Booster Seats are for Big Kids!

At Boyer Chevrolet Buick GMC, we take the safety of our smallest customers very seriously. A lot is said about the tiniest passengers, but big kids need some love too!

Don’t rush to move your child from their harnessed forward-facing seat. As long as they fit it is safest to use this restraint as long as possible. Seat belts are designed to restrain the average sized adult male. Booster seats are for children who are too big for harnessed child restraints and too small for the seat belt alone. They boost a child up to create a better fit between the child and seat belts.

To move to a booster seat your child must weigh at least 18kg (40lbs) and meet the height limits set by the booster seat manufacturer.

There are different ways to install and use booster seats depending on the brand. Read the owner’s manual to learn how. A correctly installed booster seat will keep the lap and shoulder belts in place across your child’s hips, chest and shoulders. Please note that low-back boosters require that the vehicle MUST have adjustable head restraints to product you child’s head and neck in a crash.

By law in Ontario booster seats are to be used until the child is at least 36kg (80lbs), over 145cm (4 feet 9 inches) tall and is 8 years old. This is a minimum requirement. It is best to keep your child in a booster seat until they reach the manufacturer’s height or weight limits. Even once these minimum requirements are met the shape of your vehicle seats and the seat belt geometry might not allow proper seat belt fit. This 5-Step test is a great way to see if your older child fits the seat belt alone.

Visit Transport Canada’s Stage 3: Booster Seats page for more information.