This Giveaway is Closed – The Lucky Winner is Beverly Hernandez – Congratulations!

With so many states making it mandatory for children under the age of 8 years old to ride in a booster seat (38 states as of Feb. 2007), many parents are looking for booster seats that accommodate larger children. I’m a huge believer that kids should ride in booster seats when they have outgrown a 5 point harness. My own kids have never even thought to ask if they could ride in the car without being in a carseat or booster. Seatbelts are not designed to protect children. They are designed to protect an adult. My own 6 ½ year old still looks so tiny in his booster seat that I can’t imagine how his small body would manage in a car accident. The First Year’s B540 Booster seat received a 5-star ease of use rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and has a wide seat that is perfect for older children.

Ease of Use

The First Year’s B540 booster seat is lightweight, which makes it easy to move in and out of the car. A rotating armrest makes it easy for kids to climb in and out of the seat, especially if you have a narrow backseat or more than one carseat installed in your car. The B540 has a unique feature that I hadn’t seen before on a booster – it folds for easy storage. While this feature has not been something I have personally needed to use on the seat, I can see how it would be helpful for storage or if you frequently need to store a booster seat in your trunk to free up seating in your car while still keeping the seat available. The B540 is a great seat for airplane travel. It is lightweight enough to easily carry through an airport and the folding feature creates less bulk for you to haul around.

Comfort

Comfort is a huge issue with booster seats because older children do not hesitate to voice their opinion if they are uncomfortable while riding in the car. The First Years B540 has a wide seat that provides plenty of room for older children to sit comfortably and includes plenty of padding to create a comfortable ride. Both my 4 year old and 6 year old have tested out the B540 booster seat and I haven’t heard any complaints from either of them. They were both easily able to fall asleep in the booster seat and sat comfortably for extended car rides.

Safety

One of the biggest factors in car seat safety is whether or not the carseat has been installed properly. While many carseat manufacturers tout additional safety features, the fact is, if the carseat has not been installed correctly, it will not protect the child. It has been estimated that as many as 4 out of 5 carseats are installed incorrectly. As a parent, that is a frightening statistic. The First Year’s B540 booster received a 5-star ease of use rating from the NHTSA, making it much more likely that the seat will be used correctly and be able to protect a child in case of an accident. The B540 includes side impact protection, which is essential in a carseat. The seatbelt path is marked in red, making it easy to position the seatbelt correctly.

Enter to Win

One lucky winner will receive a First Years B540 booster seat.  This giveaway is open to the U.S. and will end on February 28, 2010.

Enter the giveaway by commenting on this post.

Please see our site’s Terms and Conditions for a complete list of our contest and giveaway rules.

In compliance with the new FTC Guildlines, please note that this is a sponsored post.  I was given a First Years B540 Booster Seat to test and review free of charge.  However, I was not paid for the review and the opinions are my own.

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