Tips on Getting a Boost

* High-backed booster seats are recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration if the vehicle seat lacks a head restraint. Boosters without backs can be used if your child’s head is supported, up to the top of the ears, by the seat back.

* Backless boosters, which start at about $20, are less expensive than those with backs, which cost $50 or more.

* To spread the word about the new California law and help families most in need, Ford Motor Co. is working with United Way to provide free booster seats to low-income families through its “Boost America!� campaign. It plans giveaways in Los Angeles on Oct. 24 and Nov. 7. Low-income families (for instance, a family of four earning $35,000 or less) must take their 4-to 8-year-old child to the giveaway and have a vehicle back seat with shoulder and lap belts. For more information, call (800) 528-2444 or (866) BOOST-KID after Monday. Auto dealers are also participating in the “Boost America!� campaign, distributing vouchers for free or discounted boosters to customers. Participating dealers--including Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Mazda, Land Rover and Jaguar--began handing out vouchers to customers in April. For more information, call (866) BOOST-KID.

For more tips, see “A Parent’s Guide to Booster Seats,� posted on NHTSA’s Web site, https://www.nhtsa.dot.gov . The July issue of Consumer Reports carries ratings of children’s car seats, including boosters. All three booster seat models tested--Evenflo’s Right Fit, Fisher-Price’s Safe Embrace and Britax’s Star Riser Comfy--were rated “excellent� in crash tests.