Safety on the road is a very serious issue which must be considered by everyone. In terms of children safety, some extra care is needed to be taken since children cannot protect themselves on their own. Mainly, while driving in a car, the seat belts are something which is a necessity and must be used in the right way to ensure safety in case of accidents.
However, due to the small body size of children, the alignment of the seat belt of the back seat isn’t properly set. As a solution for the same, car booster seats have been introduced that help in fixing the height of the child so that the seat belt can be placed and tied in a safe and a comfortable position. Many kinds of booster seats are available which can be chosen.
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What is a Booster Seat?
A booster seat is typically like a simple car seat which is made for small children that are used to improve the positioning of the shoulder belt on the back seat. Children’s height is shorter and as a result, the seat belt isn’t properly placed both in the terms of safety as well as comfortability. Booster seats have been designed in such a way as to solve these problems and yet feel comfortable.
Booster seats come in three different types that are: high-back booster seats, backless booster seats, and the removable back seats. The high back booster seats are used in the case if the car’s backseat doesn’t provide a good headrest for the child. If the headrest is fine, then the backless seats work fine. Headrests are usually adjustable and cushioning is energy absorbing for maximum protection.
Top five reasons why you must buy a Booster Seat
Besides road safety, it is also important to keep your child in a comfortable position when seating them in the back seat of your car. For a small child, it gets usually uncomfortable and may cause physical problems if the seat belt is forced upon them to fit. Therefore, you need to make sure that your child is safe during an accident and also without one too.
So, here are the top five reasons why you need to buy a booster seat at the earliest.
- Normal car seats are unsuitable: The normal car seats in a car that have been designed for adults doesn’t fit a child comfortably. In the case of a crash, a seat belt on a child sitting on the normal seat could cause more injury to the child rather than preventing it. So, this calls for the booster seat that becomes very important in such cases.
- Prevention from a car crash: God forbid that your car ever runs into a crash situation, but nothing is certain. If in case, your car gets crashed, then a child seated on a booster seat and belted properly is more likely to be prevented from injuries. As per the latest survey, use of booster seats for children reduced children injuries by 45% in case of a car crash.
- Proper Positioning of the lap belt: The lap belt, when placed on the child by seating them on a simple car seat, it tends to submarine and hold them back too tightly from the folded body area. However, when using a booster seat, the lap belt stays in a position where it is supposed to stay and prevents any dislocation of it cause discomfort to the child.
- Prevents slouching: When a child is seated on a simple car seat and belted, due to improper height, they tend to slouch on the seat which is very bad for their posture and the back. They might begin to experience serious back pains and neck pains due to slouching. Such situations are greatly prevented when a booster seat is used.
- Shoulder belt positioning: Shoulder belts tend to run up into the neck area when a child is seated on the simple car back seat with a shoulder belt. This can cause the kids a major discomfort and lead to injuries even in the case of a minor car jerk. A booster seat, however, makes sure that the shoulder belt in placed properly to ensure safety as well as comfort.
Factors to consider before buying a Booster Seat
Before buying a booster seat, you need to check with some basic pointers so that you can land on the perfect kind of booster seat for your child to ensure safety in all ways.
So, here are the important factors to be kept in mind in order to buy a booster seat for your child.
- Type of booster seat: The first concern while buying a booster seat would be the type of booster seat. There are backless seats and high back booster seats. Many prefer the high back ones because they contain a guide to fit the shoulder belts. Backless booster seats, however, are cheaper and can be considered according to the height of the child.
- Fitting is important: The correct fit is all the key to the perfect kind of booster seat. Before buying the booster seat for your child, it is recommended that you test it first by placing your child into it and look for yourself if it fits in the right way and also that your child is comfortable. It shouldn’t be too tight or too lose, but just perfect.
- Consider the switch once again: Before you go on to buy a booster seat, you need to check in once again with your decision. Is your child really ready to switch from a restraint seat to a booster seat? You must clearly check with the fact that your child has reached the maximum weight limit and then only consider purchasing the booster seat.
- The lap belt should go below armrests: If your booster seat contains the armrests, then the lap belt positioning must be made well below the armrests. If the lap belt is above the armrests, it is clearly in the wrong position and is liable to cause un-comfort or botheration to the child. Make sure your booster seat offers this thing.
- Take care of the budget: You will also need to take care of how much you are spending on the booster chair. As it may be confused, you might think that a costlier seat will offer more protection than a cheaper one. However, this may not always be the case. Look for the other factors and then spend wisely on whichever seat you choose to purchase.
