Car Seat vs. Booster Seat
Recently, I overheard a conversation which reminded me about the importance of this question of car seat versus a booster seat. As I waited for my daughter during one of her after school activities I heard a group of mothers and fathers discussing the fact that they were switching their children to the booster seats that use the car's seat belt rather than a five point harness. They were discussing that this was a change they needed to make because when they pick their children up from school through the car pool lane, it is too difficult to find a place to park the car, get out and buckle their children into their five point harnessed car seats.
(The car pool lane is utilized by most preschools and schools where we live. Basically, the parents line up in their vehicles, and the children are called up as their parent's vehicle approaches. The child gets in and the parent drives off). They were talking about how much easier it is now that their children can get in and buckle themselves. We had thought the same thing, putting our daughter in one of those boosters, until we learned about the number of children who are either injured or die in crashes because they slipped out of their booster seat/seat belt because, those lap/shoulder belts in the cars (the ones used in conjunction with the booster seats) are made for people with a minimum weight of 80-100lbs. We switched back to a booster seat with a five point harness. We just taught our daughter how to buckle herself into her harness. So we can go through the car pool lane with no issue. It truly is a huge safety issue that parents should be aware of before switching car seats. The following video is just another reminder:
