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.

Child Passenger Safety Facts - NCIPC

...of four of all occupant deaths among children ages 0 ... A survey of more than 17,500 children found that only 15% of children in safety seats...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

Update for the Pediatrician on Child Passenger Safety: Five Principles

... reduction of deaths of children in motor vehicle crashes, especially those involving children <5 years ... the Most Appropriate Car Safety Seats for Growing Children. Guidelines for ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

Car Seats, NP Central

... 40% of all deaths associated with unintentional injuries (National ... one study (Geilen, 1997) involving a sample of pediatric ... stop placing their children in car seats. Parents do ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

Index Dr-Dz

... that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands ... injuries suffered in a car accident on Sept. 1 ... Republican. He coped with a serious budgetary ... coalition government involving ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

Safety seats for kids on planes could have unintended consequence

...could be prevented by mandating safety seats, Newman said, because there aren't that many deaths involving unrestrained young children in...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

IIHS-HLDI | Shopping for a Safer Car

What about children riding in airbag cars? ... adult safety belts in the back seats of ... the serious problem of crash deaths and injuries...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

CARSP/ACPSER - Recent Publications

Recent Publications Articles récents Home / Accueil Contact us / Courrier Search / Recherche Site map / Plan du site What's new? / Quoi de neuf ? About us / À propos de nous Publications / ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

Kids in Cars

Who is Kids In Cars? Kids In Cars is a Missouri based national organization dedicated to preventing injuries and death that occur due to children being left unattended in or around motor ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

Setbacks for Highway Safety in 2000

...have convinced me that seat belts and car seats are what separates the patients who go.....today announced that highway fatalities involving children ages 0-15 dropped in ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]

26216A_25bk,InjuryPrevntnPlan

...wearing seat belts or be restrained in car seats.7.. Trends.. Occupant restraint use and.....By 1998, the number had dropped to 25 deaths in children less than six years of.....abuse or ...

[ Click To Open In A New Window ]