Features

• Most booster seats work with the LATCH system motor vehicles; properly utilizing this system can increase the safety and effectiveness of booster chairs, according to experts at Healthy Children. Children might enjoy helping parents choose their booster chairs, which come in a variety of colors and fabric choices so that older children feel less like a baby in their seat. Some booster chairs include such features as cup holders and snack holders that extend or fold into the seat as well as pockets and pouches to store books and small toys.
  
  

Function

• According to the Ohio Department of Health, more than half of children killed each year in auto accidents could be saved by utilizing both a booster chair and safety belt. A booster seat can protect small children from injuries caused by seat belts that are meant for adult sized bodies, as the chair positions the child in a way that allows the seat belt to properly protect delicate internal organs, such as the stomach, reports the Ohio Department of Health.
  
  

Size

• The booster chair comes in a variety of styles and sizes, and parents can choose depending on personal preferences. Some booster chairs require a weight minimum of 30 lbs., although 40 lbs. is the most common lower weight limit; most seats have an upper limit of 100 lbs. Depending on the size and layout of the vehicle, certain types of booster seats might be too large to install, especially if multiple booster seats are needed.
  
  

Considerations

• No single booster chair is the safest or best model. Parents might need to test or try out several seats before settling on the one best for their family. In addition to using a booster chair in motor vehicles, parents might also consider using a booster chair while traveling by airplane, suggest the experts at Healthy Children. The cost of booster chairs begins at $15, and the most expensive booster chair is not necessarily the safest, says the Ohio Department of Health.
  
  

Misconceptions

• Up to 80 percent of child safety seats and booster seats are not properly installed, according to Parent Time. Simply putting a child into a booster chair does not ensure safety; if the chair is not properly installed or used, its ability to protect from injury decreases. Skipping booster seats in lieu of a seatbelt is not only unsafe, but illegal in some states depending on the age and size of the child, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
  
  

Warning

• Putting a child that exceeds manufacturerer's weight or height limits into a booster chair designed for a smaller child can decrease the protection of the chair. Parents who choose not to utilize a booster chair for their child's safety risk legal action in some areas; Ohio began enforcing a state law for booster chair safety effective April 7, 2010, and parents can face fines for not using a booster chair for children ages four to eight and weighing under 80 lbs.