Come April 18, kids in Quebec will need to be in a booster seat until they?re nine years old or hit 145 cm (4?9?) tall?a move that puts Quebec in line with regulations in many other provinces. Even so, safety experts caution that the law may lead some parents to move their kids out of a booster before it?s safe to do so.
This new Quebec law is replacing the current requirement that kids need to use a booster seat until they reach a sitting height of 63 cm. But while height or age is easier to understand than sitting height, the either-or option could be dangerous, says Jen Shapka, a mom of two, certified child passenger safety expert and curriculum coordinator for the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada. Shapka worries that parents will think that their kid is ready to ditch the booster once they turn nine years old?and for many, that?s just not the case. She says height is a much better indicator of when kids will start to be able to ride safely in a vehicle without a booster seat, but based on growth charts, the average kid doesn?t reach 145 cm tall until age 11 for girls and 11.5 for boys. ?That means a large number of kids need to be in boosters until they?re at least 12,? she explains. ?Moving out of the booster seat too early puts kids at an increased risk of injuries in a crash. If they aren?t sitting properly?and the adult seat belt isn?t on the right parts of their bodies, the strong parts?then the risk of injury and ejection climbs.?

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