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 agree younger children should be kept in a safety seat longer than they are but at some point there are serious extremes. i graduated high school was barely 5′ and weigh 90lbs (2002) by 2006 i was 5’2″ AND STILL weighed 92 lbs and that was the weight i stayed at until when I gave birth to my first child. a 5′ 11 year old should not be in a booster just because he only weighs 50-60 lbs. That is insane. Yes I agree we need to keep our kids safe but how about we also set a better example……..adults put on our dad gum seat belt before starting the car….. i see many mother that are absolutely anal about keeping kids in seats but they get down the road before ever getting on their own. Yes kids hear us but they learn the mots by watching what we do.
So from the comments people seen to be having issues with their Graco nautilus seats. I have one, and although i love it now, I’m suspecting I might run into problems a little later on. Can anyone suggest an alternative?
Hi Heather – I would wait and see how it goes. Not every kid has an issue with the crotch strap on the Nautilus. I say cross that bridge if and when you get there. If it does happen then you can evaluate your options. By that point there will probably be new and improved seats on the market. HTH!
I have two boys age 4 and 2 years old.my oldest is so tall he the same height of a 6 year old.but I still have him in a 5 point harness in the greco 4 in one care seat.i love it. It has a metal frame and it go’s from a harness to a booster to a backless booster.with my other son we have the Cisco walmart car seat.he is going to out grow it soon.but I am going to buy the greco 4 in one car seat once he is to big for the walmart Cisco one.the reason why we got that one.was because we where going to fly to Vermont and I did not want them to lose or busted a nicer car seat. He was only 5 mos old then.so I figured for 40 bucks it would be ok. But we ended up not going.so I kept it and will use it until he is to big for it
I am struggling with turning my (almost) 3 year old forward facing in the car….there is no way he is anywhere ready for a booster!
And to make things clear I don’t live in a city like most of you and my daughter is bigger then most 3 and 4 year old stronger faster and smarter then most cause I’m not over protecting and baby my kid like she’s a new born. If it wasn’t for the stupid laws my kid would sit up front with me like I did growing up. Most us CDL drivers pay attention we don’t talk and text on our cell phones. I don’t even own a cell phone because I see it makes ppl stupid and ppl that own cell phones can’t drive period. Too busy checking your Facebook texting and etc. I see you mom’s doing it all the time with your kids in the back then everyone acts like their worried about their kids safety. Get your face out of your phone and watch traffic and you won’t have to worry about a accident smh. Us CDL drivers can’t make any mistakes and guess what I watch traffic and multiple times had to hit the brakes or swerve because some women had her face in her phone and guess what had kids in the car while her face was more worried about her cell phone. Like I said my generation growing up we didn’t need car seats period cause ppl drove their cars and watched traffic. Things didn’t get bad until everyone got their cell phones and laptops playing around while your driving. So all of you that talk that you worry about your children safety next time your on your phone texting talking or in your Facebook checking your status think of this you put your children in danger with your lil cell phone. You want to keep your children safe it’s not car seats it’s your protective driving skills which most ppl don’t possess. If I had it my way my daughter would ride up front and guess what seat belts can kill you a airbag can kill you there’s tons of things that can kill you. If it’s your time your going if you like it or not cause guess what God has a date on all of us when it’s our time to go. If you think a car seat will save your kid in a bad wreck then your just as dumb as the liberals running our government.
Good point. Impaired and distracted driving are two of the main contributors to motor vehicle deaths. The third is being unrestrained. Avoiding crashes and being well protected if you are involved in a crash are both very important. The statistics are well documented and have driven injury prevention programs in both republican and democratic controlled administrations. These are all facts, and not reliant upon God’s intervention. In fact, some middle eastern countries don’t use restraint systems at all because of a belief that the lives of their children are in the hands of God. You could choose to drive there if you don’t appreciate our own country. You might want to compare their motor vehicle fatality rates to ours first.
