Child Car Seat Recommendations

This has come up a lot at work lately.  There are new recommendations about child car safety seats - you can find this published at www.nhtsa.gov. 

INFANTS should be in a rear-facing car seat; most infant car seats are "bucket-style" and fit into a base which stays belted into your car LATCH system.  Newly recommended: keeping your young child REAR-FACING until age 2, even after you switch to a convertible car seat.  Be sure to check your manufacturer specifications - I know both Graco and Britax have weight and height recommendations on their websites.  Your carseat should have a sticker on it with these listed.  Many children reach the HEIGHT limit before they reach the WEIGHT limit.  If they get close to the height limit or their head is obviously above the top of the car seat, it is time to buy a new seat.

CHILDREN 1-3 year old: keep rear-facing as long as possible, now preferably up until age 2.  When your child reaches the height limit for your car seat, you can convert to a forward-facing car seat with a harness.  A five-point or harness restraint is preferred.

CHILDREN 4-7 years old: Forward-facing car seat with a harness until the weight/height limit is reached.  At that time, you can convert to a booster seat in the backseat.  Most of the time, booster seats are recommended until a child reaches the height of 4'9".

CHILDREN 8-12 years old: Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough for a shoulder and lap belt to fit correctly on the body.  The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face.   The lap belt should lie across the upper thighs and not across the stomach. Your child should remain in the back seat - it is safer there.

CHILDREN 12-13 and up (depending on size) can sit in the front passenger seat.