Is a 3-year-old safe in a booster seat?
It’s still happening all across America. Parents are graduating preschool-age children into booster seats too quickly. The problem is, it’s not a “graduation”. It’s a demotion in safety. And it’s putting young children at risk for serious and possibly fatal injuries in a crash.
Here are the main reasons why 3-year-olds (and even many 4-year-olds) have no business riding in a booster seat in the car:
- 3-year-olds (and young kids, in general) lack the maturity to stay properly seated for every ride in a booster seat
- Even though some older booster seat models are rated down to 30 lbs., children under 40 lbs. are best protected in a seat with a 5-pt harness. Most booster seats on the market today have a 40 lb. weight minimum.
- Some booster seats do not position the seatbelt optimally on the body of an average 3-or-4-year-old which could lead to internal injuries in a crash
- Many boosters seats have a seating depth (front-to-back) that is too deep for the shorter legs of a younger child. If the child has to slouch or scoot forward to bend his/her knees over the edge of the booster, that will promote poor seatbelt fit which increases injury risk.
- Having a 3-year-old in a booster is illegal in some states (like New York), although there may be exemptions
Think of it this way – when your child rides in a carseat with a 5-point harness, the responsibility for the child’s safety rests on you, the parent or caregiver, to make sure that the child is safe in the vehicle. It’s the parent/caregiver’s responsibility to make sure the seat is installed tightly and the harness straps are snug around the child. The child is responsible for nothing. God forbid, in case of a crash, the child should be in the proper position to allow the carseat to do its job.
Now, once your child transitions to a belt-positioning booster seat using the vehicle seatbelt – that responsibility for the child’s safety switches to the child. The booster seat can’t do its job if, at the moment of impact, the child has leaned over to pick up something off of the floor of the car. Or leaned over to mess with their little brother or sister. Or fallen asleep out of position. Or put the shoulder belt under their arm, etc, etc. Booster seats are for children who are mature enough to sit still and stay in the proper position. And they have to be able to stay in that proper position for the entire ride. Awake or asleep.
Definitely NOT Ready for a Booster Seat!
I know there are some 3-year-olds who can do that but the vast majority cannot. 3-year-olds (and many 4-year-olds) are just too wiggly! Most are not ready yet for the extra freedom that a booster provides. Usually, by kindergarten age, most kids are ready to start “booster training”. But if your kid is still a wiggle worm with no impulse control – then you should continue to use a seat with a 5-point harness. Just make sure it’s a seat that your kid still fits in.
There are still a few forward-facing carseats with a 5-pt harness that have low top harness slots and a 40 lbs. weight limit on the harness (e.g., Scenera Next, Evenflo Tribute, Evenflo Chase). Those seats will be outgrown much more quickly by weight or by height.
However, there are many more seats on the market today with a 5-point harness rated up to 50 or 65 pounds that also have tall top harness slots to keep those preschool-age kids safely in a 5-pt harness for a few more years. And many of them can also be used in booster mode (without the harness) once the harness is outgrown. We call those “Combination Seats” (pictured below) because they combine a forward-facing 5-point harness seat with a booster seat.
If your child is taller and/or heavier than average, or if you’re just looking for the longest-lasting seats with a 5-point harness, we have a list of the Best Car Seats for Extended Harnessing.
For more information on appropriate seats for preschoolers, please see our list of 2022 Recommended Combination Seats.
I think a lot of this is insane. Yes I like the height and weight minimum of boosters being 30-40 lbs. however my daughter passed the height requirement before she turned 4 but she is now only a month from being 7 and is only 41 lbs!!! My son who is now 4.5 weighed 40 lbs by age 3(and no he is not fat- dr even said he is in excellent shape. He is built like my family who are all very muscular men and my son bike w me while I runs and that little monster does P90x and insanity with me- not to the same level I do but he still does it!) sorry but I am not making my daughter stay in a car seat when she is 6 because she weighs 39 lbs and has been 38-39 lbs since she was 5 yet allow her younger brother to sit in a booster because he was 40 lbs by age 3. I didn’t weigh more than 50 lbs growing up until I was in my teens and by the time I was 15 I finally weighed 90lbs- I ran all the time and had long lean muscles I didn’t weigh more than 102 until age 22 when I got pregnant. So in my opinion some of these rules are a bit excessive.
