Note
This page may contain affiliate links, and I may earn a small commission when you click on them (at no additional cost to you). As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases. These products were researched and selected with care. However, because things change, make sure to check the safety profiles (and be on the lookout for any recalls) before using them.
A properly installed car seat is the one thing you must have to be allowed to bring your baby home from the hospital.
What’s So Great About Car Seats? Studies show that car seats reduce the risk of death from motor vehicle accidents by 71% in infants and by 54% in toddlers. In addition, booster seats lower the risk of serious injury in young children by 45%.1
In This Article, We’ll Talk About:
Get Wise(r) About These Topics Below…
General Car Seat Info & Safety Tips
- Car Seats are Required by Law in Every State.
- The Safest Place for ALL Children is in the Back, Middle Seat of the Car.
This is the best seat for the car seat, as well.
Heads Up: Never put the car seat in the front passenger seat of a car. Why? Because it’s dangerous, especially if the airbags deploy.
- Make Sure That Your Car Seat is Properly Installed Before Use.
PediaTip: If the directions are hurting your brain, you can outsource the installation to your local fire station.
- Avoid Hand-Me-Down Car Seats & Booster Seats.
Why? Because the safety standards are always changing and you want a car seat that adheres to the most current rules.
- Have Your Child Stay in the Rear-Facing Position for as Long as Possible (and Definitely Until Age 2).
Why? Because the rear-facing position is the safest. More about that below.
- Pick the Appropriate Car Seat for Your Child.
This is actually easier said than done.
Why’s That? For a couple of reasons, including:
1. The car seat safety regulations are constantly changing and evolving in an effort to keep kids safer.
2. The car seat safety rules are kind of vague and depend not only on a child’s age, but on their height & weight, AND on the height & weight limitations of their car seat.
3. There are a bunch of different types (and styles) of car seats to choose from.
Have no fear, though—we’re going to break it down for you in the simplest way possible. Below, we’ll cover the latest U.S. car seat safety guidelines (from the American Academy of Pediatrics) and the types of car seats recommended for each stage of early childhood.
The Rules of the Road
Rule #1: As Mentioned Above, Your Child Should Be in a Rear-Facing Car Seat Until at LEAST 2 Years of Age (Longer is Preferable, Though).
Let’s go over some terminology before we dive into the details:
- Rear-facing means the car seat (and the child) face backward, like so:
- Forward-facing, on other other hand, means the car seat (and the child) face forward, as in the pic below:
Back in the day, car seats were switched from the rear-facing position to the forward-facing position at 1 year of age. Nowadays, experts recommend that kids be in the rear-facing position until at LEAST 2 years of age.
Why the Change? Because, as discussed above, the rear-facing position (in the back, middle seat of the car) is the safest.
So, What Type of Rear-Facing Car Seat Should My Child Use?
For the rear-facing stage, you can use either a Rear-Facing Infant Car Seat or a Convertible Car Seat.
Tell Me More About These 2 Options:
1. The Rear-Facing Infant Car Seat
Infant car seats are designed to go in the rear-facing position only.
Here’s What a Rear-Facing Infant Car Seat Looks Like:
Image Source: Amazon.com
Infant car seats usually have a weight restriction of up to 35 pounds. They always have a 5-point harness, as well.
What’s a 5-Point Harness? It’s a type of seat belt that’s built into the car seat. It’s made up of 5 straps that are designed to restrain your child’s shoulders & hips in the event of a crash. The 5-point harness looks like this:
The 5-point harness should be snug, but not too snug. To ensure there’s no slack in any of the straps, you can do the “pinch test.” To perform the pinch test, try to pinch the harness strap between your fingers. If you get a substantial “pinch” of material between your fingers, then the strap isn’t tight enough. If the strap doesn’t pinch between your fingers, then the harness passes the pinch test and is tight enough (as shown in the pic with the green check mark below):
Image Source: Best Car Seat Hub.
Insider Info: The two major benefits of the rear-facing infant car seat is that it can be used as a carrier (thanks to its handle) AND it can be snapped into a stroller frame, like the one in the picture below.
