Booster Seat - San Jose, CA

My 16 year old recently failed that question on her Driver's test. She put 6 & 60. They marked the correct answer as 5 & 55.

8 years old OR 80 lbs OR 4'9". My kids are very eager to be out too so I have done a lot of research on the fact.

It is NOT 6 or 60 or 7 or 70, the laws changed about 3 or so years ago. http://www.nhtsa.gov/portal/site/nhtsa/template.MAXIMIZE/...

6 years old and 60 pounds - they have to meet both requirements, not just one, is my understanding of the Caifornia law. Other states have an 8 years/80 pounds law.

What Tina said was correct. CA law is 6/60, but The National Highway Traffic Safety administration who actually does the tests and follows the statistics recommends 8 years/80 pounds. www.nhtsa.gov. The fact is that Vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in children and most of those are dues to improperly used or installed restraints. The more there is to your seat the more it will protect them in an accident, so why put them at any more risk than necessary.

I too am called the car seat nazi by my family, but I get one baby and if I am going to risk driving down the road with her I am going to put her in the safest seat in the safest place in the car for as long as I can. My daughter is 3 1/2 and no where near a booster seat. Her Current seat (the Britax Marathon) goes up to 65 pounds and she will be in there until she grows out of it at which time I will mover her to the Britax frontier to keep her in a 5 point harness as long as possible.

D.

Child-Passenger Safety Technicians recommend that a child pass the "5 Step Test" before they stop using a booster. Bear in mind that because seat belt fit varies in different vehicles, a child might pass the 5 step test in one vehicle but still need a booster in another.
Here's a link to the 5-step test: http://www.carseat.org/ (click on "5 Step test")
I've copied the text below:
The 5-Step Test.
1. Does the child sit all the way back against the auto seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?
3. Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
4. Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to make both the shoulder belt and the lap belt fit right for the best crash protection. Your child will be more comfortable, too!

I had all thses questions myself recently so I called our local CHP in Oakland. They said the state of CA says 6 or 60 lbs. They are thinking of making it 8 or 80 lbs but haven't changed it yet. As far as the 4'9" height requirment, that's not a CHP or CA law, either but a suggestion. But I also suggest you call your local CHP station.

Booster seats until 6 years old or 60 pounds.

Hi R.,
I was wondering the same thing the other day so I went on the internet and looked up "CA vehicle restraint laws" and found the following info:
"Each child is required to be properly restrained in the back seat unless child is 6 years or older or weighs 60 pounds or more".
I hope this helps.

Age 6 or 60 lbs (in California)...the person below who said 8 or 80 lbs is correct for some states, and they are currently trying to make it federal, but for now, the guideline for California is Age 6 or 60 lbs.

The best way the Highway Partol in our state explained it to me was 4 yrs/ 40 pounds, but if the childs ears don't reach the top of the back of the cars seat a booster would be best until their height can reach that top point. There are also web sites that are very helppful for this subject.

Each state sets their own requirements - the most strict being 9 years old and 80 lbs. In California it is 6 years old OR 60 lbs. It is true that 12 states have NO rules about car seats / boosters.

I could not find a more up to date on-line resource than this one:
http://www.saferoads.org/issues/BoosterSeatLawChart.pdf

If you plan to travel, you may need to bring along or rent a carseat or booster depending on the state. Car rental companies cannot rent a car to you if they see a child who needs a booster and you don't have one or you refuse to rent one from them.

I would say that the longer you can keep your child in one, the better off s/he is.

I think California's law is 8 years and 80 pounds. If you google for child car seat laws, you can find out for sure. I don't think there's anywhere that doesn't have the kids in boosters till at least 5 anymore, so you've got a ways to go, yet.
Some states are going to keeping kids in boosters till they're 100 pounds...I'm just waiting for them to require boosters for small adults!

The law is 6 years old AND 60 pounds. So say your child is 5 and weighs 62 pounds, they still need it for one more year. Also, if your child is 7 and only weighs 50 pounds, they have to have one until they are at least 60.

I asked our pediatrician this. The child has to be tall enough for the seatbelt to be positioned correctly across the shoulder-- 4 feet, 9 inches. My son is turning 8 soon, but he's only 4 feet tall and still needs the booster as a belt-positioner. If you try to go with just age or weight, you may end up with a shorter child who's still not safe because the belt doesn't fit properly.

4'9" is the recommended height for no longer needing a belt-positioning booster. The law is 6 yrs old or 60 lbs. At 3, she has plenty of years ahead. My daughter is 6 but barely 40 lbsand maybe 42", few of her friends are in boosters but she still is. she just recently asked if the back could be taken off and we are complying and we dont want her to feel ad or for it to become a negative thing for her.

In California, the law is 6 years OR 60 pounds according to dmv.ca.gov.

