One of the most important jobs you have as a parent is keeping your child safe when riding in a vehicle. Each year thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes. Proper use of car safety seats helps keep children safe.

The type of seat your child needs depends on several things including your child’s size and the type of vehicle you have. To be sure your child is using the most appropriate seat, read on.

Infants:

Type of Car Seat:

Infant seats and rear-facing convertible seats

General Guidelines:

Infants should ride rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer. At a minimum, children should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. When children reach the highest weight or length allowed by the manufacturer of their infant-only seat, they should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible seat.

Toddlers/preschoolers

Type of Car Seat:

Convertible seats and forward-facing seats with harnesses

General Guidelines:

It is best for children to ride rear-facing as long as possible to the highest weight and height allowed by the manufacturer of their convertible seat. When they have outgrown the seat rear-facing, they should use a forward-facing seat with a full harness as long as they fit.  This is usually at around 4 years of age and about 40–80 pounds.

School-aged children

Type of Car Seat:

Booster Seat

General Guidelines:

Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seats. Children should stay in a booster seat until adult belts fit correctly (usually when a child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age).

Older children

Type of Car Seat

Seat Belts

General Guidelines:

Children who have outgrown their booster seats should ride in a lap and shoulder seat belt in the back seat until 13 years of age.

Proper Fitting of Seat Belts:

Keep your child in a car safety seat for as long as possible. When your child is big enough, make sure the seat belts in your vehicle fit your child correctly. The shoulder belt should lie across the chest, not the neck or throat. The lap belt must be low and snug across the thighs, not the stomach. In addition, the child should be tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with her legs bent at the knees and feet hanging down. Seat belts are made for adults. If the seat belt does not fit your child correctly, she should stay in a booster seat until the adult seat belt fits. This is usually when the child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 to 12 years of age.