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A Parent’s Guide To Talking to Kids About Boosters

Posted in: Booster Seats

As parents, we must pick our battles. Allowing a child to skip her vegetables one night or to go outside without a coat will not cause lasting harm. Riding without a booster seat could kill or seriously injure a child. Safety must be non-negotiable at all times.

Remember that you are the parent and you are in charge. Your attitude affects how your child views booster seats, and if you are positive and enthusiastic about boosters, your child is more likely to feel that way also. Likewise, if you communicate (verbally or non-verbally) that boosters are for babies or are optional, your child will pick up on these views as well. Riding in a booster seat should not be seen as a punishment. Instead, it should be seen as a normal part of everday life. Involve your child in buckling up and explain to her how the booster seat works to keep her safe. Kids are much more likely to want to ride in a booster if they understand how it works, rather than “because Mommy and Daddy say I have to.”

How to Talk to your Kids about Boosters

monkeying aroundThe goal of this exercise is to show your child how they fit differently in the vehicle and in the safety belt when they sit on a booster compared to when they are not on a booster. Make sure you understand how boosters work first, before doing this activity with your child.

Now, take the child out to the vehicle and do the 5-Step-Test with them.

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 to keep him the safest. If your child needs a booster, repeat the 5-step-test with him sitting on the booster and show him how he sits differently on the vehicle seat and how the safety belt fits him properly now.

When talking to your child, remember to emphasize that by sitting on a booster she will have more fun because:


When all else fails:

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