Kiddipedia
A recent study by The Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne found that only a third of Australian children aged seven to 10 years travel in a booster seat, and whilst this is technically legal, best practices indicate there is more to consider before booting the booster.
In Australia, parents are legally required to use boosters for little ones up to the age of seven. However, the standards also recommend a height for children to be able to safely use an adult seatbelt without a booster – this is around 145cm. With the average seven-year-old standing between 130 and 135cm, many children are not safely protected by a seat belt alone.
To help with this, Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Kidsafe Australia have released an updated version of their ‘Best Practice Guidelines for the Safe Restraint of Children in Motor Vehicles’. These guidelines outline five key markers that parents can use to assess their little one’s readiness to upgrade from booster to adult car seat; importantly, it is these markers, and not a birthday, that experts say do more to protect our children from injury.
Empowering parents to make the best decisions for their children are baby brands like Nuna, who provide made-to-last and made-to-grow solutions for newborns, toddlers, and pre-teens.
For instance, the AACE™ is Australia’s only five-star rated booster seat which is perfect for parents with youngsters who have outgrown (according to height) their current forward facing restraint. Featuring energy absorbing foam and side impact protection (SIP) pods, the AACE™ minimises user error with the inclusion of a coloured belt positioner for the correct shoulder belt routing, every ride, every time.
Being a parent is one of the toughest jobs in the world, and keeping our children safe and happy are the only things that really matter. There is no other journey like it, but resources – such as KidSafe and NeuRA – and products – such as the Nuna AACE™ – can make that journey far easier to navigate.
*Updated as of 2020 by Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and Kidsafe Australia
This summary is limited to the key recommendations of the guidelines and for further information please refer here.
Appropriate Choice of Restraints
- Firstly, it is recommended by Neuroscience Research Australia and Kidsafe Australia 2020 that children should be using a rearward facing child restraint until they outgrow it. This is defined by when their shoulders are above the maximum shoulder height marker (if present) or above the top shoulder harness strap slot (if there is no marker)
- Children who have outgrown a rearward facing child restraint should use a forward-facing child restraint with an inbuilt harness until they outgrow it. This is defined by when their shoulders are above the maximum shoulder height marker (if present) or 2.5cm above the top shoulder harness strap slot (if there is no marker).
- Children who have outgrown their forward-facing child restraint with inbuilt harness should use a booster seat with a lap-sash seat belt until they can obtain good seat belt fit in an adult seat belt. This is defined as the lap belt low across the top of the thighs, and the sash belt across the center of the shoulder, with the child in their usual sitting posture. The “5 Step Test” is recommended to assess seat belt fit.
- Children using seat belts should use a lap-sash seat belt whenever possible. Lap-only belts should only be used when no lap sash belt is available.
Appropriate Restraint use in Non-Typical Situations
- It is recommended that where possible in non-typical situations, a child should use the most appropriate approved restraint for their size in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions and never travel unrestrained in a motor vehicle.
Note: Non-typical situations include children travelling in vehicles such as taxis, hire cars and ride share services.
Other Restraint Options and Child Restraint Accessories
- It is recommended that child restraint accessories that are not supplied, recommended by the manufacturer or certified for use with a specific restraint under AS/NZS 8005 are not recommended.
- Further, child safety harnesses (H-harnesses) aren’t recommended. These should only be considered for use in a seating position with a lap-only belt to prevent the child from sliding under the lap belt in a crash.
- Seat belt positioners, particularly those that link the lap and sash belts to alter sash belt fit, are not recommended. If children cannot fit well into adult seat belts, they should use booster seats with a lap-sash seat belt.
Seating Position
- Children up to and including 12 years of age should sit in a rear seating position.
- When deciding on the position of a child using adult seat belts in the rear seat, these issues should be considered:
- Whether there is a lap-sash seat belt in the target seating position.
- Quality of the seat belt fit in different seating positions due to the seat shape and seat belt anchorage locations.
- Ease of access to the seat belt buckle if other children using child restraints are in the rear seat.
- Ease and safety of the child’s entry and exit from the vehicle.
Child Passengers and Airbags
- Rearward facing child restraints must not be used in the front passenger seat of a car with an active front passenger airbag. Children in forward facing child restraints and booster seats are safer in the rear seat when a front passenger airbag is present.
- Side airbags do not pose a known risk to correctly restrained child passengers, but children should be discouraged from resting their head or body on the window or sill where an airbag is located. It is safe to use child restraints in seating positions where seat belt pretensioners are installed.
- It is not recommended that children up to and including 12 years of age be seated in the front seat of vehicles where active airbags are installed.
Correct Use of Restraints
- It is highly recommended that child restraints and seat belts should always be properly adjusted, correctly installed, and used as instructed by the manufacturer:
- Rearward and forward-facing child restraints must be installed with a top tether strap and either: a seat belt routed through the correct path or by attaching to ISOFIX1 lower anchorages, available in some vehicles.
- The top tether and seat belt or ISOFIX lower anchorage straps should be firm, with no looseness, twists, or slack. Store away excess tether strap length.
- If a booster seat has a tether strap, it must be used.
- Rearward and forward-facing child restraints should have the inbuilt harness done up firmly and all looseness, twists, or slack removed.
- The harness of a rearward facing child restraint should be routed through the shoulder harness strap slot nearest the child’s shoulders but not below them.
- The harness of a forward-facing child restraint should be routed through the shoulder harness strap slot nearest the child’s shoulders but not more than 2.5cm below them.
- All supplied seat belt positioning guides must be used for booster seats.
- Accessories other than those supplied by the restraint manufacturer or certified for use under AS/NZS 8005 are not recommended.
- Seat belts should never be used with the sash belt under the child’s arm or positioned behind the child’s back.
