Best Booster Car Seat for Kids: Products, Reviews and Buyer’s Guide

Every parent wants their child to be safe, so children will benefit the most from a car booster seat. It keeps them anchored to the spot, protects them in an impact, and most of all helps to absorb the force of the impact on their bodies. Try, though, and think a little wider when it comes to the benefits: you the parent, will benefit, knowing that your loved one is as safe as can be. This gives you peace of mind and relieves any anxiety you may have about taking a car journey with a child in the back. The other drivers on the road will also benefit, especially as it could avoid a terrible situation where they could suffer extreme guilt if there is an impact and something was to happen to your child.

Latch, or Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, to give it its full name, is a system of fixed anchor points added to all cars since 2013 to fix car seats into place. They look like metal slots, poking up from the seat cushion near to where the seat belt anchors are and are designed to make the process of installing the seat easier and safer. It is worth noting that you can still tether a car booster seat without a LATCH system using a standard seat belt, and both are safe methods of securing the seat; however, you must choose one or the other, because by mixing the two you jeopardize the integrity of the seat installation and risking possible injury to the child.

More than 2,600 children under the age of 13 are involved in car crashes daily, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration believes that almost 59 percent of all car booster seats are installed incorrectly. On the flip side, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention state that a properly fitted booster seat can reduce the risk of serious child injury by 45 percent.

You should make sure that:

• The seat is the correct size and shape for your rear seat.
• It should fit snugly and not slide around.
• Get your child to sit in the seat while you trail the lap part of the seat belt through the first hook, making sure that the belt rests on the child’s torso and not their stomach.
• Then clip the seat belt in place, threading it through the second hook.
• Make sure the diagonal part of the belt is across their shoulder and not resting on the child’s neck.  
• Also, make sure the waist part of the belt should be snug but not tight. If the chair doesn’t move, then you are safe to start your journey.

Alternatively, if you take your car to any police station or the local fire department, they will check to see if the seat is fitted correctly for you. That way, you have the peace of mind to know that you have acted accordingly within the law.

There are merits with both designs, and they do save lives, but what are the pros and cons?

• Can I use a car booster seat in the front passenger seat?

• You can use the booster in the front passenger seat, but it is safer to use it in the rear of the vehicle. The front is most likely to absorb the greatest impact so that the airbags may cause further damage to your child. In the back of the car, they are less likely to come to harm and less likely to feel the full force of the impact.

• Are there any height restrictions for these booster car seats?

• There aren’t height restrictions on the backless booster seats, but there are on the high-backed variety. Most manufacturers state that the minimum height should be 40 inches, with a maximum weight of 100 – 110 lbs.

• Will a high-backed booster seat fit every make and model of car?

• High-backed booster seats are designed to be as universal as possible, but because they are the high-backed variety, you should check that the headrests in your vehicle don’t prohibit the correct fitting of the seat. Often, the height of the booster will be too tall for the rear seat and not fit snugly, causing it to move around during travel. You can check with your manufacturer to see if this is the case, or failing that, take the car to the store and ask if you can test the seat for size before you buy.