The 5-Step Booster Seat Test: SouthFlorida.com

Lorrie Walker, project director of the Florida Child Passenger Safety and Resource Program, says most parents take the child out of the booster seat way too soon.

"Safety equipment [like seat belts] is geared to adults. Booster seats modify adult equipment so kids can benefit," she says.

So how do you know when your child is ready to safely ride in the car without a booster seat? Luckily, there is an easy test to help you make this decision.

With your child buckled into a seat belt only, without a car seat or booster seat, answer the following questions:
1) Does your child sit all the way back against the auto seat? Specifically, is the entire length of his or her back against the seat?

2) With the child sitting so that his or her back is against the back of the seat, do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the auto seat?

3) Does the shoulder belt cross your child's shoulder between the neck and arm? If higher, your child could suffer muscle or nerve damage to the neck during an accident.

4) Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs? If the lap belt is crossing your child at the abdomen, there is a higher risk for injury to the internal organs during an accident. Physicians even refer to these types of abdominal injuries as "Seat Belt Syndrome."

5) Can your child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your child should continue to use a booster seat.

Don't compromise your child's safety by not using a booster or car seat if he didn't pass the above test. "We have to change the way parents think about car safety. As a child gets older, they might even need more protection," Walker says. Using the 5-Step Booster Test, most children will continue to use a booster seat until age 8 or older.

Also, kids like booster seats because they are more comfortable than only a seat belt - and they put kids higher in the seat, so it's easier to see out. That's the reasoning I used anyway when I had to move my daughter from a seat belt back into a booster seat. She wasn't happy at first, but in less than a week she adjusted. Until she passes the 5-Step Test, in a booster seat is where she'll stay.

Melanie Bowden is a freelance writer and mother. She lives in California.