Best Booster Car Seats for 2022, Tested — Car and Driver

The Good Housekeeping Institute‘s engineering and parenting professionals examined a dozen booster seats over the previous 12 months utilizing a mix of in-Lab and at-home exams with each skilled and client reviewers. We carry out exams to judge automobile seats primarily based on their ease of set up, perceived child consolation, ease of getting children out and in of the automobile, superior options, harness changes, peak and weight limits, stability, and extra. Good Housekeeping works with actual mother and father to check booster seats in a wide range of automobile sizes and kinds.

Do You Want a Booster Seat?

Booster seats do a fantastic job of offering a secure manner for greater children to experience round within the automobile earlier than they’re prepared to take a seat straight within the seat. Relying in your state’s automobile seat legal guidelines, youngsters could also be required to make use of a security seat till they’re massive sufficient to take a seat within the automobile with the seat belt secured on the proper areas of their physique. In contrast to different automobile seats, booster seats assist by making certain that the seatbelt is positioned appropriately in your child to supply security with out injuring them.

A toddler is probably going prepared to take a seat within the again seat with no booster seat as soon as they’re tall sufficient (normally 57 inches), sufficiently old (not less than 8 years previous), and the seatbelt is positioned appropriately on their physique. The shoulder strap ought to go throughout the middle of their shoulder and chest (NEVER over their neck or face), and the lap belt ought to go over their higher legs or hips. If they do not meet these necessities, a booster seat might be essential.

Verify your native rules to make sure your youngster meets peak, weight, and age necessities earlier than transitioning them out of a booster.

Highback booster seats supply shoulder and head help just like a automobile seat. Slightly than a harness, they use your automobile’s seatbelt to clip your youngster in. The booster appropriately guides the seatbelt throughout your kid’s chest and over their legs on the high of the thighs. When your youngster is large enough that they now not want the shoulder information, they could be prepared for a backless booster seat. Many booster seats transition from highback to backless, which normally means they’ve a bigger peak or weight vary and can be utilized for longer.

You may also buy a convertible automobile seat, an all-in-one that adapts to be the one automobile seat you ever want to purchase your youngster. Convertible seats can be utilized as an toddler back-facing automobile seat, then a forward-facing automobile seat, and eventually a booster seat.

What to Look For When Purchasing for a Booster Automotive Seat

• Top and weight limits: All booster seats include minimal and most peak and weight specs. To make sure correct seatbelt placement and optimum safety, make sure that your youngster suits inside these ranges.
• Seat changes: For the most secure and most comfy experience, search for a booster seat that gives neck or again peak changes. Some fashions additionally function width changes to supply a extra customized match.
• Simple cleansing: No matter age, spills occur. Fortunately, like many toddler and convertible automobile seats, most booster seats supply detachable machine-washable seat covers and padding.
• Design: Many seats are available in a spread of colours and patterns to select from, in addition to equipment like cup holders and snack trays that enable them to maintain their gadgets shut.
• Security: If you wish to get much more info in your seat, verify its security scores on IIHS.

Why Belief Us?

With a mixed 206 years of automotive publishing expertise, Hearst Autos—Automotive and Driver, Highway & Observe, and Autoweek—is aware of vehicles higher than simply about anybody. The Gear Crew is dedicated to delivering trustworthy evaluations, hands-on exams, and product evaluations pushed by a long time of information and expertise. We get our fingers on virtually each product, instrument, and piece of drugs we function; we consider gear by itself deserves, and inform you the reality.

If we won’t get our fingers on the gear, we depend on the mixed knowledge of our writers and editors, in addition to auto specialists we belief. We’ll by no means say something is “one of the best” if we would not advocate it to our associates or purchase it ourselves, and we cannot declare we have examined one thing if we’ve not. Study extra about our product testing right here.