Car seats help to keep your children safe in case of a car accident. However, many people are unaware of what kind of seat is the best choice for their child. Knowing what kind of seat your child should be using can help make sure your child is as safe as possible in the car.
Car Seats: Avoiding Child Injuries in Car Accidents
Rear-facing seats
Rear-facing car seats are the first kind of seat a child should use. These variations are the recommendation for children who are infants up to 3 years old. These seats help reduce the stress of an accident on the child’s head and spinal cord.
Generally, rear-facing seats are mainly intended for newborns and infants.
Most children will outgrow these seats at about 8 to 9 months. However, it’s important to not move up to the next type of car seat until a child meets the required height and weight limits.
Forward-facing seats
Forward-facing car seats are the next option available for children. These seats are best for children ages 1 up to 7. These seats also tend to come in convertible variants, which allows you to switch from rear-facing to forward-facing when needed.
Forward-facing seats make use of a harness to keep your child in place. This harness helps to distribute the impact of a crash more evenly over a child’s body. Furthermore, the tethers and anchors help keep the seat in place during an accident.
Booster seats
Finally, the last car seat option is the booster seat. Booster seats are intended for children age 4 all the way up to age 11. As with the forward-facing seat, you should move your child up to a booster seat only when they meet the height and weight requirements.
Booster seats also come in two common variants. Booster seats with backs add more neck and head support for the child. Generally, these are good choices if your car lacks head rests or high seat backs. If your car does have these features, then you can opt for a backless seat instead. Make sure to check your vehicle and make the best decision accordingly.
Good car seats help keep your child safe when in the car…
These seats give added protection to the child’s weaker body that normal seat belts can’t provide yet. Make sure to also follow the manufacture’s instructions for installing these seats to ensure they’re being used properly.