Is your child ready to use a booster seat? Reading this may help you to decide.īooster seat modes are available on different types of seats.Ĭombination: Combination car seats are also called child/booster seats or stage 2/3 seats.

Who MAY use a booster seat? Provincial rules and individual seat requirements vary, but generally anyone who is 40 lbs (18 kg) or more, and/or over four years of age, may use a booster seat.Īlmost all kids in almost all seats can safely ride forward facing with a 5-point harness until at least age 5, and we strongly recommend children remain harnessed until at least age 5-6. Children who are not yet old enough, heavy enough, or mature enough to safely use a booster seat must continue to use a higher capacity 5-point harness forward facing. Who MUST ride in a booster seat? Children who are too small to safely fit the adult seat belt, but have outgrown a 5-point harness must use a booster seat. Height is most important for proper fit of the adult seat belt and kids may start to fit the adult seat belt around 4’9″ (145 cm). Some children are ready at age 5, many at age 6, and most at age 7. Some require higher weight, height, or age minimums than others to begin use.

If your child has outgrown their 5-point harness by standing height, torso height, or weight, but is not heavy enough or mature enough for a booster, look for a taller, higher-weight harnessed seat.īare minimums to move into a booster seat or move out of a booster seat depend on the province, in addition to how the seat is labeled.

Children this size need a booster seat because they are still too small to safely fit the adult seat belt.Ĭars, car seats, and booster seats are designed to best protect passengers in the most common and most frequently fatal types of crashes: frontal or front offset (front corner) crashes.īest practice is to keep a child in a booster seat until they are tall enough to safely ride in just the adult seat belt, and to not move a child into a booster seat until they are old enough, heavy enough, and mature enough to safely use a booster seat instead of a 5-point harness. Why do children ride in booster seats? For children who are old enough, heavy enough, and mature enough to no longer need a 5-point harness, the booster seat positions the adult seat belt on the strong parts of the body. Boosters may also referred to as Stage 3. What is a booster seat? Child passengers ride facing the front of the vehicle in a belt-positioning booster seat together with a lap/shoulder seat belt.

Booster seat