Car Seat Regulations

Car seat regulations and laws vary from state to state. It is important to know your own state’s laws, and to know the laws of any state you may drive through.

As a general rule, however, there are some accepted standards recommended by safety experts and pediatricians, regardless of each municipality’s laws.

Remember, automobile crashes are the number one killer of children aged 3 – 14 in the United States, so car seat safety is imperative!

Infants

From birth, a baby should be in a rear-facing car seat. This can be either an infant carrier that attaches to a base that is buckled and/or latched into the back seat, or it can be a larger, permanent car seat that later converts to a front-facing seat.

Regardless, the baby should stay rear facing until it reaches to benchmarks. He or she needs to weigh 20 pounds and be at least one year old before turning forward.

This can be confusing to parents of babies who don’t reach 20 pounds by age one (some very small preemies don’t reach 20 pounds until after 18 months of age!) and to parents whose babies grow quickly and weigh 20 pounds at 8 months of age.

Regardless, both benchmarks must be reached before you put your baby in a front facing seat. Not all states have car seat regulations that are this strict, but most experts agree that this is the best procedure.

Toddlers

Children who have reached twenty pounds and one year are considered toddlers and may be seated in a forward facing car seat. These should be attached following the manufacturer’s instructions, and double-checked by a public safety official.

Police officers and fire fighters are always more than happy to give instruction in this area. The best type of restraint in these seats is a five-point harness

Young Children

Once kids have reached four years of age, they can usually move up to a booster seat. Booster seats raised children to a safe height where they can use the shoulder and lap belt in the car.

They should stay in this booster seat until the seatbelt crosses their chest in a safe manner, regardless of car seat regulations in your state.