Booster seats are required by law for children who has a standing height of less than 4’9”(145cm), weigh between 40 to 80 lbs(18kg-36kg),or who are under 8 years of age.

Children less than 40 lbs(18kg) must stay in a car seat.

A booster seat raise your child up so the seat belt is positioned properly over their body, reducing the risk of serious or fatal internal injuries in a crash. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across your child’s chest and shoulder, and the lap belt should rest low across their hips.

Choosing a booster seat

High back booster

This style of booster is necessary when the back of the vehicle seat is low and /or does not have headrests to provide proper head and neck protection for your child.

Backless booster

When you use this style of booster, it is important to ensure the vehicle seat is tall enough and /or has head rests to provide head and neck protection. If the middle of your child’s ears is above the vehicle seast, in a collision they are at risk for head and neck injuries-a high back booster seat should be used instead.

High back and backless booster seats must be used with a lap-shoulder seat belt.

Is your child ready to come out of a booster seat?

Some things to consider when deciding if your child is ready for an adult seat belt:

1.Their standing height should be at least 4’9”(145cm) tall.

2.Your child should be able to sit all the way back against the back of the vehicle seat, with their knees bending comfortable over the edge of the vehicle seat(without slouching)

3.The shoulder belt should lie across the middle of your child’s chest and shoulder(not across their neck or face, or tucked under the arm or behind the back); the lap belt should fit low over the hips(doesn’t ride up over their stomach)

Important points to remember:

Booster seats, like car seats, must be used in your vehicle correctly. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your booster seat and vehicle.

Make sure the seat belt is snug across your child’s chest , shoulder and hips.

Never allow the shoulder belt to be tucked under your child’s arm or behind their back

Using a pillow or cushion to boost a child in a vehicle is dangerous—in a collision, these items will compress, creating slack in the seat belt. The seat belt could then ride up on the child’s abdomen, or the child could come out of the belt altogether.

After market seat belt adjusters are not regulated by Transport Canada; there are no standards governing their production or design. These products often pull the lap belt over the child’s abdomen increasing the risk of serious injury. Transport Canada recommends that these devices not be used (shoulder belt height adjusters and comfort clips that exist in new vehicles are acceptable

Remember to fasten the booster, even when your child is not in it. During a sudden stop, an empty, unbelted booster seat could cause injury to the driver and /or passengers.