Hi Anne, and thank you for your comments! As with many safety guidelines that pertain to carseats, there are often exceptions. The guidelines are made for typical kids, both in terms of size and behavior. Obviously, you could have a child who is almost 4 years old, weighs well above 30 pounds and happens to be mature enough to remain seated properly, and big enough to fit properly in a booster. Or perhaps a much older child who is not quite 40 pounds, the same may apply. In these cases, the child would definitely be safe, if correctly using a model that has an age and weight minimum rating that allows its use. How much safer the child would be in a 5-point harness is still subject to ongoing studies. As for not using a booster at all, the difference for an adult is that they are mature and smart enough not to put the shoulder belt behind their arm or back if it is uncomfortable because it doesn’t fit correctly. This is one reason a large child may get significant safety benefits from a booster that would not apply as much to a tiny adult.
Great post! I have a 4 year old who is in the 85th percentile and her grandparents were ready to switch to a booster in their car when she turned 4 and outgrew their Graco! I insisted on buying it for them and when I showed up with a Diono R100 they thought I was crazy and said “that’s not a booster” and I simply said… I know! I will keep my daughter in the 5 point harness until she outgrows it and then still use the Diono as a booster until she outgrows that. We also plan to extended rear face our next child, as we were not aware of the safety issue when our daughter was young.
Any suggestions for good seats? I would like my son to be in 5 pt as long as possible and I do not think he will be ready for a high back boaster for a LONG time maturity wise. My son is about 3 1/2 weighs 35 lbs and is 43 inches tall. He is very long in the torso and doesn’t have a lot of room let on the straps although his seat says it will go to 45 inches. We got a new seat that is a 5 pt then can be used as a high back boaster after they outgrow the 5pt part. It said 57 inch height read the manuel and the 5 pt only goes to 43 inches so we r still using his old one.
Hi Lindsey, the Britax Frontier and Pinnacle 90 models have the highest top harness height limits, making them likely to last the longest of any combination seat in harness mode. Even so, many other combination booster models will allow most kids to remain in the harness until at least 6 years old. May I ask what model you recently purchased?
You are referring strictly to belt positioning boosters, correct ? My 44 lb3 year old went up to Britax frontier 85 when she outgrew her Marathon. This was after having her rear facing til she was 34 lbs and almost two.
Hi Kimberly, yes it is perfectly fine to use a combination booster model, like the Frontier 85, once the child is finished rear-facing. (In the case of the Frontier, they must be above 2 years old and 25 pounds). You would use it in 5-point harness mode until the child is ready to use it in booster mode. The AAP guidelines indicate that the harness mode would be used as long as possible, but children who are above 4 years and 40 pounds and ready to be seated in a booster could certainly use the booster mode safely, especially if the carseat or vehicle have a low weight limit restriction for the top tether in harness mode.
They have to stay in the correct position awake or asleep? No matter the age of the child (or adult for that matter), they can’t control how they are positioned in their car seat when they’re sleeping…they aren’t conscious.
Hi Heather, If a child falls asleep and is out-of-position, such that the shoulder belt would not provide any upper body restraint, then that is a very unsafe situation. Using a 5-point harness system is one possible option if this happens frequently.
My almost 4 yr old is the size of most 6 yr olds I know (46lbs and 44 in). He is still in the 5pt harness, his current seat goes up to 50lbs and 50 inches with the harness. I’m not sure if I will put him in a high back booster, or get him a new seat with a higher harness limit when he outgrows this one. Right now he is no where near mature enough to be in the booster, he falls asleep in the car quite frequently and when we used a friends booster once on vacation, he wouldn’t stop messing with the seat belt. I get pressure from a few family and friends to put him in a booster because he is so big. I also have been told by a few that are old school that I should turn my 13 month old forward facing since he is one now, despite the fact that he is only 18lbs. I just say thanks for the advice and ignore them. I intend for them both to max out the limits on the seat before I make any changes!
My oldest rear faced until 5yr 7mon old, right after she started kindergarten. She was harnessed until this past Oct and she will be 8 in four weeks. Her younger brother rear faced until 4.5 and the harnessed until 6.5 when we for him his booster about 2wks ago, and still not certain he won’t go back harnessed if I have my way, which I do with car seats. Now my newly four year old is still rear facing as is my 18mon old obviously.
Rear faced until nearly 6 years old? HA! Well, you sure protected her head even though her legs are now permanently distorted.
My oldest was big for her size at age 3.
I use the Diono Radian R120 http://us.diono.com/convertible-to-booster/radianr120
It is a 5 point harness from 20 to 80 lbs. Once my oldest reaches 80 lbs, I will use it as a high-backed booster for up to 120 lbs.
