by ann herren, Aug 27,2018

Don’t get this one wrong– your child’s life may very well depend on it. ‘Big’ kids need booster seats, too.

Did I grab your attention? I hope so. That was my intention.

So, you’re starting a new year and your child is entering 4th or 5th (or maybe even 6th) grade. And you have officially ditched the booster seat- woohoo!  They don’t want it, none of their friends have it, and it’s nice to have your ‘car’ back. Right?

      Lol. I had to add this pic because… 

Not so fast, fancy pants.

Trust me, my daughter has been in a booster for several years, and she is taller than about 50% of her class (which by my unscientific calculations makes her of average height) and not to call anyone out ….but most of her friends ditched their boosters a year or two (or three) ago.

But guess what? They shouldn’t have. It was not until we went sliding in sideways for the just-in-time required back-to-school check-up at Hales (shout out) that we discovered that she sprouted this summer to  57″ (4 ft 9 inches) tall and is now officially tall enough to toss the booster seat (if we want to). 

But we don’t. Not yet. There are good reasons for this, as you can imagine, since staying in booster seats until you can tick all the boxes is the recommendation of every smart person who job it is to know this stuff (such as the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For a powerful message that may make you bawl, watch this video shared by the Eastern Virginia Medical School. 

https://www.facebook.com/EVMSedu/videos/vb.322547340729/10156422915315730/?type=2&theater

As Dr. Blumling, a CPS instructor explains in the video: “An unrestrained child, even at 30 miles an hour, will experience the same force as if they fell out of a third-story window. Children simply do not fit in a vehicle with an adult seat belt until they are at least 4-foot-9.”

Holy sh*t. I only needed to read “fall out of third story window” to become light-headed. 

What is the danger to kids?

For kids who ‘graduate’ to seat belts too soon, there is a danger of life-threatening internal injuries.  First, know this– injuries sustained from car accidents are the #1 killer of kids in the United States for kids age 5-19 years, according to the Center for Disease Control. 

‘Injuries sustained’ come from both parts of the seat belt, the shoulder strap not being firmly resting on their shoulder (too close or on the neck) and the seat strap being on their bellies and not resting on their hips/lap, as it should. In fact, even if your child is 57″ tall, they may still not be big enough. Here are the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics: 

An adult seat belt fits correctly when:

• The shoulder belt lies across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not the neck or throat.
• The lap belt is low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly.
• Your child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her knees bent over the edge of the seat without slouching and can comfortably stay in this position throughout the trip. ( the CDC includes that their feet should be able to rest flatly on the floor.)

And, one more thing- they say never use those gadgets that can ‘adjust’ the shoulder strap to make it fit better for your kids.

All that said, there was always that first time a kid would get in my car and remark about how my daughter was ‘still’ in her booster seat. She learned quickly to explain that it was safer and those were our rules. And it was no big thing, I don’t remember a single child ever remarking more than once, or teasing her about it. But just in case they did, I told her to respond that it was her crazy mamma that made the rules and she had no choice. 

Which pretty much explains most of her life thus far. Poor little nugget.