'Bin the booster', says car seat maker

A CAR CHILD seat manufacturer is urging parents to bin booster seats amid claims of ‘dangers’ involved in using them for older kids.

Britax, which manufactures child seats for youngsters up to 135cm tall, or about 12 years old, claims that its own research suggests 49% of seating setups for 4-12-year-olds could be unsafe.

Some form of child seat is legally required until a child reaches 135cm in height, to ensure that the seat belt crosses their chest at the correct and safe height, but Britax claims to have found many belts to have been fitted incorrectly.

Its ‘Bin the Booster’ drive is also linked to what it calls a lack of head and side-impact protection when comparing a simple booster cushion to a full booster seat.

The company cites research from independent consumer product analysts Which?, who also found significantly more protection was on offer from a high-backed booster seat.

However, users of popular parenting web forum Mumsnet have reported that it can be more difficult to get an older child to accept being carried in a full booster seat, as they regard it as too babyish.

Britax has teamed up with parenting advice programme Emma’s Diary to run a week-long campaign from July 7 to help educate parents on getting out and about safely with their kids. A live Q&A session will also be hosted on the Emma’s Diary Facebook page, where child seat safety questions can be answered.

By Press Association reporter