Smh most ppl today are so stupid. I grew up never riding in a car seat period. Not even from the hospital when I was born most this BS about car seats is for companies to make money off it and trying to tell parents how to raise their kids. It makes me sick that everyone wants to push their way of thinking on everyone else cause everyone thinks they know what’s best. I am a single parent and I know how to raise my kid my way not what society thinks cause look at society today. It’s a big joke where lil boys are acting like lil girls and girls are now starting to act more manly then boys and I wonder why. Maybe it’s because most women are single mothers and raise their kids to be lil sissy’s. Shows America is one big country that turned from rough and tough to a bunch of sissy that wear pink and cry about everything and push their beliefs on others cause you don’t think what they do is fit. No wonder why more kids today are growing up bisexual and act like babies that feel like their owed everything in life for free. Guess I’m bad cause my kid rides 4 wheelers and etc with her dad not even being 2 yet lol. I’m making sure my kid and future kids will not be a bunch of pansy like what ppl are raising today lol. Good luck on babying your kids making them have fears of everything in life cause most you women today are way over protecting smh. What’s next you gonna make your kids wear a helmet when they run lmao cause guess what your kid can fall the wrong way and die just like a grown person can. None of you would survive if everyone had to go back to the old ways cause like I said ppl today think they know what’s best when you don’t!
Hi Shawn, you’re right. Many didn’t survive with the old ways. 40 years ago, over twice as many children died in crashes compared to today. That’s huge when you consider how many more people, cars and miles traveled there are today. Even today, for booster age kids, car crashes remain the top preventable cause of death. More than most other causes combined, including running without a helmet (which doesn’t even show up in CDC cause of death statistics). So, no, you don’t need to put a helmet on your kids when they run, because kids don’t die from that. It’s not a matter of beliefs, it’s a matter of facts. Kids die from car crashes. Is my kid really going to be a sissy or bisexual because they ride in a car seat? Based on statistics, that sure beats being a tough kid who is 6 feet under a tombstone.
Sorry, but that is absolutely not true. Yes, using a car seat when it’s outgrown its dangerous, but there are many carseats that can accommodate kids bigger than 40″/40lbs in a five point harness. If your three year old has outgrown the carseat, get a bigger one with a five point harness. Check out the britax frontier. 40lb is the MINIMUM for being in a booster seat by the law. Not the maximum for harnessing.
I need advice. A number of individuals are helping a single mom with triplets who are now 1 year 3months old. The mom does not have a vehicle and various individuals help drive her and the babies to doctor appointments, church, etc. The babies need to transition from the infant carriers to full sized car seats. No one knows how to ensure the car seats are properly ancored with any number of vehicles involved, depending on who is available to transport them all. Any ideas?
Get her a car!
Canadian law states 40 inches or 40 lbs. Believe it or not, a 5 point car seat can be dangerous for a child in excess of 40/40. Just because people think a 3 year old shouldn’t be in a booster, doesn’t mean they should be kept in something that, if a collision happens, could crush their chest cavity because they were too big, but a bunch of people judged the parent into keeping them in a car seat they no longer fit in.
My daughter just turned 6 and she is 47″ tall and weighs 45 lbs. We just upgraded her car seat to the Britax Pinnacle 90 and it is a fantastic seat that she won’t outgrow for a few more years. She never complains about being strapped in because she doesn’t know any better. And I feel better knowing that she is safe in there. I seriously think the Britax Pinnacle 90 is the best car seat to have. We also had a Graco Nautilus for her for a while in my car but like others the crotch straps were an issue and the top slots.
@Joey, they do make combination seats with harnesses that have taller harness slots. The Graco Nautilus has top slots of 18.5″ and the Britax Frontier 90 has top slots of 20.5″. Even the very tallest torsoed kids can make it to ages 4 or 5 in the Frontier before outgrowing the harness in height.
I wish I could still put my older 3 in car seats with 3 point harnesses. All of my kids except the baby are at 98% for weight and height, and as a result all outgrew their 5 point harness seats as early as just before their 3rd birthday. It drives me crazy that we can have all these great car seats for small people, but once they get tall, that’s it. Kids that weigh more than 40lbs can often still fit in those seats as long as they are shorter but boy they get tall, and no matter how much they weigh it’s the end of the car seat and the start of the booster. I wish they made safety seats with 5 point harnesses for taller kids.
