The Britax Roundabout, a popular convertible car seat.

All About Car Seats

There are three main types of car seats on the market today. First, the infant car seat is designed for the youngest of children, up to 20 or 22 pounds. Most of these seats have two parts, the base which stays strapped in to the vehicle's safety belt system and the carrier which snaps out and allows the baby to be carried without unfastening the infant from the harness (very important if Baby has finally fallen asleep!) The infant car seats are designed to be rear-facing, where the infant faces the rear of the vehicle. It is important for infants to be seated rear facing for the first year of life, until the muscles of the neck are strong enough to withstand the force an accident could impose on them.

A second type of car seat is called the convertible seat, and is designed for newborns through toddlers, or up until 40 pounds. This seat is designed to be used rear-facing for the first year of life, or up until the weight restrictions (usually 30 pounds). After this, the seat can face forward until the child reaches the upper weight limit, usually 40 pounds, although some car seats can be used longer. The most popular type of harness system for infants and toddlers is the five-point system, where the child is clipped by a series of three clips designed to evenly disperse the force of impact. The five-point system is highly recommended, although other systems (such as the three-point or overhead bar) may still be available.

After the child graduates from the convertible seat, it's time for a booster seat. These seats no longer use a separate harness system, the child and seat are both strapped directly into the vehicle's seat belt. The booster is designed to raise the child up in the seat so the vehicle's harness can function correctly. Booster seats should be used until the child is 80 pounds, at which time the child will be ready for the use of the regular seat belt. While some boosters are rated for children as light as 30 pounds, it is important to keep children in the 5-point restraint systems for as long as possible.

Childseat Installation Tips

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CPSafety - Your online child passenger safety resource

Shield Booster Discussion. Original Post: ...what is going on now with shield boosters and the AAP? Rumor I heard was that they weren't recommending them and cosco was going to finally stop ...

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration'S Child Seat...

This page is outdated. Please change your bookmark to: http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/probl...

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Parents: Don't Use Shield-Style Booster Seats

... Who We Are About WebMD Privacy & You Site Map Parents: Don't Use Shield-Style Booster Seats Forward- Facing Car Seats With Seat Belt, Harness Advised By Jeanie Lerche Davis WebMD ...

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Parents: Don't Use Shield-Style Booster Seats

There's more evidence against shield-style child booster seats. Children are at nearly eight times higher risk of serious injury when riding in these seats, a new study shows. ... ...

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Not All Child Safety Seats Are Created Equal: The Potential Dangers...

Not All Child Safety Seats Are Created Equal: The Potential Dangers of Shield Booster Seats Elizabeth A. Edgerton, MD, MPH*,

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Booster Seats, Research Update on

... of the vehicle. Shield booster seats have a plastic shield in front of the child. These seats offer less protection, however, and the report recommends they only be used with the ...

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Children's National Medical Center - Children's Hospital Washington D.

... To date, only injuries among isolated cases have been studied, but this study is the first to identify the specific injury patterns associated with shield booster seats compared with ...

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WNDU-TV: Story: Safety rating of shield booster seats - March 01, 2004

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MSNBC - Child safety seats under scrutiny

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