Protecting your child safely while driving is one of the most critical responsibilities you have had as a parent.
Many young toddlers are killed or wounded in vehicle accidents every year. A child’s safety may be ensured by using automobile safety seats correctly. Many parents, on the other hand, find this daunting because there are so many different types of car seats on the market. Working with a CPST or CPS technician before your baby is born might help you guarantee a safe trip home from the hospital if you’re expecting.
Your child’s seat requirements are influenced by a variety of factors, including his or her age, weight, and developmental stage. The AAP has further information on how to pick the best child vehicle safety seat.
What You Need To Know About The Many Kinds Of Car Seats:
Babies And Young Children
Rear-facing-only
Rear-facing-convertible
Car safety seat manufacturers recommend that all babies and young children travel in a backside seat until they reach the maximum weight or height permitted by their seat. Children can ride rear-facing for two or more years in most convertible seats.
Preschoolers And Toddlers
Convertibles that face forward
With a harness, face forward
As long as their car safety equipment manufacturer permits, children who have exceeded the rear-facing weight and height limits of their convertible seat should ride in a forward-facing seat with an anchoring harness. Seats that can fit youngsters up to 65 pounds are available.
Adolescents And Tweens
Booster
As soon as a kid reaches 4’9″ in height and is between the ages of 8 and 12, they should start using a belt-positioning booster until they are tall enough to fit correctly in a vehicle seat belt. All passengers under the age of 13 must sit in the back of the vehicle.
Children In Their Twenties
securing passengers in automobiles with seat belts
As soon as a kid is old enough or large enough to be properly restrained by a vehicle’s seat belt, they should always wear lap and shoulder belts. Rear-seat seating is mandatory for children under the age of 13.
Seat Belts And Latch Are Required For Installation.
Either the seat belt or the LATCH system of the car can be used to secure a child safety seat in place. LATCH is a mechanism for attaching child safety seats to automobiles. Seats can be installed with lower anchors instead of seat belts in some vehicles. This is more convenient for parents. Always utilise the top tether with a forward-facing seat, whether you use the seat belt or lower anchors. To ensure the safety of their child’s car safety seat and vehicle, caregivers should utilise either the seat belt or LATCH system. Caregivers should only utilise one of the two alternatives unless car safety seats or vehicle makers allow it.
There are lower anchors in the rear seat of vehicles with the LATCH system, where the seat cushions connect. The back of the seat is where the tether anchors are positioned, either on a panel or on the back of the seat (in SUVs). Tethers or tether connections are standard on all forward-facing automobile safety seats. LATCH is now standard on nearly all passenger cars and child safety seats manufactured after September 1, 2002. Check your car’s owner’s handbook to see what the maximum permissible child weight for the top tether is.
The maximum weight for all lower anchors is 65 pounds. Check the car safety seat manufacturer’s instructions for the maximum weight a kid maybe before using the lower anchors on the seat.
Rear-Facing Seats For Infants And Toddlers
AAP advises that newborns travel rear-facing from the time they leave the hospital until they are old enough to ride in a car seat on their own. Rear-facing car seats are the best option for babies and toddlers till they reach the maximum weight or height permitted by their car seat manufacturer. Children can ride rear-facing for two or more years in most convertible seats. It is necessary to use a convertible car seat fitted backward when an infant outgrows a rear-facing–only seat. To guarantee that their child’s car seat is correctly placed, every parent can benefit from the assistance of a CPST.
Conclusion
Follow the manufacturer’s directions while installing your child’s safety seat in the automobile. Do not hesitate to contact the company’s customer care department if you lack these. You’ll be asked for information such as the seat’s model number, name, and manufacturing date. One of the seat’s labels has the manufacturer’s name and contact information. If you have a car safety seat, follow the recommendations in the owner’s handbook. Instructions for certain products can be found on the websites of the companies that make them.
Fill out the registration form that comes with the vehicle safety seat and mail it in.