Here's a website with a chart for all 50 states. It does NOT however tell you if the age/weight is AND or OR

www.elitecarseats.com
Click on CAR SEAT RESOURCES on the left
Click on CAR SEAT LAWS in the middle about half way down

Those of you with older children who are tall for their age, guidelines say you need to be in the backseat until age 12. The more specific recommendation for front seat passengers is 5 foot tall and 100 pounds. Since most kids don't meet that until age 12 (and puberty), they just advertise age 12. My son brought up the topic in 4th grade when he realized he was taller than many adults, so we called the CA Dept of Transportation to get more specific recommendation information.

There are two very excellent stores that I know of that can help you to select the best carseat or booster seat for your child. Lullaby Lane in San Bruno and City Kids in San Francisco. They also have a much broader selection of car seat/boosters and have experts that can help you.

My daughter was always larger both in weight and size for the carseat limits and I wanted her in a 5 point harness carseat with the ability to become a booster seat when she was 3 and outgrew her Britax.

good luck!

E.

R.,
according to the state of california it is until the child reaches the age of 6 years, or until they weigh 60 lbs.

see the below site for more information:
http://www.chp.ca.gov/community/safeseat.html

good luck,
aline

I just went through this with my cousin and her 6 year old. Federal law has to do with height, which is usually around 8 years old (I can't remember the height). Well, Cali law is 6 OR 60 lbs. I called the Petaluma Police Department (I live in Petaluma) and the woman said she wasn't sure and to call the CHP. We called the CHP and the two women there said they were not sure but thought it was 6 AND 60 lbs, but an officer would know best. My cousin finally asked a friend who is a Petaluma Police officer and he said Petaluma enforces 6 years OR 60 lbs. At that point I determined one would want to ask an officer who may pull you over some day, one who works in your town.
Just to see how other states handled the discrepancy, I asked my friend who's a police officer in Colorado who said they had a completely different state law then Cali or the federal law and followed the Colorado state law. I'm not sure if it was a stronger law then the Federal law or not or ever state ignores the federal law. :O)
Best of luck and let us know what you find out.
C.

The first thing you should do is check what the specific requirements are for your state. I am in California, and I believe children are to be in a booster seat until they are 6 years old and 60 pounds.

What I have personally researched is that height actually is more important than weight, but weight does matter too. The child needs to be in a position so that the seat belt does not rub on their neck and basically sits on their body like it does yours. If that is accomplished with a backless booster, great. But your child may still need a full booster- which really looks like a forward facing car seat, but instead of using the 5 point harness, you can use the seat belt.

I personally have my daughter in a booster seat, but I still use the five point harness with the anchor strap that hooks to the top of the back seat. I have researched that it good to leave your child in the five point harness as long as possible, but your own personal beliefs will need to come into play here.

I know there are minimum requirements for a booster seat, but what the company states may not be what your state law require. For example, one brand of car seat I own says that a booster seat can be for a child that is at least one year of age, 40-100 lbs, and 43-57 inches tall. I don't know of any parent who would put their child in a booster with just a seat belt at 1 year old because most 1 year olds are not tall enough or heavy enough yet.

I hope this helps. Research booster seats at different stores, speak with your doctor or your local police department (they will even help you install your seat if you are unsure). Again, my personal opinion and advice would be for you to keep your little one in a forward facing, five point harness car seat as long as possible. Those usually go up to 80 pounds. If you feel you need a booster seat now, I would recommend a high back booster and not a backless booster. Good luck!

Hi there,
My understanding of the law is that they need to be 6 years old OR 60 pounds. I would recommend checking out the CHP website or perhaps the local police dept. I'm CRAZY about my carseats, my daughter will be 6 this year and I just recently bought the mega seat that will keep her in a 5 point harness until she's up to 100 pounds!! I just feel like keeping them as safe as possible for as long as possible. You don't have to go crazy like me, but they make a lot of great seats that are comfy for bigger kids.

Good Luck!

~K.

Hi,

Booster seats are required until they reach about 60 lbs. But, always check with the pediatrician for advice. Hopes this helps.

Good luck.

Your child has to be at least 6 yrs old AND 60 pounds in the state of California! Sorry, Hon, but you have a few years to go...but just know that it is in your child's best interest to stay in a booster seat for as long as the booster can hold her. If it goes up to 100 pounds and she is within the height limit, you should continue to use it for ultimate safety! I have four kids and I've made them use their seats as long as possible. Sometimes children stay small for a LONG time, so if she is in 1st or 2nd grade and is feeling self concious, or somebody calls her a baby, I would allow her to move out of the booster chair...but if she is okay with it when she is old enough and weighs enough...keep her in there as long as possible!

Hope that helps!Have a Blessed Day!

As my husband calls me,
The Carseat Nazi... lol :-)

Call CHP and they can tell you! So confusing, huh?