As parents it is our duty to keep the children safe and secure all the time. Specially when in a car, as newborns and infants may not even be able to hold their heads firm, thus we need to buy the car seats which are age appropriate and also in tandem with their development. There are thousands of cases every year where infants and children under 2 were killed due to negligence on the par of parents in fastening appropriate seal belt on car seats.
Being a parent is exciting but when it comes to making choices pertaining to the security and safety of our child it gets overwhelming. There must be proper training on how to install a car seat for new parents. Also check with car seat guidelines and information on types of car seats available for every age. Types of car seat depends on the age and height of child in addition to the kind of car you own. Be sure to read through car seat safety guide below.
Types of car seats:
There are mainly 4 stages of development for which you need to pick different car seats for your child. A careful research must be done to find which car sat is suitable and legit for your child. Laws pertaining to child safety have now become even more strict recently. As the cases of infant injuries and death in crashes have stirred the controversies surrounding rear and front faced car seats. Types of car seats for each stage of a child to answer the most important doubt parents have “ which car seat to pick”:
1- For infant and toddlers:
Infants and toddlers must necessarily be seated in rear facing car seat. There can be only rear facing or convertible car seat which can be later changed to front facing. But the rear facing car seat must have 5 point harness. Children until 2 years must definitely sit in rear facing car seat.
2- Toddlers and preschoolers:
Convertible car seats or forward facing car seats with harness for kids who have grown the height and weight parameters suggested by their infant car seat manufacturer and are over 2 years of age.
3- Kindergartners:
Booster seats with or without back support for school age kids who meet the height or weight requirements. A belt positioning booster is used for kids who have grown out of the front facing car seat. At height 4’9” and anywhere between 8-12 years must ride on the back seat.
4- Older children:
When children are old and grown enough to fit in car’s seat belt they can transition from their boosters. Always use lap and shoulder seat belts when seated in a car. After age 13 they can ride in front seat too but seat belt fastened all the time.
Tips when using a rear faced car seat:
1- Keep all the harness of car seats at and below the shoulder of your child.
2- Make the harness snuggly and you can not pinch any slack between your fingers when testing them.
3- Harness chest clip must be placed at the center of chest with your child’s armpits
4- Make sure the car seat is tightly installed and must not move from its place. You may have to work with the positioning on the rear seat as some cars have bigger seats so it can fit at the center of seat without moving while other cars have no latch at center
5- Never place a rear facing car seat in front seat as there are not efficient support. Also if the air bag inflates it may cause serious head injury to them
6- If using a 3 in 1 convertible car seat in rear position make sure the belts are fastened properly. Read instruction manual properly and fix them well
7- The seat belt must be fastened well and car seat placed right else the head of the infant may flip flop.
8- For any more details in setting and installation visit county Sheriff office.
Installation tips for forward or front facing care seats:
The transition from rear to front facing car seats must be gradual as the child may still not be used to them. Some tips for better safety and installation are:
1- Move shoulder straps above your child’s shoulders. Check the instructions that came with the car seat
2- Keep the recline angle proper for your child
3- You may have to begin with more recline and then transition forward to straight one
4- Make sure the seat belt is locked and tightened from all points, as kids at this age can unlock the partly locked ones
5- Weight of child for front facing car seats must not exceed 65 lbs.
6- Use top tether for keeping the car seat in position.
Tips for installing booster car seats:
Booster seats are for kids over 65 lbs and under 100 lbs. Mostly the kids grow out of front facing car seat by around 5-6 years, and that’s the time where booster is introduced. For kids who are young but due to their height and weight they need to move up on to a booster; be sure to buy a booster with back support.
Booster seats must be used with a lap or shoulder belt which lies below the child’s upper thighs. Shoulder belt must cross the middle of your child’s chest and shoulder. Be sure to fasten the car seat belt every time the child sits in his her booster.
Child passenger safety laws in US:
All sates in US have certain fixed ad some few variable guidelines for car seat installation. While most of the variable ones are changing, the fixed ones are enforced by law. If anyone found breaching, would be penalized. Few of these laws are:
All children must ride in a rear facing car seat until 2 years or 20 lbs
All children under 4 years of age must be properly secured in child restraint system in rear seat until possible
A booster seat must be used post front facing until 8 years of age
All children must sit on rear seat until 12 years of age
A child must never be left in car without locking or harnessing properly
Be sure to check the car seat safety guidelines
The above compilation on Car seat guidelines for parents is to help new parents and parents of children transitioning from one type of car seat to another. As important as it sounds we must ensure adherence to all the rules and guidelines laid for the safety of our children at all times.
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