Image Source: Amazon
This genius product means that you don’t have to take your baby out of the car seat to put them in a stroller. You can just keep them in the car seat, snap the car seat into the stroller frame, and voilà, you have an instant stroller:
Image Source: Amazon
The main drawback of the rear-facing car seat is that you’ll have to get a new car seat when your baby outgrows it.
The second option for a rear-facing car seat for infants is a convertible car seat.
Convertible car seats are designed to “grow” with your child. For instance, most convertible car seats can act as a rear-facing infant car seat early on, and then be turned to the forward-facing position when the child is ready. Some convertible car seats even transform into booster seats (a type of car seat for older kids that we’ll talk about as well).
Here’s an Example of a Convertible Car Seat that Can be Switched from the Rear-Facing Position to the Forward-Facing Position:
Image Source: Amazon.com
And here’s an example of a convertible, jack-of-all-trades, car seat that can transform from a rear-facing car seat into a forward-facing car seat, then into two types of booster seats.
Image Source: Amazon.com
The beauty of the convertible car seat is that it’s the only car seat you’ll ever have to purchase. The two drawbacks of convertible car seats are: they can’t be taken out of the car and used as an infant carrier, AND they can’t be snapped into a stroller frame.
Reality Check: Parents often buy a rear-facing infant car seat for its portability, then switch to a convertible car seat when their child outgrows the infant car seat. If you can swing it financially, this might be the way to go. If not, it’s no problem – just purchase the convertible car seat.
Rule #2: Your Child Can Switch to the Forward-Facing Position When They’re at LEAST 2 Years Old AND Have Outgrown Their Rear-Facing Car Seat.
This is where things get a little tricky.
Why? Because the height and weight restrictions vary between car seats. For example, infant car seats can usually accommodate kids up to 35 pounds, whereas some convertible car seats can accommodate kids up to a whopping 50 pounds (in the rear-facing position). This means that kids in rear-facing infant car seats are often turned forward sooner than those in convertible car seats.
FYI: The average 2-year-old girl weighs 26.5 pounds and the average 2-year-old boy weighs 27.5 pounds.2 Most kids don’t weigh 50 pounds until they’re about 5-to-6 years old.3
The Bottom Line: Don’t turn your child to the forward-facing position until they’re at LEAST 2-years-old (even if they outgrow their infant car seat). If they outgrow their infant car seat before 2-years, then you need to get a convertible car seat that can handle a higher height and/or weight in the rear-facing position. After age 2, the timing of when you turn your child around depends on what type of car seat you have and its weight & height restrictions. Ask the doctor for their thoughts on when you should turn your child to the forward-facing position after age 2.
Common Question: My Child’s Legs are Super Long and Look Scrunched Up in the Rear-Facing Position. Won’t That Be a Problem If We Get in a Car Accident?
If your child’s legs are scrunched up when they’re in the rear-facing position, then you might want to upgrade to a car seat that has a higher height & weight capacity for the rear-facing position.
Reality Check: That being said, kids are actually much more likely to injure their legs in a car crash when they’re in the forward-facing position (even if they seem “too long” for car seat in the rear-facing position).4 FYI: The injury in the forward-facing position is caused by the child’s legs flying up and hitting the back of the front seat.
Next Steps: When your child graduates to the forward-facing position, they should start out with a forward-facing car seat that looks like this (note the 5-point harness):
Image Source: Amazon.com
As your child gets older and bigger, they can transition to a “harnessed booster seat” (i.e. a booster seat with a 5-point harness).
Harnessed booster seats are a bit roomier than the standard forward facing car seat. Here’s an example of a harnessed booster seat (again, note the 5-point harness):
Image Source: Amazon.com
PediaTrivia
In Sweden, Kids Stay in the REAR-FACING Position Until Age 4.
Whoa! That’s Insane!
Or is It? Over time, Sweden has become a model for road safety and other countries are following suit.
Blast From the Past:
Even though the U.S. is no Sweden in terms of car seat safety, we’ve still come a long way. For instance, car seats were first introduced in the U.S. in the 1930s, not for safety purposes, but as a way for kids to see out the window.
