Car Seats and Boosters are Critical to Ensuring Your Child’s Safety

By Keith Turner 

Pop star Britney Spears may be famous for her singing and dancing, but as a safe driving parent, her skills leave a lot to be desired.

Recently, the young musical idol was photographed driving along the Los Angeles freeways with her infant baby sitting unrestrained on her lap. This prompted a wave of renewed discussion among parents and safety experts about the need for new parents to be educated about proper driving safety with their children.

The statistics are staggering. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, motor vehicle traffic crashes were the leading cause of death for every person from the age of 3 through 33. The good news is that when young children are properly secured in car or booster seats, they have a much better chance of surviving a crash than when they are left unbelted or improperly secured.

Here are some important guidelines to follow that will greatly improve the safety of your child while riding in your vehicle.

Boosting your car seat IQ

The safest place for all children under 13 to ride is in the back seat. In spite of the new technologies available in today’s vehicle air bags, the risk of injury or death from an air bag impact is too high. Having your child sit in the back is the safest way to ride.

Remember that each car seat is different, so make sure that you read the instructions that came with your car seat so you are certain to install and secure it properly.

Rear-facing car seats: Beginning with the first ride home from the hospital after your child is born, always use a car safety seat. Check with your hospital's maternity ward to see if they offer a car seat installation program.

Infants less than one year old or who weigh less than 20 pounds must ride in a rear-facing seat. This means if your child reaches 20 pounds, but is still under the age of one year, they must ride in the rear facing seat.

There are two basic types of rear-facing seats – infant only seats and convertible seats that can be turned around to face forward as the child grows older. Rear-facing seats have either a three or five point harness and are good for infants until they reach 20 to 22 pounds. Many of them come with a detachable base that stays in the car, making it easier for parents to transport the infant without having to buckle and unbuckle the seat every time. This is a big bonus when you are trying not to wake the baby from a nap.

Convertible seats come with a five-point harness, a T-shield or a padded overhead shield and can be used until the child is quite a bit older and larger than the infant-only seats.

Forward-facing seats: When your child reaches the age of one and is at least 20 pounds, he or she can start facing forward. If you are using a convertible seat, you will need to make a couple of adjustments to the seat when turning around to face forward.

Make sure the shoulder straps are in the slots above your child’s shoulders and shift the seat from the reclined position to the upright position. Also, be certain the seat is secured with seat belts running through the proper belt path. Always consult the seat’s instructions to ensure proper installation.

Some vehicles come with built-in, forward-facing child seats and booster seats. Again, weight and height limits on these seats may vary, so be sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

Booster seats: Once your child haws outgrown a child seat – typically when they reach 40 pounds -- the tendency is to put them directly into a regular seat belt. Not only does this make it harder for them to see out the vehicle’s window, but it’s not safe either. That’s why booster seats are recommended for children until they are at least four feet, nine inches tall and weigh at least 80 pounds.

You can tell if your child should remain in a booster seat if their knees don’t bend over the edge of the seat. Once the knees bend easily, then they have probably outgrown their booster seat.

Another way to test is to place your child in the vehicle’s regular seat belt. If the belts sit on the upper legs or thighs, and on the shoulder or collarbone, then it’s time for your child to graduate from a booster seat. On the other hand, if the lower belt comes up higher on your child’s waist and the upper belt rests across the face and neck, then the booster seat is still necessary.

Today’s newer vehicles have built-in systems that are designed to make child seat instillation easier for parents. The Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children or LATCH system, is an attachment that allow you to safely secure a car seat without using the safety belt. This system is available in all vehicles built after 2002, but it only works with child seats that have the same sort of LATCH anchor system.

Another built-in system is a tether strap that hooks to the top of a forward facing car seat and anchors it to the vehicle. The tether anchor is typically located in the rear window ledge, the back of the vehicle seat or on the floor or ceiling of the vehicle. These tethers can dramatically improve the safety and stability of your child’s car seat in a crash.

Final notes about installation. If you have any question about the proper installation of your child’s car seat, check with your local police department. They are often happy to check to make sure your child is as safe and secure as possible.

Or, if you are new parents, we note once again to make sure you check with your hospital's maternity ward to see if they offer a car seat installation program prior to leaving for home with your baby.

So while we may enjoy Britney’s musical talents, let’s not follow her new-parent mistake on the road. Our child’s lives are too precious to play with. We bet Britney's learned that  lesson too.

Freelance automotive writer Keith Turner is the father of two children, ages 16 and 12. Reached him via e-mail at carguy@hotmail.com.
 

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