​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Printable Version

A booster seat lifts your child up so that the seat belt fits across the strongest bones and away from the soft belly. Without a booster seat, an adult seat belt rides too high on a child's belly and neck. This can cause serious injuries to a child in a crash. A child is 3 times more likely to be hurt in a crash when using an adult seat belt alone than when buckled in a booster seat. To use a booster seat, your child must weigh at least 18 kg (40 pounds) and be able to sit correctly.

Who should be in a booster seat?

 

• When your child outgrows their forward-facing car seat with a harness by height or weight, they should move into a booster seat.
• Your child must weigh at least 18 kg (40 pounds) to use a booster seat.
• Your child must be able to sit straight and tall for the whole ride without moving around or unbuckling.
• Use a booster seat until your child is at least 145 cm (4 feet 9 inches) tall and fits the seat belt correctly.
• A child is safest in a booster seat until they reach the maximum height or weight limit of the booster seat. Find these limits on the booster seat's stickers or in the instruction manual.

How to use your child’s booster seat

 

See the printable Booster seat: How to keep your child safe in the car for information about how to use your child’s booster seat.

• Always read your vehicle manual and follow the instructions for your seat.
• Place the booster seat in the back seat of the vehicle.
• Make sure your child has support behind the head to the tops of the ears. If the vehicle does not have head support to the tops of your child’s ears, use a high-back booster seat.
• Tuck the lap belt and the shoulder belt under the arm rests for most booster seats.
• Make sure the shoulder belt crosses the chest and stays between your child’s neck and shoulder. If the shoulder belt does not rest between your child’s neck and shoulder, use a booster seat that has a shoulder belt guide.
• The lap belt should fit low and snug across your child’s hips.
• An adult should check every time a child buckles their own booster seat.
• Make sure your booster seat is safe to use.

Is your child ready to stop using a booster seat?

 

Until your child can meet these 5 steps, keep using a booster seat on every ride:

1. Is your child at least 145 cm (4 feet 9 inches) tall?
2. When your child is sitting all the way back, do their knees bend comfortably over the edge of the seat?
3. Does the lap belt stay low across the hips?
4. Does the shoulder belt cross the chest and stay between the neck and shoulder?
5. Can your child sit like this for the whole trip without slouching?

If you answered “Yes” to all 5 of these questions, your child may be ready for a seat belt alone. Learn more about using a seat belt alone for your child.