When To Switch Your Child to a Booster Seat

Moving your child from a standard car seat to a booster seat can feel like an exciting next step. But it’s a change parents and caregivers often make too soon.

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“It can be hard not to graduate your child out of their car seat,” says pediatrician W. Kyle Mudd, DO. “But the best advice is to stay in their current car seat for as long as possible.”

So, how do you know when to switch to a booster seat? It comes down to more than age.

Car seat vs. booster seat

A forward-facing car seat and a booster seat protect your child in different ways.

Car seats use a five-point harness — securing your child like a little race car driver at their shoulders, hips and between their legs. In the event of an accident, these restraints help spread crash forces across their body.

Booster seats don’t have harnesses. Instead, they use your vehicle’s standard seat belt. But booster seats raise your child up a few inches to ensure that the safety belt sits correctly across their chest and lap. Without a booster, seat belts can hit the wrong places on a child’s body — like across their neck or belly.

There are two main kinds of boosters:

High-back booster seats provide head and neck support. They may be a better choice if your car doesn’t have headrests. They can also offer more side-impact protection.
Backless booster seats are smaller and more portable. They can work well if your vehicle has proper head support and your child can sit correctly for the entire ride.

Booster seat recommendations and guidelines

When deciding when to switch to a booster seat, focus more on your child’s size than their age.

“As your child grows, you may be tempted to move to a booster or nothing at all,” Dr. Mudd acknowledges. “But that’s often not the safest route.”

Before making the switch, check your specific car seat’s limits, and plan to keep your child in that seat until they reach the max size. Some forward-facing car seats allow children to remain harnessed until they reach 65 pounds or more, depending on the manufacturer.

“Many kids can — and should — stay in a harnessed car seat longer than most parents expect,” he emphasizes.

That timing may look different from what’s required by law. That’s OK.

Car seat safety laws vary by state. They often specify a minimum age, height or weight for moving to a booster seat or ditching the booster altogether.

But those recommendations may not necessarily reflect what’s safest for your kid.

Instead of thinking of those laws as a directive of when you should move your child to a booster seat, think of them as a bare minimum requirement before you even consider a move.

Questions to ask to see if your child is ready for a car booster seat

Is your child really ready for a booster?

Even when your child meets the legal requirements to move out of their car seat, booster readiness isn’t just a matter of size. Behavior matters, too.

“Some kids just aren’t developmentally ready for a booster seat, even if they look physically ready,” Dr. Mudd notes.

Sitting in a booster seat comes with some new freedoms. Kids can unbuckle themselves easily. They can wiggle around more. They can reach the back of your seat and give it a swift kick.

A booster seat requires your child to sit correctly the entire time you’re driving. If they move out of position, the seat belt may not protect them in a crash as well as it should.

A child who’s ready for a booster seat will:

Sit up without slouching (the whole time)
Not lean forward or to the side
Keep the seat belt buckled and properly positioned

“If your child doesn’t sit still in the car, often falls asleep in the car or likes to play ‘escape artist,’ stick with the car seat,” Dr. Mudd advises.

How to use a booster seat properly

Using a booster seat correctly every time can make a big difference in a crash.

Start by placing the booster seat in the back seat. That’s the safest spot for children.

Then, check the seat belt fit:

The lap belt should lie across their upper thighs, not their stomach.
The shoulder belt should cross the middle of their chest, not their neck or face.

If the seat belt doesn’t fit quite right or your child can’t stay in position, don’t rush the transition. It’s safer to go back to a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness.

Use the booster seat for as long as your child needs. Most kids aren’t ready to ditch the booster until they’re about 4 feet 9 inches tall. That’s a typical size for a child between 8 and 12 years old.

Even when they move out of the booster, keep them in the back seat. The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that kids shouldn’t ride up front until at least age 13.

It’s a lot to consider, but Dr. Mudd reminds us that this isn’t a milestone to rush.

“You’re more likely to be too soon than too late,” he emphasizes. “The longer they stay protected by car seats and booster seats, the safer they’ll be.”