Keeping kids safe: Updates to car seat use
10/31/2024 by Nicole Guertin, M.S.
Motor vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of preventable death for children ages 1 to 13 years old. Using child car seats and belt-positioning boosters properly is one of the best ways to keep your kids safe while on the road. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), child safety seats reduce the risk of injury by 71% to 82%.
To help reduce the risk even further, the AAP and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) provide best practice recommendations for choosing and using car seats and restraints for kids from birth to adolescence. The AAP calls for children to use rear-facing car seats for as long as possible, according to the seat's height and weight requirements. Minnesota has also updated its child passenger restraint law to reflect best practices.
Best-practice recommendations include:
- Children remain in a rear-facing seat until reaching the height or weight limit, according to the seat manufacturer.
- Change to forward-facing car safety seats when the kids outgrow rear-facing seats based on the manufacturer’s specifications.
- Children should be in child passenger restraints with a harness until they reach the seat's upper height or weight limit.
- Switch to belt-positioning booster seats once the child outgrows a forward-facing child passenger seat.
- Children should ride in a booster seat until the adult lap-and-shoulder belt fits properly.
- Install and use car seats according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- Due to the force when an air bag deploys, children should not sit in the front seat until they're 13.
Choosing and using car seats is important but installing them correctly is essential. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), three out of four child car seats aren't installed properly. Car seats only protect your child in a crash if installed correctly.
To learn more, the below video demonstrates proper installation. You can also read more tips here.
Check for safety seat recalls on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
Nicole Guertin, M.S., is an injury prevention coordinator at Mayo Clinic Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center.