Maybe it’s because my child is so young that I failed to pick up on the new Michigan law that will require children between the ages of four and eight and less than 4 feet nine inches tall to use an approved booster seat.
I wasn’t the only parent looking a bit surprised when the store employee at Babies R’ Us made an announcement reminding parents about the new bill, signed by Governor Jennifer Granholm, going into effect on July 1, 2008.

After all, a 12-month old and a car seat kind of go hand in hand. But an eight-year-old? I, for one, know plenty of parents who are going to have to rearrange the seating arrangements for at least one child in the family.

It might sound extreme and have more than a few parents raising a brow, but the facts speak for themselves.

According to Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS), the group conducts the world’s largest ongoing study of children in crashes and analyzes the data from a number of states, including Michigan:

• The risk for injury to the affected age group is reduced by 59 percent when using a car or booster seat.

• Children in seat belts alone are four times more likely to suffer head and/or brain injuries than those in booster seats.

• States that have passed similar laws have also found that child restraint use increases dramatically when it is required by law.

Current laws require kids four and under to ride in an infant or child/convertible car seat. With the new law going into effect, plenty of Michigan parents are going to be scurrying to the stores for approved seats whom, the bill says, are not optimally protected by car seats alone.

“Since seat belts are designed for adults, they do not fit children properly and can actually cause injuries during a crash,” said Michigan Department of Community Health Director Janet Olszewski in a press release. “Booster seats are a simple and inexpensive way to protect children in motor vehicle crashes.”

Michigan Legislature also has been urged to take quick action on a bill that could make it possible to provide free booster seats to low income families. “I am pleased today to sign into law a bill that protects Michigan’s most important resource—our children,” Granholm said in a release.

“We know that the single best way we can protect our kids is to buckle them in properly. It’s a simple step but a big ‘boost’ for our kids’ safety.”

For more information on child passenger safety visit Michigan Safe Kids.