The American Academy of Pediatrics has come out with new guidelines for car seats. The new guidelines are based on the child’s weight rather than just age.
The AAP recommends that children remain in a rear-facing car safety seat for as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the seat. Many manufactures have created safety seats that allow children to remain rear-facing until they weight 40 pounds.
The AAP recommends:
- Infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat. Most convertible seats have limits that will allow children to ride rear-facing for 2 years or more.
- Once they are facing forward, children should use a forward-facing car safety seat with a harness for as long as possible, until they reach the height and weight limits for their seats. Many seats can accommodate children up to 65 pounds or more.
- When children exceed these limits, they should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s lap and shoulder seat belt fits properly. This is often when they have reached at least 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years old.
- When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection.
- All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.
Benjamin Hoffman, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement and chair of the AAP Council on Injury, Violence and Poison Prevention said “The most important is to use a car seat for every trip. Using the right car safety seat or booster seat lowers the risk of death or serious injury by more than 70 percent. “
“Car crashes remain a leading cause of death for children. Over the last 10 years, 4 children under 14 and younger died each day. We hope that by helping parents and caregivers use the right car safety seat for each and every ride that we can better protect kids, and prevent tragedies,” said Dr. Hoffman.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/08/28/peds.2018-2461