, kids do, too!
Children should not be allowed to place the shoulder belt under their arm or behind their backs, as this could result in serious injury, even death, in the event of a crash. If your child is not able to keep the shoulder belt in the proper place, they should be moved back into a booster seat. This will provide the best protection.
When It’s Time to Move to the Front Seat
Children should ride in the back seat until the age of 13. Children that ride in the front seat before 13 years of age could be injured, or even killed, in a crash due to the airbag deployment. Children under 13 are often so short that the airbags deploy at the neck or eye-level, rather than at the chest. This results in injury rather than crash protection.