I also have a three year old that is very very tall, we use a cheaper HBB in my husbands truck but my three year old says her “legs are sleeping” when she uses it because her legs are so long it hits her mid to lower mid thigh. I will be throwing it out and getting another britax, our main vehicle has the frontier 85 that can be 5 point or belt positioning and it has a nice long base so her legs don’t go to sleep. She has never been on the height scale for percentage, she is sooo tall and 39 pounds. We have used both the belt positioning and mostly the 5point bc she doesn’t complain or care!
@ KJ – you should call Graco and complain. This is a common complaint regarding the Nautilus. See if they can offer you a longer crotch strap. Regarding using the lower anchors connectors in booster mode – check the instruction manual for guidance. In the section of the manual where it discusses converting the seat to booster mode it should state whether or not you can latch the seat in in booster mode or not. Some manufacturers allow this and others do not. If not, the seatbelt will restrain both the child and the seat underneath them in a crash. HTH!
Oh! and without using the lower latches and having the shoulder belt across her body… what is there to secure the car seat?
Our daughter is 4 years old, 43lbs and 43 inches tall. We have the Graco Nautilus with 5-point harness up to 65 lbs. The problem is the crotch strap. It is so uncomfortable for her and frankly I feel concerned about how that constant pressure will affect her as an adult. So we have been trying out the high back booster mode. I would rather have her in the harnesses. But is there a way to deal with the too short crotch strap?
It’s really sad how some of the parents commentimg care more about what their child wants rather than what is safe for their child. I would rather my child be irritated at me while riding in the car and safe, than content and dead (if we get in a wreck!) My gosh people, grow up and be a parent, quit trying to be your kids best friend and putting them in danger! You WILL feel like crap if you wreck and your child dies because YOU did not practice proper carseat safety!
Know better, do better.
I have absolutely no problem with lower weight minimums than 40 lbs. on booster seats- as long as they are accompanied by a reasonable age minimum. My eldest daughter was not reliably over 40 lbs. until she was almost 7. She was very safe in a booster at age 5 1/2 and over 35 lbs, though, when she first began booster training.
I would like to see 5 year age minimums on boosters with a 30 lb. minimum (yes, 5.)
K2berman, have you looked into a different seat? their are many combination seats that have taller heights and weight limits then convertible seats. The longest lasting one is the Britax Frontier 90, it can keep a child harnessed until they are 58 inches tall or 90 pounds. Many 7 years old are still able to fit harnessed. And even if the Britax Frontier is out of your budget their are also other cheaper options to keep taller and heavier 3 year old’s in a harness. Please do some research and if you have questions you can ask the Car-seat.org message boards or Facebook group.
My son is 3 years and 3months. He outgrew the 5 pt harness car seat for the tallest kid (even with the extra straps we got from the company) and was unsafe for him. His head was above the top of the chair and he was increasingly uncomfortable. He is 43 inches with a long back and 43lbs. I went to the experts and they said to move to a booster seat. They have three check points for a reason. age, height or weight. It’s not only age.
While I feel your pain (my son is three months shy of three, 42″, 41# with a 17.5″ seated torso length), there are seats that will keep your son harnessed. I’m not an expert, but can recommend the Evenflo sure ride or britax frontier 90. Both will still fit your son for years to come…and the sure ride is about $100. Probably last for three years or so, at the cost of a dime a day. Isn’t he worth that?
Hope it helped! Us mamas of gorilla sized children hours stick together. 😉
The chance of a child being killed because his car seat is not the latest and greatest is statistically insignificant. This is a great way to increase car seat sales. Discouraging people from buying a used car seat because it’s “expired” is a ruse.
Find something else to worry about people. According to the CDC statistics http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/leadcaus10_us.html less than one child per day (age 0-4) is killed in a motor vehicle accident in the US. That’s with over 8 billion miles being driven per day in The US. Maybe you should put lightening rods on your kids when they play outside.
Hi Joe, you are right. Even in a narrow age range of 1-4 years old, that’s 343 children killed per year for 2010, less than one per day. Technically, it’s more than one per day if you do the math for “<1" years and "1-4" years old (419 combined in 2010), and also more than one per day if you use the average per year for the last decade. Granted, motor vehicle traffic related deaths are still the second highest preventable cause of unintentional injury related death, behind only drowning, and the 5th highest of all causes of death in that age range for the most recent year of data in 2010. I couldn't even find atmospheric electrical discharges on the list. Using your own logic, that is hard to believe when you consider how many billions of hours kids spend outside. It's also far more deaths than the flu. Or poisoning. Or falls. Or most other causes of worry.