Top 4 Booster Seat Reviews of 2019
1. Graco Highback TurboBooster Car Seat, Mosaic
This is a high back car booster seat by Graco which is one of the top-rated by leading consumer magazines and has been given the coveted ‘Best Bet Booster’ designation by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The key features of this booster chair are mentioned as follows.
- This seat features a multi-layer head rest that will help keep your child comfortable.
- It also comes with a full coverage back support (in highback mode), for comfort and support as your child grows.
- It comes with the EPS i.e. the energy absorbing foam for effective impact energy management.
- It features the fully-adjustable headrest that keeps your growing child secure.
- It also has the open-loop belt guides that help you correctly position your vehicle’s seatbelt.
- The seat is padded and comes with the height-adjustable armrests and hideaway cup holders that keep kids smiling.
- It also comes with the Convertible Convenience
- It is easy to convert from high back mode to backless mode.
- It also features the highback TurboBooster that has a fully adjustable headrest, which helps keep your growing child secure on all of your journeys together.
- It has been designed to accommodate children from 30 – 100 lbs. and from 38 – 57 inches tall.
- It requires that the children of 4 feet 9 inches tall or under should ride in a belt-positioning booster seat.
- It also has a Child Self-Buckle.
- It comes with the open-loops belt guides that are helpful in easily positioning your vehicle’s seatbelt, which makes it easier for your child to self-buckle.
- It comes with all the Kid-Approved Features.
- It also has the wide and padded armrests are extra-comfy for your child as he/she grows and the integrated cup holders and storage (for small games and toys) are added features bigger kids really appreciate.
2. Graco Affix Backless Youth Booster Car Seat with Latch System, Pierce
It is a backless booster seat by Graco that has been designed to help keep kids from 40 Pounds to 100 Pounds, from 40 to 57 inches tall and from four to 10 years old safe while riding in a vehicle. The key features of this booster seat are mentioned as follows.
- It has been engineered and crash tested to meet or exceed the US standard FMVSS 213.
- It comes with an integrated cup holder that keeps your child’s drink or snacks at hand.
- It also features the hideaway storage compartment to store your child’s favorite things.
- It comes with the removable and machine-washable soft goods that are easy to clean.
- This backless Booster Car Seat helps to safely transport your “big kid” from 40 to 100 pounds and from 40 to 57 inches tall.
- It comes with a one-hand front adjust booster seat with Latch System that secures booster to vehicle seat.
- It features the secure connection that keeps big kid booster seat properly in place.
- It also has the front adjustment that allows you to quickly and easily tighten the booster to the vehicle seats.
- This seat meets and exceeds all applicable US safety standards and with a Latch System has been side impact tested.
- The overall dimensions of this booster seat are 17.4″ W x 7.17″ D x 16.5″ H.
- The total weight of this booster seat is 6.5 pounds.
3. Graco Affix Youth Booster Seat with Latch System, Atomic
It is a car booster seat by Graco which keeps your ‘big kid’ riding in high back booster seat mode from 30 – 100 pounds and from 38 – 57 inches tall. It also converts to the backless mode for children 40 – 100 pounds and from 40 – 57 inches tall. The key features of this booster seat are mentioned as follows.
- It has been designed with the style and comfort features that kids love.
- It easily converts to backless booster for years of use.
- It features the EPS i.e. the energy absorbing foam for effective impact energy management.
- It comes with a fully-adjustable headrest that keeps your growing child secure.
- It also comes with the open-loop belt guides help you correctly position your vehicle’s seatbelt.
- It also features an integrated cup holder and the hide-away storage compartment that keeps your child’s drinks and favorite things within arm’s reach.
4. Graco Atlas 65 2-in-1 Harness Booster Car Seat, Glacier
This is a harness booster car seat by Graco which has gone the extra mile to keep your child safe and you feeling secure. The key features of this booster seat are mentioned as follows.
- It has been Side Impact Tested.
- It has been engineered and rigorously crashes tested to meet or exceed the US standard FMVSS 213.
- It features the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) – peak crash force approximately 2X Car Seat Standard.
- It features the EPS i.e. the energy absorbing foam for effective impact energy management.
- It also features the steel-reinforced frames that provide strength and durability for years of smart utility.
- It comes with 10-positions adjustable headrest that easily adapts seat for your growing child.
- It also comes with the dual cup holders that help keep your child’s drink close.
In terms of road safety, none of the important measures for the protection must be neglected. Especially, when it comes to child safety, the booster seat proves to be a great alternative to protect the children in case of a car crash. Choose one wisely for your kid today!
