News Article

     Eryn Brown wrote the article "In carpools, child booster seat use is inconsistent," found on latimes.com. A team of physicians and public health experts from the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado reviewed data collected from 681 parents of children ages four to eight, who had participated in a nationwide Web-based survey that included twelve questions on booster seat use. Of the 64% of respondents who said they drove a carpool, 20% said that they did not always ask other drivers to use booster seats when driving their kids in a carpool. Only 55% said that they always make their child use a booster seat when they were driving a carpool in which other children did not have a booster.
     Half of parents said they did not know the age requirements in their state's booster seat law. The American Academy of Pediatrics advised that children should stay in booster seats until they are 4'9" in height, or tall enough for a seat belt to fit them properly. They also suggested that improvements in booster seat design to make the devices fit better in cars, and easier to install and remove. In my opinion, this survey is very important because it shows how parents can take better care of their children. Protection in cars is crucial since they are fragile and helpless. Every bit of protection in some fashion, will help to safely transport our little ones.