It can be hard to keep up with the newest guidelines when it comes to car seats. When used correctly car seats can drastically decrease your child’s chance of injury in the case of a collision.
But again, this is only when used correctly. As a mother with two children still in car seats I tend to be a little crazy when it comes to car seat safety. This is because I see so many children who are improperly buckled or the car seat is improperly installed OR they aren’t in a car seat/booster at all.
It’s our job as parents to keep our children safe, so until your child meets the new height and weight requirements you will need to keep them in a car seat or booster.
New research has led to a lot of significant changes concerning car seats. While they used to recommend your child be rear facing until they reached their second birthday, they now are saying they should stay rear-facing until they have reached the highest weight or height requirement of the seat manufacturer. Which can be well past their second birthday.
Once they have outgrown their car seat, they should be placed in a seat belt positioning booster until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches. Many children will be well into the middle school years before they reach 4 feet 9 inches. So, while they may not like it, these new guidelines are saving lives.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, using a car seat and booster according to the new height and weight guidelines (NOT AGE) can reduce the risk of severe injury or death by over 70%.
One of the leading cause of deaths in children when it comes to car accidents isn’t the severity of the crash. It’s the improper use of a car seat.
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