Parents and children alike look forward to four years and forty pounds when they no longer have to hassle with car seats. Even though experts (including me) recommend not using regular seat belts until about age nine, the overwhelming majority of pre-school and school-age kids ride in restraints designed for adults.
How has this affected children’s safety?
A study of four and five-year-olds, published in the June 2000 issue of Pediatrics, looked at the actual results. The children in the study who wore regular seat belts were 2.4 times more likely to have serious injury or death than those in booster seats.
Children deserve safety designed for them!