What are the age and weight requirements for a child to use a booster carseat?

Question

What age or weight does a child have to be to use a booster type carseat with just a regular seat belt? My daughter is 33 months old and weighs between 35-40 pounds, I worry that just a regular seatbelt might not protect her as well as a 5 point harness would? Any input or suggestions?

Answer 1

My daughter is 4 and 35 lbs. She is also 42 inches. Most boosters say 42 inches and 40lbs BUT it isn't safe to put a child under 6 in a booster. They need a harness as long as they can fit in the. My 5pt goes up to 65lbs. It has something to do with their organ placment and the seatbelt can severely injure them if it hits them in the belly.

Answer 2

it depends on the state usually

Answer 3

My daughter is almost 6 and weighs 39 pounds.  The legal requirement for a booster in Canada is 40lbs.  1 pound to go!!  Thank goodness, shes getting too big for the 5 point harness.

Answer 4

My daughter is 133 months old, that's over 11 years.  She is starting the 6th grade and middle school this year.  She is 4'5" tall and only 44# (due to an illness,called turner syndrome, not starvation) she is still in a booster seat.  Check with your locality to confirm the laws!

Answer 5

you have to be 4'8 to be out of a carseat

Answer 6

The laws differ from state to state but you should keep your daughter in a 5 point harness as long as possible.  If she is reaching the weight limit for her seat, a good choice is the Britax Marathon.  It has a high weight limit and will keep her safer than a booster seat.  I think Britax recommends a 5 point harness until at least age 6.

Answer 7

i know the age is 8

Answer 8

you have to be 4'10"

Answer 9

Most everyone I know keeps the kid in the seat untill about 5

Answer 10

that doesnt make any sense. all babies and small children should use carseats and booster seats. so, there are no requirements.

Answer 11

4 years old and 40 lbs.  If they reach one or the other first they can do the boosterseat but only the ones that have a highback to them.

Answer 12

It won't protect her. The booster box says 3 years, 30 lbs, and 37 inches. However, many states say 4 yrs, 40 lbs, and 47 inches. That's the MINIMUM, not what it SHOULD be. Studies have proven boosters to do absolutely nothing in a side impact crash (the most likely kind) and they do nothing in a roll over whatsoever. It's not nearly as safe as a 5 pt harness. I have a Britax Regent seat in my car and it's for my nephew--I don't even have kids and I went out and bought a 300 dollar car seat on my substitute teacher salary (low) because I value car seat safety. Think of it this way: how guilty would you feel if you got into a crash, and heaven forbid, your daughter was severely injured or killed and you knew you could keep her in a 5 pt harness until she was 80 lbs? WAY safer way to go. The Regent is a really bulky seat, the best alternative if you don't want to spend that much and space is an issue, go with the Sunshine Kids Radian 80 seat--it's narrower (you can fit 3 across the back seat of a car). You want a seat with a high weight limit and that has a steel frame, not just plastic. The Graco Nautilus is plastic, as are all of the other brands of seats with high weight limits. Britax and Fisher Price make seats that go to 65 lbs in a 5 pt harness and have the same steel frame inside of them. You don't want a plastic frame--you want a plastic coated steel frame. Car seats with plastic frames have been proven to disintegrate upon impact at speeds as low as 27-30 mph (car seats are crash tested at 25 mph--that's the industry standard). Britax and Sunshine Kids test theirs at 40-45 mph as the minimum. I'll pay for safety any day!

Answer 13

I think it is prety much standard, they have to be 40 lbs to move to a high back booster, there is also a height to move them to a booster cause some kids are tall and very thin., I think it is 39 inches.  I had to move my son a few pound earlier because I couldn't get the 5 point harness done up acrooss his chest anymore.  He is thin but very stalky, broad in the chest.  Then the booster till they are either, 8 80 lbs or 4' 9".  You should be able to go down to your local health unit and they can provide the info.  I know here the heathunit and fire station do checks to make sure the seats are put in properly so they would also know height and weights to move from one to the next.