A child passenger safety technician CPST or CPS technician can help you decide which place is best to install your child's car safety seat in your vehicle. The AAP recommends that all infants ride rear facing starting with their first ride home from the hospital. All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing seat as long as possible until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat manufacturer. When infants outgrow their rear-facing—only seat, a convertible seat installed rear facing is needed.
Three types of rear-facing seats are available: rear-facing—only , convertible, and all-in-one. When children reach the highest weight or length allowed by the manufacturer of their rear-facing—only seat, they should continue to ride rear facing in a convertible or all-in-one seat. Always read the vehicle owner's manual and the car safety seat manual before installing the seat. Very small babies who can sit safely in a semi-reclined position usually fit better in rear-facing—only seats.
Babies born preterm should be screened while still in the hospital to make sure they can sit safely in a semi-reclined position. Babies who need to lie flat during travel may be able to ride in a car bed that meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard They should be screened again while in the hospital to make sure they can lie safely in the car bed. Any child who has outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for her convertible seat should use a forward- facing seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by her car safety seat manufacturer.
It is best for children to ride in a seat with a harness as long as possible, at least to 4 years of age. If your child outgrows a seat before reaching 4 years of age, consider using a seat with a harness approved for higher weights and heights. It is important that the car safety seat is installed tightly in the vehicle and that the harness fits your child snugly. Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing seats. Most children will not fit in most vehicle seat belts without a booster until 10 to 12 years of age.
Instructions that come with your car safety seat will tell you the height and weight limits for the seat. As a general guideline, a child has outgrown a forward-facing seat when any of the following situations is true:. High-back and backless are 2 standard types of booster seats.
They do not come with a harness but are used with lap and shoulder seat belts in your vehicle, the same way an adult rides. Most booster seats are not secured to the vehicle seat with the seat belt or lower anchors and tether but simply rest on the vehicle seat and are held in place once the seat belt is fastened over a child.
However, some models of booster seats can be secured to the vehicle seat and kept in place by using the lower anchors and tether along with lap and shoulder belts. Currently, only a few vehicle manufacturers offer integrated booster seats.
Booster seats often have a plastic clip or guide to correctly position vehicle lap and shoulder belts. See the booster seat instruction manual for directions on how to use the clip or guide.
Booster seats must be used with lap and shoulder belts. When using a booster seat, make sure:. If your booster seat has lower anchors or tether attachments, check its manual for installation instructions. If your car has only lap belts, use a forward-facing seat that has a harness and higher weight limits. You could also. Seat belts are made for adults. Children should stay in a booster seat until adult seat belts fit correctly, typically when children reach about 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years of age.
Most children will not fit in a seat belt alone until 10 to 12 years of age. When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for the best protection.
Front airbags are installed in all new cars. When used with seat belts, airbags work well to protect teenagers and adults; however, airbags can be very dangerous to children, particularly to those riding in rear-facing seats and to preschoolers and young school-aged children who are not properly restrained.
If your vehicle has a front passenger airbag, infants in rear-facing seats must ride in the back seat. Even in a relatively low-speed crash, the airbag can inflate, strike the car safety seat, and cause serious brain injury and death. Vehicles with no back seat or a back seat that is not made for passengers are not the best choice for traveling with small children; however, the airbag can be turned off in some of these vehicles if the front seat is needed for a child passenger.
Side airbags are available in most new cars. Side airbags improve safety for adults in side-impact crashes.
Child care programs and schools should have written guidelines for transporting children, including. This will help keep them safe during takeoff and landing or in case of turbulence. Remember that your child will need an appropriate car safety seat to use at your destination. If you have questions or need help with installing your car safety seat, find a certified child passenger safety technician CPST or CPS technician.
Lists of certified CPSTs and child seat—fitting stations are available on the following websites:. Be a good role model.
Make sure you always wear your seat belt. This will help your child form a lifelong habit of buckling up.
Make sure that everyone who transports your child uses the correct car safety seat or seat belt on every trip, every time. Being consistent with car safety seat use is good parenting, reduces fussing and complaints, and is safest for your child.
Never leave your child alone in or around cars, and lock your vehicle when it is not in use. Any of the following situations can happen when a child is left alone in or around a vehicle. A child can. Always read and follow the manufacturer's instructions for your car safety seat. If you do not have those, write or call the company's customer service department. Staff will ask you for the model number, name of seat, and date of manufacture. The manufacturer's address and phone number are on a label on the seat.
