Just curious

It has been bugging me for some time now. How come when a child is in a booster, the seat belt has to be off their tummys? But with adults it is perfectly fine for it to be on our tummys??
 
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bobandjess99

Senior Community Member
yep, not cool at all. Seat belts should always go across your hips. If it doesn, try to reposition it. If you are a small female, many car seat belts might never fit you right. But try your best to keep that belt off your tummy!
 

babygirlsmom1005

New member
I think it may appear to be on adults tummies, but our hip bones are a lot larger than 4,5,6, etc...year olds, so when it's acutally on our hips, it looks like it is on our tummies.

Some boosters don't position the belt correctly on kids and actually put it on their tummies, which in comparison, looks like it would on a adult, but you have to take into account the size of the seat belt on a child vs a normal sized adult. (ie: seat belts don't fit me correctly, I am constantly repositioning them to put them in a correct position)

IDK if this makes sense or not.
 

pj2rc

New member
Thanks! I've been wondering/thinking the same thing. I really don' think my belt has ever been across my lap. I ave tried recentl, it doesn't really stay there though.
 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants
As others have written, it's not fine for belts to be on our tummies. Adults have developed hipbones that can help hold a belt down in a crash, but the belt needs to be properly positioned to start with. Many adults ride/drive with reclined seats, which often puts the belts too high the abdomen.
 

emtb79

New member
I am a bigger woman and my seatbelt actually sits across my stomach,abdomen, whatever I call it that day. I take it and actuallyslide it under my belly and then pull as tight as I can. But I try to model how I want my 11.5 year old to wear her seatbelt.
 

Pixels

New member
The other reason an adult will fare better with higher belt placement than a child is bone hardening. A young child's pelvis is soft. You don't notice it day to day, but under crash forces, it can squish and allow the belt to ride up even more. On an adult, the bones are hardened, and won't squish like that.
 

NicoleCPST

Senior Community Member
The reason you don't want a belt across the stomach is because in a crash the impact of your body on the belt can cause internal injuries. If the belt is across the hips then its not as likely to cause soft tissue damage to your internal organs. It's often called seatbelt syndrome. This applies to adults and kids alike.
 
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Reactions: Mae
Thanks to all of you. That really helps.

My other question is i have seen some one on here with car window decals of kids in carseats. Those looked really cool and i would like to know where to get them.
 

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