Car Seat Safety

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association recently released Car Seat Recommendations for Children. Since we know when your driving just how precious your cargo is, we wanted to share with you some of the useful information they collected. 

• Choose a car seat based on your child’s age, height and weight. Make sure it's a seat that fits in your vehicle.
• Always refer to your specific car seat manufacturer’s instructions; read the vehicle owner’s manual on how to install the car seat using the seat belt or LATCH system.
• To maximize safety, keep your child in the car seat for as long as possible, as long as the child fits within the manufacturer’s height and weight requirements. 

Birth – 12 months

Ride in a rear-facing car seat. There are different types of rear-facing car seats: Infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and 3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

1–3 years

Keep your child rear-facing until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once they outgrow the rear-facing car seat, it's time to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.

4–7 years

Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once they child outgrow this car seat, it’s time to travel in a booster seat.

8–12 years

Keep your child in a booster seat until your they're big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. Remember: children should still ride in the back seat, it’s safer there.

I hope you enjoyed our car seat education, if your interested in finding out more safety tips I recommend NHTSA's new Parents Central site where there are plenty of useful resources and information (like you read today). As always, remember to be safe and buckle up!