Car accidents are STILL the leading cause of death in children. That means THE most important thing we can do to protect our kids is to restrain them safely in the car.
Why is this hard?
Car seats are one of the great mysteries for parents. I can tell you this first hand as a family physician and a parenting and youth development expert. It’s a question I get all the time. Aside from installing them correctly (I have a tip for that), you may be wondering:
“Do I have the right car seat?”
“Is my child too young or old to be in the car seat we are using?”
“Can I use the car seat I got from my brother/mother/sister {Fill in the blank} a few years ago?”
“My kid is twice the size of kids his age, does he still need to ride in a car seat?”
“They have to face backwards for HOW long?”
“When can my kid sit in the front?”
“But my kid doesn’t WANT to sit in it anymore. Do we really have to??”
Sometimes car seat guidelines are a mystery and it seems like they are always changing, which is true. They do change based on studies because they want to keep your kids safe. The American Society of Pediatrics is the governing body behind these studies and guidelines and as of August, they have a few new car seat guidelines for parents.
The publication from AAP you can read HERE or you can also get a full breakdown at HealthyChildren.org but here is a quick recap:
- Keep your babies and toddlers rear-facing until they get to the upper limit of the carseat‘s weight/height limit (hopefully at least age 2)
- Forward facing 5-point car seat until at least age 4
- Seatbelt positioning booster seat until age 8 AND 57″ tall
- Backseat ONLY until at least age 13
The other part of the car seat puzzle is if your car seat is installed correctly. Be sure to install per your manufacturers suggestions, but if you are unsure, here is a great tip – head to your local police station or fire department and ask if they can check it for you. They are trained on how to properly install car seats and make sure your kids are safe. If that’s not an option, then here is some tips from DMV.gov or you can check out tutorials from your car seats manufacturer. Many, like Graco, have instructional videos so you can get a visual on what to do.
Safe Travels!
