Choosing Safe Baby Products: Infant Seats & Child Safety Seats

Child Safety Seats (Car Seats)

More children are seriously injured or killed in auto accidents than in any other type of accident. Using a child safety seat is the best protection you can give your child when traveling by car.

Never substitute any type of infant seat for a child safety seat. Only child safety seats — properly installed in the back seat — are designed to protect a child from injury during a car accident.

What to look for:

• Choose a seat with a label that states it meets or exceeds Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213.
• Accept a used seat with caution. Never accept a seat that's more than 6 years old or one that was in a crash (even if it looks OK, it could be structurally unsound). Avoid seats that are missing parts or are not labeled with the manufacture date and model number (you'll have no way to know about recalls). Also, check the seat for the manufacturer's recommended "expiration date." If you have any doubts about the seat's history, or if it is cracked or shows signs of wear and tear, don't use it.
• Be sure that the seat you choose fits your child — a smaller baby can slip out of a seat that's too large.
• Consider choosing a seat that's upholstered in fabric — it may be more comfortable for your child.

SAFETY NOTES:

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants and toddlers ride in a rear-facing seat until they are 2 years old or until they have reached the maximum weight and height limits recommended by the manufacturer.

Once kids are ready to transition to a forward-facing seat, they should be harnessed in until they reach the maximum weight or height for that seat. When they have outgrown their forward-facing harnessed seat, they need to be placed in a booster seat.

For more information on proper installation of child safety seats and how to harness your child, read our article on auto safety. You also can call the Department of Transportation Auto Safety Hotline — (888) DASH-2-DOT — if you have questions.

Reviewed by: Elana Pearl Ben-Joseph, MD
Date reviewed: April 2011