Q&A: What are the car seat/booster seat laws in your state?

Question by Jaym: What are the car seat/booster seat laws in your state?

Someone asked the question about how long a child should be in a booster seat and it made me go and check out my own states car seat laws. I always went buy what friends and family said and have not checked them out since 2005. And just discovered in the state of Wisconsin a child needs to be in a car seat until age 4 and my 3 year old has been in a booster seat with a back since 3 1/2! He will not be 4 until this summer. Do you think i should take out his car seat with the harness again? He is going to be really mad if he has to go back into a normal as he calls it (baby seat) car seat. He fits fine in the high back booster it goes across his shoulder in the right place and he sits like a big boy in it because he knows if he doesn’t sit like a big boy he will have to go back in the “baby seat” but I do not want to end up getting a fine! If I put him back in the car seat poor little guy is going to think hes getting punished. What is your opinion? Also look up your car seat laws and let me know what they are im interested and make sure that you know them! Thanks!

Best answer:

Answer by Ariana
Well that’s a tough one… how much does your son weigh? If he’s over 40lbs he should be OK where he is.
Im in Canada and the laws here also state that a child needs to be in a front facing carseat-with a 5 point harness till 4yrs old and 40lbs… but a lot of people switch them early just when they hit the weight limit.
And then kids are supposed to be in a booster till age 8.
Yes sometimes we dont know our laws! My sister just had her second baby after 5 and a bit years from her first one and she found out through the midwife that infant car seats EXPIRE!!! She had bought a new Peg car seat when her son was born and he really never used it much, he didnt like it. So she switched him to a convertible one. Anyhow… when she went to check her car seat it was EXPIRED!! They expire after 5 yrs of the manufacturing date.
So she had to buy a new infant car seat to be able to leave the hospital with her new baby. Her “old” car seat was in perfect condition used for a few months and only in her car.
I didnt even know that infant car seats had an expiration date… we gotta keep uptodate!

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