Tampa, Florida - Choosing the right booster seat for your child can be challenging. In steps the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. It ranks car booster seats.
While a record number are top rated, this year more than half are average. The list is not evaluated on car crashes, but on how well the seat belt fits using the booster seat.
Alison Clinton is shopping at Target in St. Petersburg's Gateway Mall for new booster seats for her 6 and 8-year-old sons... despite her oldest son's objections.
"This morning he mentioned he didn't want to sit in a booster seat anymore," she says. But Clinton says safety comes first, although the search proves daunting. "There's a lot to consider. Target has this nice chart that tells you the age and the weight and guidelines to go by."
Safety advocates recommend children between the ages of 4 and 8, -- standing less than 4'9" and weighing less than 100 pounds -- use a booster seat.
Despite the recommendations, critics say Florida has one of the weakest child passenger safety laws in the country. Here, a child 4 years old and up can sit in a car without a booster seat, despite weight or height and use a seatbelt just like an adult.
"Children are 45% less likely to be injured in a car accident if they are using a booster seat," says Child Advocate Rebecca Kynes at St. Joseph's Children's Hospital. Kynes says when buying a booster seat, test it first.
"You want to make sure your child is sitting with their back to the back of the seat. It fits them at their hip bone and collar bone. Those are the three strongest points of our body and can handle the impact off a car crash the best," says Kynes. She says the lap belt should not sit in the soft part of the belly. "In a car crash, it could damage those organs in there and cause intestinal breakage and damage to the spinal cord."
And a shoulder belt that sits too high on the neck can do damage too. "It might ride up high on the child and cause seat belt burn and the child might be tempted to put the belt behind their back in the event of a crash. It could be dangerous. The child could be projected out of the car."
Kynes will do a bit more research and turn to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's list of best booster seats for guidance, then give her 8-year-old the news.
Clinton says, "He might have to be in one a bit longer."
List of booster seats rated:
2011 IIHS BOOSTER EVALUATION RESULTS
Best Bets
Britax Frontier 85
Britax Frontier 85 SICT
Britax Parkway SGL (highback mode)
BubbleBum
Chicco KeyFit Strada (highback mode)
Clek Oobr (highback mode)
Cosco Pronto (highback mode)
Cybex Solution X-Fix
Diono/Sunshine Kids Monterey (highback mode)
Eddie Bauer Auto Booster (highback mode)
Evenflo Big Kid Amp
Evenflo Big Kid Sport (backless mode)
Evenflo Maestro
Evenflo Symphony 65 e3
Ferrari Dreamway SP (highback mode)
Graco Argos 70 (highback mode)
Graco TurboBooster - Baldwin (highback mode)
Graco TurboBooster Elite (highback mode)
Harmony Cruz Youth Booster/Harmony Carpooler
Harmony Dreamtime (backless mode)
Harmony Dreamtime (highback mode)
Harmony Olympian/Secure Comfort Deluxe
Harmony Youth Booster Seat
Kids Embrace Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Maxi-Cosi Rodi XR (highback mode)
Recaro ProBOOSTER
Recaro ProSPORT
Recaro Vivo
Safety 1st Boost Air Protect (highback mode)
Safety 1st S1 Rümi Air
The First Years B570 Pathway
Good Bets
Britax Parkway SG (highback mode)
Combi Kobuk Air Thru (backless mode)
Combi Kobuk Air Thru (highback mode)
Evenflo Symphony 65
Maxi-Cosi Rodi (highback mode)
NOT RECOMMENDED
Evenflo Chase
Evenflo Express
Evenflo Generations 65
Evenflo Sightseer
Safety 1st All-in-One
Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite
Note: Forty-one boosters are designated "check fit." They may provide adequate belt fit for some kids in some vehicles.
Go here for full list of model numbers and booster pictures.
Isabel Mascarenas