Booster seats are the law in Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - There is no way to know if a booster or car seat would have made a difference in a weekend crash that seriously injured two young girls , but booster and car seats make sure the seat belts hit the child at their strongest bones.

The law in Michigan is that if a child is shorter than 4-feet-9 or younger than 8, they need to be in a car of booster seat.

But Jennifer Hoekstra of the Safe Kids program at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital said that should not be a hard and fast rule for every parent. That decision, she said, should be made based on your individual child.

"My children, 8 1/2 and 10, don't need to be in booster seats anymore, but neither of them is 4-feet-9," she told 24 Hour News 8. "When they sit in the seat, you're going to see that the seatbelt contacts up in their squishies and not up in their strong bones, where it should be."

Without a booster or car seat, a lap belt will cross "through the soft tissue area of the child's stomach, which is not going to keep him free from injury," she said. "If he's involved in a crash, this (lap belt) is going to intrude in his internal organs."

There are different recommendations on the Safe Kids website for the type of car or booster seat your child should use based on age and weight.

On the Net:

Child Safety Info National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Study about Car Seats/Booster Seats (pdf)

Safe Kids Greater GR

Safe Kids Greater GR Events (pdf)