1 Answer

The answer depends on your child's size and age, the kind of vehicle you drive, and the law in your state. (To learn what the laws are where you live, mouse over your state on this map provided by Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.)

Laws aside, kids aren't ready to make the switch from a booster seat to seat belts until they're at least 4 feet 9 inches tall and can pass the five-step test below — typically between ages 8 and 10.

Why the wait? Because a booster seat protects a child better than seat belts alone, and, in the event of a collision, an ill-fitting adult seat belt can actually cause injury instead of preventing it. If the lap belt rests on your child's tummy (which it's likely to do without a booster), for instance, he could suffer stomach, liver, or spleen damage. And if the shoulder belt rests against his neck rather than his chest, he may try to move it under his arm (where it could crack his ribs and damage internal organs) or behind his back (where it offers no protection at all against head, neck, or spinal injuries).

To judge whether your child is ready to ride with a seat belt alone, test the fit of your vehicle's belts from time to time. Buckle your child into the back seat without a booster seat, and consider the following:

• Does he sit all the way back against the car's seat?
• Do his knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat?
• Does the lap belt naturally rest below his belly, touching the top of his thighs?
• Is the shoulder belt centered across his shoulder and chest?
• Can he stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answer no to any of these questions, your child still needs to use a booster seat (some are designed for kids weighing up to 100 pounds). Of course, your "big kid" may protest that boosters are for babies, so offer extra encouragement to help him feel better about keeping his booster seat a little longer. If his old booster seat has seen better days, for instance, go shopping together and let him choose a replacement with super-plush padding or a cool-looking cover. Whatever you do, though, make it clear that while certain things are negotiable during car rides (such as which music to listen to and whether the windows are rolled up or down), safety is not.

When your child is ready to move to a seat belt alone, don't buy a belt-positioning device to make the seat belt more comfortable for him; these add-ons actually make seat belts less effective. If he needs something to make the seat belt snug or to keep the shoulder strap off his neck, he should still be in a booster seat.

http://www.babycenter.com/404_when-can-my-child-switch-from-a-booster-seat-to-seat-belts-a_71328.bc