A Parent’s Checklist Before Transitioning to a Seat Belt-Only Ride

Several American children are being transitioned to seat belt-only travel way too early, leading to a growing concern that their safety is being compromised.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that kids use booster seats until they outgrow the safe height of 4 feet 9 inches and that happens when they are around 8 to 12 years old. With State Laws getting more stringent over time and requiring children to stay in the safer booster seats for as long as possible, making the move to seat belt-only travel should be attempted after careful consideration.

Parents, here’s your checklist to help with transitioning your child to seat belt-only travel.

A Parent’s Guide To Booster Seat Graduation (6-Step Checklist)

To know when to move out of a booster, here are the checkpoints you need to tick off. If you answer “yes” to all the questions you can move your child to a seat-belt only experience. If not, explain to junior to wait another year!

Is your child 4 feet and 9 inches tall?

Most States require that your child is 4 feet and 9 inches tall to quit the booster. Stand your kid up against the wall and mark off their height. Measure with a tape. Do they exceed the recommended 4 feet and 9 inches?

Is the child’s back flat against the vehicle’s backrest?

Seat your child in a car seat, preferably the one they regularly travel by, and take a close look. Is their behind flush with the edge between the backrest and the seat, or do they appear to be slouching?

If your child looks something like this, it’s not the right time to transition to a seat belt-only way of traveling.

Do their knees bend at the seat edge?

Your child’s knees should comfortably clear the edge of the car seat. If your kid is slouching forward in an attempt to allow their knees to clear the edge, then the lap seat belt will ride up to their belly putting their internal organs at risk.

This position is unsafe and uncomfortable for the child. Wait until the child grows taller to remove the booster seat.

Is the shoulder belt positioned between the shoulder and the neck?

Put the shoulder belt on for your child. Is the shoulder belt digging into the neck or throat? Shoulder belts that are too close to the neck could injure a child’s neck or throat during an accident. It’s also very uncomfortable and kids may put it behind them for comfort, which is highly dangerous. If the belt sits off the shoulder, it may slip off during accidents.

The shoulder belt is digging into the child’s neck which can be very annoying, not to say dangerous.

Is the lap belt across the thighs?

The correct position of the lap belt is across the top of the thighs. If the lap belt is across the soft tummy it may end up damaging vital internal organs. It’s safer for the lap belt to lie against the stronger hip bones than against the abdomen.

The correct way to wear a lap seat belt. It should lay across the upper thighs.

Is your child comfortable in a car seat?

If your child is slouching forward or trying really hard to get comfortable the whole duration of the trip, maybe seat belt-only is not such a great idea. Are they pushing the seat belt at the back because it’s digging into them? Fidgeting kids are better off in a booster!

Wrapping Up

Transitioning to seat belt-only could be potentially risky if you answer “no” to any of the questions above. Better to keep the young gun in the booster until you can check off this list with a “yes” to all the questions.