Why don’t you put everyone in a high-back booster under 120 lbs. So f***ing idiotic!
I still don’t weigh 120 lbs so I guess I should still be in a booster seat :/.
My oldest is a huge kid and was harnessed until almost 7 in a diono radian rxt! Safety first!
Thomas Creed- my dd is very big for her size too. The size of some 6 year olds. She is in a Britax Frontier 90. She will stay harnessed until 90lbs. She’s 50 now so she’s got a lot of time to stay harnessed. They are pricey but worth every penny.
I was under the impression that you go by height and weight. Most kids will outgrow seats by height before weight. You stated your child will be harnessed until 90lbs but that sounds like a really long time to be harnessed. I could be wrong but at a certain point, harnessed doesn’t necessarily mean safer than a booster seat if the child is able to sit correctly. My DD is just about 60lbs and 8 years old and in a high back booster seat now.
Oooops, I mean she’s in a low back booster now because she can sit correctly. She was in a high back booster until a few months ago.
I think it all depends on the child mature level the height and weight of the child. I put my oldest into a booster when she was 4 she is tall for her age so I made sure the booster fit her well she knew that the belt needs to stay in place and she is not not wiggle around. I got the first years high back booster I felt it was the safest the back does not come off or lean forward like the graco ones when you adjust the height the whole back moves up. I think its the best one out their. with my youngest I had to a few times put my daughter in a booster when three but she knew she had to sit still and not take her arms out. I took her completely out of her 5 point harness three months before she turned 5. She is my tiny child. I also bought her the same car seat as my oldest and they fir in them great.And do a great job sitting in them I tried the backless booster with my oldest she hated it and she was not sitting in it correctly when she would fall asleep. Which happens alot because we take car trips alot.
For those with kids over 47″ tall, consider the Radian. My oldest is 51″ tall and is a trunk height kind of kid (longer torso, shorter legs) and he is 56-57 lbs. The Radian still 5pt harnesses him with plenty of strap to spare. We have about 3-4 inches to go. It also has strap pads to go by the neck and shoulders. The side impact guard rises up to the top of the seat. The manual clearly says that children may use the top most slot with the slot below the shoulders. You do not booster until the ears are level with the top of the booster.
Forget keeping just preschool kids in boosters. The first time my 8yo was in a booster (for vacation after flying overnight) he fell asleep and was literally slumped in half, doubled over. The seatbelt does not hold kids in position.
In his car seat, a radian RXT by diono rated for 5pt harness 20-80 lbs and 40-57″, he not only is kept in position he has a head rest due to the wings. He never falls asleep, but did that morning. He’s a very well behaved 8yo but even so booster seating wasn’t as comfortable for him. Even though our belts position well, they do not allow the kids to just relax in a booster safely, like they can in the harness safely.
Our boys are 6&8, over 50lbs, an range from 48″-51″ tall. Both boys are taller in trunk height. The Radian RXT has been wonderful.
My very wiggly 6 year old is still in a 5pt harness and she will be there until there aren’t any other options. We’ve spent LOTS on carseats through her years, but its so worth it. This past summer, right around her birthday, we were debating wether to start booster training – that same week we nearly had a fatal accident. Nope, she’ll be in a 5 pt until she doesn’t fit.
I have 2 boys who are both smaller than average. My 11 year old is still using a booster. Not sure what I will do when he goes to middle school next year, but right now he weighs somewhere between 50 and 55 pounds. My 6 year old might be approaching 40 soaking wet and fully clothed and is still in a 5 point harness car seat. People ask me why and I simply say it is what’s safe. Neither one complains of it. My 11 year old will if driving with someone else get his booster out of my van and take it with him.
http://kdmf.blogspot.com/?m=1
Search kyle david miller on youtube. You will never again put your child in a car seat that isn’t the right one. 🙁
My four year old daughter is now wearing size seven clothes, weighs 55 pounds, and is 47 inches tall. She is nearly the same size as her nine-year old sister. She is in a high-back booster, after growing out of several different five-point harness seats (which dug into her and hurt her on the largest settings, even the ones with a higher weight limit). I do not think she is unsafe in her high-back booster. I think the size and maturity level of the child, not just the age, needs to be taken into consideration. Not all three, four, or five year olds are the same size. I lived in one place where there was a restriction that all children 12 and under needed to use a car seat. There was one twelve year old we knew who was six feet tall! Putting him in a child car seat would be vastly unsafe, because his head would have been touching the roof!