Also, be sure to follow the instructions in your vehicle owner's manual about using car safety seats. Some manufacturers' instructions may be available on their websites. Remember to fill out and mail in the registration card that comes with the car safety seat.
You can also register your seat on the manufacturer's website. It will be important in case the seat is recalled. Follow manufacturer directions for cleaning car seats. Cleaning but not disinfecting is usually permitted.
That's because disinfectant products may decrease the protection provided by the seat and harness. Although the AAP is not a testing or standard-setting organization, this article sets forth the AAP recommendations based on the peer-reviewed literature available at the time of its publication and sets forth some of the factors that parents should consider before selecting and using a car seat.
DOT HS publication Safe transportation of preterm and low birth weight infants at hospital discharge. You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server.
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Healthy Living. Safety and Prevention. Family Life. Health Issues. Tips and Tools. They also are ideal for keeping preschoolers rear-facing. Most convertible seats can take most kids rear-facing until at least age 3, and many can take kids rear-facing until 4 to 5 years of age if not more.
These car seats tend to be larger than infant car seats, so you may wonder how your little one could fit in a convertible car seat securely. It's important to review the specifications for each seat to ensure your baby meets the minimum guidelines to travel safely in your chosen convertible car seat.
Your convertible car seat may come with inserts that can be added and removed based on your baby's size. Use these inserts as directed in the manual, and do not add any accessories to your baby's car seat that the manufacturer hasn't approved. Too tall is when the child's head is 1 inch below the top of the seat.
It would be best if you familiarized yourself with your car seat's height and weight requirements to ensure your child is riding safely.
The American Academy of Pediatrics AAP recommends transitioning your baby from the infant seat to a rear-facing convertible seat, once they meet the minimum height or weight requirement for their infant seat. If a child is over the weight limit but still within the height limit, it is not safe to use the seat and vice versa also is not safe.
Once your child reaches one limit, they are too big. While the max height for most infant seats is when the child's head is 1 inch below the top of the seat, crash testing from Consumer Reports CR indicates that it may be best to transition to the rear-facing convertible seat earlier, before your child's head is within an inch of the top.
Rear-facing kids will slide up their car seat. A child in a convertible seat has a lot more of the car seats's shell above their head, making it much less likely that the child's head will slide over the shell of the car seat and be able to hit something hard, like the back of the front seat. Switching to a convertible car seat is a major transition that parents should not take lightly.
When selecting and installing your new car seat, it's important to keep certain safety considerations in mind to protect your child in the event of a crash. Be sure to refer to the manual when installing your child's car seat. Note that a correctly installed car seat should not move more than one inch side-to-side or front-to-back. Some states require children to ride rear-facing in their car seats until age two, although many states allow you to turn your child forward-facing at a year legally.
Children are safer riding rear-facing than forward-facing. Rear-facing kids suffer fewer injuries to all parts of the body, including the head, neck, and legs. This is why the AAP recommends that children remain rear-facing in their convertible seat as long as possible—until reaching the max height or weight for their convertible seat—which for many kids is between 3 to 5 years of age.
Car seat straps should be at or below your child's shoulders when rear-facing and at or above your child's shoulders if forward-facing. Straps should lie flat and be free of any twisting. Once buckled, you should adjust the harness until the straps are snug. It is literally impossible to make the straps "too tight" on almost every car seat—even if you are an NFL linebacker. Because nearly every child is riding in straps that are too loose, the focus needs to be on getting them properly snug and not worrying about making it too tight.
This is a harness the child's life depends on. You don't want to assume your child is buckled in correctly. Check for proper fit every time you buckle the child. The pinch test misses the fact that there is often oodles of slack hidden in the straps at the hip and belly area.
Finally, position the chest clip at armpit level. Most parents begin with an infant car seat and later transition their child to a convertible. Between church activities, my big Indian family, and exploring new places with the hubby and baby—my life and my heart are full. We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.
Deciding When It's Time to Upgrade Your Child's Car Seat There are plenty of car-seat deals and trade-in events out there, but be careful about making the switch too soon. By Emily A. Thomas, PhD. Published February 6, Updated September 7, Shopping for car seats?
Emily A. Thomas, PhD At Consumer Reports, I've found the perfect blend for my love of injury biomechanics, forensics, and kids as an automotive safety engineer for child passenger safety. Sharing is Nice.
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