Choosing the Right Seat Is Key!

Making Sure Your Child is Riding Safely on Every Trip

As a follow-up to the earlier  article on Child Passenger Safety Week, here are a few tips for getting the correct child safety seat for your child and installing it correctly in the vehicle.

For a child safety seat to do its job correctly, it has to be:

•           Appropriate for your child’s age and size,

•           Installed properly in your vehicle, and

•           Adjusted to fit your child securely.

Parents are reminded to keep children rear-facing until age two or until the limit of their rear-facing convertible seat, usually 40 pounds or more. Also, children should stay in a 5-point harness system until they are ready to ride in a booster seat. Booster seats are for children who are at least age four and 40 pounds or more and mature enough to sit still in a booster. Finally, keep children in a booster seat until the seat belt fits correctly. This is usually at 4’9” tall and sometime between ages 8 and 12 years old. The average child reaches 4’9” at age 11!

If you’re a parent or caregiver, don’t miss this opportunity to have a free child safety seat inspection by a certified child passenger safety technician. Technicians can provide hands-on advice and instruction. Make sure your children are safe and you are in compliance with the current child safety seat law in Texas. The law requires all children under 8, unless taller than 4’9”, to be in a child safety seat system, which includes traditional child safety seats with harnesses and booster seats.

Remember: All child passengers under age 13 should ride securely restrained in the back seat, where they are safest -- every trip, every time. If you are not able to attend an event during National Child Passenger Safety Week, you don’t have to wait until next year to check if your car seat is properly installed. To locate a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician in Texas, go to http://buckleup.tamu.edu.

Follow these guidelines from NHTSA to keep your children riding safely:

•           Birth – 12 months: For the best possible protection, your child under age 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. There are different types of rear-facing car seats; infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and 3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer period of time.

•           1 – 3 years: Your child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. This may result in many children riding rear-facing to age 2 or older. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness.

•           4 – 7 years: Keep your child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.

•           8 – 12 years: Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly, the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. Children under 13 should ride in the back seat!

For more information about this and other Extension and 4-H programming, contact your friendly, local county Extension agent Abigail Pritchard at 432-943-4112. Information is also available on our website at ward.agrilife.org. We are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/wardcounty4h.