Choosing a car seat

Choosing the proper car seat for your child is one of the most important things you can do to protect them. When children are properly restrained in car seats or booster seats, their chance of being seriously injured or killed in a highway crash is greatly reduced. Because children's bodies are more delicate, they are more susceptible to injury and need special protection. Vehicle seats and seat belts were built for the comfort and protection of adults, not to secure small children.

Learn the proper way to secure your child in a car seat. Follow the guidelines listed below from the National Highway Transportation Safety Association:

• Infant-only Seats. These safety seats fit babies only under 17 to 22 pounds. These seats always face the rear of the car.
• Convertible Seats. These safety seats fit children from birth until they reach about 40 pounds. Convertible seats are used facing the back of the car for the first year and then can be turned to face the front when the baby is one year and weighs at least 20 pounds.
• Booster Seats. When a child has outgrown a convertible safety seat and weighs more than 40 pounds, but is still too small to make proper use of a vehicle safety belt, the child should be placed in a booster seat. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children use booster seats until they are at least 8 years old, unless they are 57 inches tall There are two types of booster seats - belt-positioning and those with small shields. A belt-positioning booster seat (preferred) uses a combination lap/shoulder belt. A booster seat with a small shield is used when only a lap belt is available.
• Safety Belts. When a child is old enough and large enough to fit into an adult safety belt, he or she can be moved out of a booster seat. It is important to note that until a person is at least 4'9" and weighs 80 pounds, most vehicle safety belt systems do not fit correctly. To fit a child properly, the lap belt should fit snugly and properly across the child's upper thighs and the shoulder strap should cross over the child's shoulder and across the chest. The child should sit upright against the seat back and keep the lap belt below the hip bones, touching the upper thighs. This position is important. In the event of a crash, a child could suffer serious or fatal internal injuries if he or she slouches and the lap belt goes over the stomach.

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