@Katie – we feel your pain. Sometimes friends and relatives are the worst offenders and it’s really tough because we’re emotionally connected to those kids. Sometimes all you can do is pray.
@Thomas Creed – How much does she weigh and how tall is she? Is she currently in a highback booster or a backless booster? If she can sit still and not mess with the seatbelt *and* if the booster is positioning the seatbelt properly (shoulder belt centered over her collar bone; lap belt low – touching the top of her thighs, away from the abdominal area) then it might not be so terrible. A larger harnessed seat would be ideal but I won’t make any recommendations until I know her height and weight and what seat she is riding in currently.
As mom to a 3 year old who was rearfacing for far longer than any of her daycare and playgroup peers, it is refreshing that all of those kids are at least still harnessed. Most of the 4 year old kids at daycare are still harnessed too – they start going on field trips at 4 and the center’s rule is that a child must have a car seat. On those mornings there’s a sea of Nautiluses (in harness mode) with only one or two HBBs in the car seat holding area.
Unfortunately among relatives and friends with slightly older children (4-6 years old) their kids all went into boosters between 3-4 years old – and generally backless boosters at that. It’s frightening, since we obviously care about those kids and want them to be as safe as possible, but they already think we’re freaks for rear facing as long as we did (which is not that long – we had to turn the 3 year old at 2.5 because she outgrew by height).
My 3 year old is the size of a 5-6 year old no longer fit in car seat. she surpasses both the Hight and Weight recommended on the car seat I have for her now what do you suggest for my situation?
I have had her in a booster now for 4 months, and she does very well keeping herself upright unless she falls asleep witch is rarely. Also when I last used the carseat she complained of the straps hurting her and being too tight at their max.
I had the same problem with my now six year old. He has been at or above the 90% since birth. He outgrew his bucket seat by height at four months. I was so pissed. Now I have him in a britax frontier harness to booster seat. He still fits in harness mode but I do believe he is getting close to max on it. When it comes time for me to car seat shop I always go to the nhtsa’s ease of use ratings because they list all car seats with height and weight limits in one place so I can find the ones with the highest limits and from there pick the best choice for my family. http://www.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa_eou/info.jsp?type=all
I would have bought a new combination carseat when she outgrew the old one instead of getting a booster seat.
I just posted something very similar to this! I’m having the same problems with my daughter who just turned 4. She’s a bigger girl. She’s so uncomfortable in a car seat. I feel horrible. I also want her safe! It’s tough.
@Julie – we hear ya! Evenflo, Dorel & Britax are now all on board with the 40 lbs weight minimums on their boosters. We just need to work on Graco!
Sigh. When are the people in the marketing departments going to get the message and start labeling all boosters to start at 40? Very few people take me seriously when I tell them that ‘Just because the label on the product says you can use them at 3 and 30lbs, doesn’t make it ok’ (Must be my purple shirt, everyone knows that everyone who works at my store doesn’t know anything, right? :p)
I wish Walmart would quit carrying the Cosco high back combination seat. I see it as a big problem. People have bucket seats for their infants and when they outgrow those they get the $39 Cosco seat at Walmart and they outgrow it by height and weight by age 3 so they either take the harness out and booster in that seat or stick the kid in a cheap booster seat. And parents I know reason that they wouldn’t make carseats that outgrown so quickly if it wasn’t okay to put the kids in booster seats.
I regularly take one of my 5 years old son’s friends home from school for an afternoon play date. She is tiny in both size & weight. I still have my 5 year old in a five point harness (It’s a Britax Frontier 85 combination seat) and the first time I strapped her in my spare one (we have two cars with seats in each) she told me she doesn’t use a “baby seat” anymore, she has a ‘Big Girl” seat ie a booster I told her that Safety comes first and that these seats are not baby seats but the type of seat you have to wear when driving a Racing car. She now thinks this is very cool. It’s amazing how many Pre-Kindergarten kids I see being placed in booster seats rather than a harness type. I have just purchased a Britax Frontier 90 with the cool new locking mechanism for my almost 3 year old as she has now outgrown the Britax Marathon in height. It’s great! I will keep both of my children in a 5 point harness until they no longer fit. I wish I could say something to this childs mother but how do you do that without coming off as an interfering busy body
maybe the little girl will tell her mom that she wants the racing car seat! or maybe the next time the mom can walk with you to buckle her up, some parents will be so appreciative of any advice that saves childrens lives.