Only 55% of parents with children aged 4-8 years always have their child use a car booster seat when driving with other children in the car, according to a study published Jan. 30 in Pediatrics.
The researchers surveyed 681 parents with 4- to 8-year-old children to ask about their safety seat practices, especially when carpooling. They found that most parents – 76% – reported using a booster seat when riding in the family car.
However, among the 64% of parents who carpool, 45% said they do not always have their child use their booster seat when driving with friends who don’t have boosters. "These findings suggest that social norms and self-efficacy for booster seat use may be influential in carpooling situations," wrote Dr. Michelle L. Macy of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and her associates (Pediatrics 2012;129:290-98).
Still, 54% of parents who frequently carpool said they would always ask another driver to use a booster seat for their child; that percentage rose to 64% in parents who occasionally carpool. In addition, parents who occasionally carpool were significantly more likely than were parents who carpool frequently to report their child always uses a booster seat, they found.
Physician should ask not just about use of size-appropriate child safety seats during office visits, but also whether parents consistently use them for their children and if there are any barriers to their use, such as perceived difficulty making arrangements to have booster seats available for other people’s children or problems transferring child safety seats between vehicles, Dr. Macy and her colleagues said.
Dr. Macy and her associates said they had no relevant financial disclosures. This research was conducted as part of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health, sponsored by the department of pediatrics and communicable diseases at the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Health System. The study was funded by a grant from the Michigan Center for Advancing Safe Transportation Throughout the Lifespan.