Car Seat Safety

The other day I saw a mother driving down Washington Road with a small child in the front seat without a car seat. Does anyone else get as angry as I do when they see this? I thought this would be a great opportunity to review car seat information. Here are the basics on laws versus recommendations from a variety of authorities:

First of all, the safest place for children is the backseat. Always.

Pennsylvania state law requires that children under 4 years of age shall be securely fastened in a safety seat belt system and a child passenger restraint system appropriate for their height and weight in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer.

Children 4 years of age, but younger than 8 years of age, shall be securely fastened in a safety seat belt system and an appropriately fitting child booster seat in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturer. There are a few exemptions based on child’s weight or height or on vehicle characteristics. This website—www.pacode.com—is a great resource.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have recently changed their recommendations, which are more detailed than PA state laws.

The old recommendation was that children should be rear facing until age 1 or their weight reached 20 pounds. The new recommendation is that children should remain in the rear facing position until age 2 or until the child reaches the maximum height or weight for the seat.

Many seats available today (usually called convertible car seats) can be used as both a rear and forward facing car seat. The AAP and the NHTSA also recommend that children continue to use a belt positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are somewhere between 8 and 12 years old.

Car seats can be installed using the LATCH system or your vehicles existing safety restraints. One is not necessarily safer than the other however LATCH is much easier to install. LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children and has been available on most passenger vehicles since 2003. This website from NHTSA is a fantastic resource with great videos: http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/LATCH.

is a state fitting station and has three state certified technicians. They request appointments for car seat fittings—call 724.941.4176.

Other recommendations:

Do not leave your car seats in your vehicle if you drop your car off ANYWHERE unless you have an extra car seat at home that you are comfortable using.

Restraints and harnesses should be quite snug to prevent children from wiggling out or from excessive movement in the event of a collision.

The clip on the restraint should be at armpit level—we like to call it the tickle bar.

Puffy coats can make it more difficult to get a snug fit—many moms opt for blankets on top of the restraint.

There is a ton of information out there about all the specifics, details, controversies and myths involving car seats. The basic idea that we can all agree on is this: Children need to be in appropriate restraints no matter how far of a drive, they need to see their parents wear seat belts (Remember—we are their first teachers!) and they need to know that safety is important.

Our examples can go a long way.