Well a lot of people may not be aware of booster seats. When one hears about it, the one thing that comes to mind is maybe a rocket ship on the way to the moon. Nope, you can't find booster seats in there. It is not what astronauts sit in while on their way to space. Actually, it's is more down to Earth as you might otherwise think. A booster seat can be found (or added) into your family car and it can actually save your child's life in case of an automobile accident.



Booster seats are a specialized kind of seat for children and designed to protect them from injury in a car accident. As you well know, car seats are designed with adults in mind. The safety seatbelts are in the same way designed only for adults to use. Using the seatbelts on kids can sometimes even prove more than a hindrance rather than an effective safety device. That is where booster seats come into play.

It is said that most car accident casualties are results of improper seatbelt use. Injuries occur when people inside neglect to put on the seatbelt properly. But how do you put a seatbelt on kids when they are designed for adults? That alone already makes it improper.

Booster seats can solve this problem by letting the kids sit inside the car in the proper sitting position. The proper sitting position for children is for children to be able to sit up with their backs straight against the vehicle seat's back cushion and with their knees bent over the vehicle's seat edge without slouching. If they're still not able to achieve that, they need a booster seat. Children 12 and under should sit in booster seats because they are not yet big enough for the adult seats.

Booster seats for kids are needed because most 40 pound kids are still not yet big enough to fit the adult lap and shoulder safety belts of the vehicle. Booster seats help protect the child's upper body with either the shoulder belt or with the shield. The booster seat raises the child so that he or she can fit with either the vehicle's lap or shoulder belt. Booster seats are comfortable for children because it allows for their legs to bend normally. Booster seats can also reduce slouching, which is a cause of poor lap belt fit.

There are several kinds of booster seats. There are belt-positioning boosters, which are booster seats without shields. This booster seat should only be used with the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt. Some of these booster seats have a high back to give head support taller children.

There are also booster seats with removable shields for children weighing below 40 pounds. The removable shields are there as an added protection for small children. Once the child reaches over 40 pounds, the harness is removed and used like a belt-positioning booster.

There are also high-backed booster seats for large children who reach a weight of 40 pounds before they reach the age of 3. They may not be mature enough to stay properly seated in a belt-positioning booster so they m ay still this kind of booster seat that has its own clip or strap to hold the vehicle's shoulder belt in place.