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Hot or Not: Simplifying Car-Seat Laws
Oct 05 2009 by Jennifer Newman
I’ve been really looking forward to getting rid of my oldest son’s booster seat when he turned 7 this year. I was ready for some car-seat freedom, but I’ll have to wait a little longer because I just realized he has to ride in a booster seat until age 8 in Illinois. Currently, each state has its own laws for car-seat usage, but it’d be much simpler if the federal government would create one set of laws.
I managed to mix up the age requirement for booster seat usage in my home state. I don’t want to think of all of the bad things that could have happened had I gotten rid of my son’s booster seat. A set of federal child-safety seat laws would give parents a better chance of remembering when their child needs to move into the next child-safety seat. There’s quite a bit of disparity between the states’ laws.
In my state, my son must be 8 and weigh at least 40 pounds before he can ride without a booster seat in the rear seat. Over in Iowa, they allow children ages 6 and older to ride in the backseat without a booster. What happens when you travel cross country? Would some friendly Iowans get a ticket when they visit Chicago?
I’ll have to wait another year before I can toss my oldest son’s booster seat; by then, my youngest son might meet the requirements to move into one — I’ll have to investigate that, too. For a quick refresher on car seats, see our Car Seat 101.
Are you in favor of the federal government creating child-safety seat laws? Tell us in the comment section below.
User Comments
In Missouri, neighboring Illinois, boosters are required until the child is 8 or weighs 80 lbs or is taller than 4ft 9in. So my 55 lb, 4’ 1”, soon-to-be 8-year-old will continue to ride in her booster until she grows and gains weight! Reasons she thinks her booster is still cool, she has 2 cup holders within easy reach and her own reading lights. And, blessing of all blessings, the grandparents don’t need a manual illustrating how to buckle the seat belt!
Why not read the owner’s manual? Most of them will give suggestions of when to use the booster, and when not to, including the ‘gray area’ where a child doesn’t HAVE to use a booster seat, but it might still be a good idea. By reading the article above, one would believe that at age 7 and 11 months, weighing 39 pounds, a child is woefully unprotected if not in a booster seat, but the same child, age 8 and weighting 41 pounds, is perfectly fine without one. Use common sense folks!