For an even narrower range of 3-4 year-olds that are the focus of this article, it's a mere 159 deaths in 2010. Less than 1 child every other day. Thanks to safer cars, carseats, proper use and education, fatalities are down 40% from 266 deaths just 10 years earlier. Based on your comments, 159 kids is even less of a thing to worry about, unless it's your child, or the child of a friend or relative, of course. But that 159 total deaths still rates above every other unintentional injury related cause of death and 2nd highest of ALL causes of death for this age range in 2010, behind only "Malignant Neoplasms".
So, there you have it. I did find something else to worry about. The one, single cause that kills more children of this age group than car crashes. Cancer. The difference is that we can easily prevent many deaths to children from motor vehicle crashes. The vaccination to prevent childhood cancer and the medication to cure it both still elude us. One reasonably effective vaccination to help prevent motor vehicle crash related deaths is well studied and documented: correct installation and use of an appropriate child safety seat. And fortunately, it's a lot less expensive and easier to do than put up a lightning rod.
my daughter has had the same carseat since birth. She is the size of most 3 yr olds and is only 21 months. They make carseats that are meant for children from 6- 100 lbs and I believe the height on it goes up to 4’9… .
Hi cnlong, there are indeed some products that claim to be “All-in-one” carseats that will be the only carseat you will ever need. Many such products don’t live up to their claims and fall short in one mode or another. One that we like that is on our recommended seats list is the Evenflo Symphony. Amazon sells them for under $150, which isn’t bad considering how long it can be used. http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Symphony-Car-Seat-Beauford/dp/B006PB2BK0 .
I appreciate the sentiments in this post but I have worked in childcare for many years and now have two toddlers of my own. I have yet to find any children under 12 who will sit up during an entire road trip and not be reaching over for different things. Even most adults do that. I think there are some things we have to let go and realize we cannot protect against every scenario. We need to be safe but reasonable. I think too many people are becoming obsessive over this and other safety topics and it’s causing mass hysteria and money loss for consumers who blow it on every gadget possible to give them a false sense of 100% security.
Hi Ashlee, thank you for commenting! You are exactly right. You can’t protect against every scenario as a parent; you tend to pay more attention to the most dangerous risks. According to the Centers for Disease Control WISQARS cause of death database, motor vehicle crashes account for more fatalities to booster-age children 3 to 8 years than any other preventable injury cause. In fact, with the exception of the #2 cause of death, drowning, crashes account for more deaths to children than almost every other unintentional injury cause combined! That’s why we think it is very reasonable to point out the guidelines for safest practice for carseats and boosters. Please keep in mind that these aren’t guidelines we’ve created. They are established by pediatricians through the American Academy of Pediatrics and by university and government researchers who look at real world statistics and crash testing scenarios to help determine the most important ways to reduce major risks to children.
You are also right about kids and adults not sitting up during an entire trip. There’s not much you can do about that, and yes the risks are greater whenever any passenger is momentarily out of position. The issue with young kids is that unless an adult is constantly checking them, they’ll simply put an uncomfortable shoulder belt behind their arm or back, or otherwise circumvent the seatbelt’s protection, and then be unsafe for the entire trip, every trip. These are the same preschoolers who you wouldn’t allow to cross the street by themselves, or play with knives, or be unsupervised around household chemicals. Until they are old enough and large enough and know how to keep themselves safe and remember to actually do it, a 5-point harness is going to keep them safer from the #1 threat to their life!
And it’s really not an issue of money loss at all. With a few exceptions, the vast majority of convertible carseats will fit most kids in the 5-point harness until they are 4 years and 40 pounds. This is the type of seat parents are using already, so there’s no need to buy a new one in most cases! Just continue to use the same one (if it fits) until the child is big enough and mature enough to use a booster.
@CPSDarren the new seat I just bought recently is an Eddie Bauer not sure what model off with out getting the book out. The one he is currently using that has the strap that is almost to short is a safety first air protect.