Is there an age requirement for a child to sit in a booster seat?
Children should be in a front facing car seat until about age four or about 40lbs and children should remain in a booster seat until the seatbelt fits properly usually about age 8 or at a height of about 4’9″. There is no actually age cut off because children all grow at different rates so some will just out grow their car seats faster. If you feel your son is ready for a booster then go for it no one can judge his saftey better then you. It sounds like he’s about the right size for it so he should be fine.
The overhead shield seat you have is not the safest option. A 5 point harness without the shield is the safest option. Forward facing harnessed seats are outgrown when a child reaches the weight limit, or more commonly when the child’s shoulders are above the top harness slots. If the child is 4 years AND 40lbs, then he may move to a booster with vehicle lap shoulder belt seatbelt. If not, then the child needs a larger FF harnessed seat. There are many seats that harness to 55-80lbs. Some are the Britax Marathon, Decathalon, Boulevard, Frontier and Regent; the Sunshine Kids Radian; the Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE; the Graco Nautilus and the Cosco/Safety First Apex. The Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seats only harness to 40lbs and most 40lb weight limit seats are outgrown before a child is mature enough for a booster seat. They also have very low top harness slots, so are outgrown by height at around 2 or 3 years old. A child should ride in a booster with vehicle lap/shoulder belt until he or she reac
http://www.elitecarseats.com/custserv/cu… Car seat until age 4. There are car seats that will fit him. We just bought one. Ours has 5 poiint harness that will fit until 40 pounds. **ETA**I agree that age shoudl not always make a difference. But the law in most states says that it does. I think the age is more os a consideration in their cognitive and physical abilities if there were to be a problem. If you look on most car seat boxes they have indicators of stages 1 through 3. Your son probably needs to be in stage 2.
The height and weight is a better tool to tell when they are ready as opposed to age because children vary greatly. I don’t know if this is a requirement or not but I heard age 4 is the correct age to start with the booster. You can probably call your ped. or the local authorities may be of assistance.
