VANDALIA, Ohio - Adjustable armrests, cup holders, storage slots for hand-held video games and overhead lights for reading - and coloring. All are becoming standard fare on the new generation of car seats for children.

As more states push 4- to 8-year-olds back into safety seats, manufacturers also have added padding, neck pillows, snack holders and slots for toys.

"This is a wild departure from the designs really the whole industry has had over many years," said Randy Kiser, senior engineering director for the Evenflo Co., based in Vandalia in southwest Ohio.

The design changes are the product of competition in a growing $100 million market and the need to appeal to older children who have tasted the more adult freedom of seat belts.

"You're not going to sell a 4-year-old, or a 5-year-old or a 6-year-old on the safety benefit," Kiser said.

There are Toy Story and Hot Wheels seats for boys; Disney Princess and Barbie seats for girls. Baby colors are out. Boys' seats come in bold reds, as well as black and grays, while girls' seats are pink and purple.

"Fashion is just a huge part of it," said Tricia Ryan, spokeswoman for Graco Children's Products, based in Exton, Pa. "They want something that looks cool or is pretty."

The seats also have reversible pads for warm and cold weather and can adjust to the height of children as they grow.

Six-year-old Ben Gessel, a first-grader in Arlington, Va., has a red Graco TurboBooster with armrests and cup holders. He likes the color - his third-favorite - and the headrest.

"It's easy to sleep when I'm tired," he said.

Ben's friends all have booster seats, so there is little peer pressure yet to try to resist the requirement. Given a choice, however, Ben would choose seat belts because he could get out of the car faster.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 2 and 14. The agency estimates that the lives of 446 children under age 5 were saved in 2003 because of the use of child-restraint systems.

Beginning with California and Washington five years ago, states began to require the booster seats for children up to age 8.