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Q: What is the best car seat to use?
A: One that fits your child:
- car seats are designed with age
- height
- and weight guidelines to ensure a proper fit.
- One that fits your car
* Not all child safety seats can be installed in all seating positions of all vehicles.
* Check the instructions on the child safety seat and your vehicle.
- One that you will use correctly all the time:
* Child safety seats have different designs and features
Choose one that best suits you, your child and your vehicle.
Use this chart as a guide when choosing the proper safety seat for your child:
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Q: What is the safest way to transport my child in a vehicle seat?
A: Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the back seat. Infants should ride in rear facing safety seats as long as possible; until they are at least 12 months old AND weigh at least 20 pounds. Children who are at least 1-year-old and weigh 20-40 pounds can ride in forward facing child safety seats. Children 40 pounds and over should ride in belt positioning booster seats until the adult lap and shoulder belts fit correctly, usually at about age 8.
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Q: When can I turn my infant forward facing?
A: Children should ride in rear-facing child safety seats as long as possible.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a minimum of 12 months old AND 20 pounds before they face the front. The infant's bones and ligaments are not developed enough before then to withstand forward-facing crash forces. Placing your baby rear-facing reduces the risk of spinal cord injury in a frontal collision, since the safety seat's shell supports the neck and spreads crash forces across the entire back.
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Q: Should I buy a used child safety seat?
A: Used child safety seats are not recommended for several reasons:
- The seat may have been poorly maintained or involved in a crash.
* Once in a crash, the seat must be replaced.
- The used seat may have been recalled for malfunction or defects.
- The seat may be too old.
* Seats more than six years old should not be used since they may not be structurally sound
- Some manufacturers of older seats are no longer in business, so they cannot provide information or parts.
- Seats sold at garage sales or consignment shops may be missing important parts, vital labels or manufacturer's instructions.
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Q: What is the child safety seat LATCH restraint system?
A: LATCH is an acronym for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. It is a new standardized child safety seat system designed to simplify child safety seat installation and enhance child safety.
- Phase I
Since September of 2000, all cars, light trucks and minivans are equipped with a top tether anchor. Forward facing child safety seats manufactured since September 1999 come with an adjustable tether strap attached to the top of the seat. The strap attaches to the anchor and helps limit movement of the child's head in a forward crash, further reducing the risk of injury.
- Phase II
As of September 2002, all cars, minivans and light trucks are equipped with lower child seat anchorage points between a vehicle's seat cushion and seat back. Also, in September 2002, all child safety seats will have two attachments which will connect to the lower anchorage points.
If you are interested in getting more information about child passenger safety or you would like to have your child's car seat inspected by a Certified Technician, please contact the Pinellas Park Fire Department's Fire and Life Safety Management Division at (727) 541-0713.
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