Source: Getty Images/Good Housekeeping
Even wilder is the fact that the first child passenger safety law (which required children to actually be restrained in the car seat) wasn’t passed until 1985.5
Rule #3: When Your Child Reaches 5 Years of Age AND at Least 40 Pounds, They Can Graduate to a Belt-Positioning Booster Seat (Although They Don’t Have To).
Note: Your Kiddo Should Stay in the Belt-Positioning Booster Seat Until They Reach 4 Feet 9 Inches Tall (Typically Between 8-12 Years).
A Belt-Positioning Booster Seat uses the car’s seat belt (rather than it’s own 5-point harness) to keep kids restrained. The booster seat raises children up so they’re tall enough for the car’s seat belt to fit them correctly (i.e. to go across their chest, rather than across their neck).
Belt-positioning booster seats can have a “high-back” or be “backless.” Here’s an example of a high-back belt-positioning booster seat:
And here’s an example of a backless belt-positioning booster seat:
Image Source: Amazon.com
Note: The high back belt-positioning booster is safer overall.
Why? Because the backless belt-positioning booster seat is harder to secure to the seat and tends to slide around a bit more. The major benefit of the backless booster seat is that it’s super portable and can be easily transferred between cars.
Reality Check: Parents will often start off with the high back belt-positioning booster seat, then switch to (or add) the backless belt-positioning booster seat when their child gets a bit older.
The Bottom Line: It’s best to stick with the high back belt-positioning booster seat for as long as possible.
Below are Some Additional Car Safety Rules for Down the Road (No Pun Intended)
- When Your Child Reaches 4 Feet 9 Inches, They Can Ditch the Booster Seat and Start Using the Car’s Seat Belt While Sitting in the BACK of the Car.
PediaTip: When you get to this point, make sure the lap belt fits snugly across your child’s upper thighs (not across their belly) and that the shoulder belt lies across their chest and shoulder (not across their face or neck).
- Kids Can Sit in the FRONT Passenger Seat Starting at 13 Years of Age. Say Goodbye to Control of the Radio!
- When Your Child is 16 Years Old or So (Depending on Which State You Live In), They Can Move to the Driver’s Seat. Whoa!
Recap: I Know That I Just Threw a Bunch of Info at You, So Let’s Take a Moment to Breathe Before We Quickly Summarize What We’ve Covered:
Recap of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Car Seat Safety Guidelines:
Your child’s car seat should be in the rear-facing position until they’re at least 2 years old. When your child turns 2 AND exceeds the height & weight restrictions of their car seat, you can switch them to the forward-facing position—first, in a regular forward-facing car seat, then in a harnessed booster seat. Your child can graduate to a belt-positioning booster seat when they’ve reached a minimum of 5 years AND 40 pounds (although docs prefer that kids stay in a booster seat with a 5-point harness even longer).
When your kiddo reaches a height of 4’9,” they can ditch the booster seat and sit in the back seat with a regular seat belt. They then have the option to move to the front passenger seat at age 13. And before you know it, your little one will be driving!
Common Question: What is the LATCH System & Should I Use It?
When using a car seat (or a harnessed booster seat), you must anchor it to the back seat of the vehicle to prevent it from moving around. The traditional way to do this is with the vehicle’s seat belt, which goes behind the seat—not across the lap, as with a belt-positioning booster seat. However, there’s a relatively new system in town called the LATCH system. It’s built into the car and can be used instead of the seat belt to secure the car seat.
Tell Me More…
- LATCH (if you really want to know) stands for “lower anchors and tethers for children.”
- LATCH systems come with the car and were created to make car seat installations easier.
Does My Car Have the LATCH System?
Probably. The LATCH system is required for nearly all vehicles made on or after September 1, 2002.6
Note: Even if you have the LATCH system, you can still choose to secure the car seat using the regular seat belt.
So, Which Should I Use: the LATCH System OR the Seat Belt?
Studies show that the LATCH system and the car’s seat belt system are equally safe as long as the car seat is installed properly. The key word here is “properly.” So, choose the method that makes it easiest for you to install the car seat safely.
The Bottom Line
Car seats and booster seats are literal lifesavers for children. The car seat safety recommendations in the U.S. are constantly evolving, but don’t worry—I’ll keep you updated if anything changes.
