Tips to Keep Your Smallest Passenger Safe!

In honor of Child Passenger Safety week that started yesterday, September 13, and ends on Saturday, September 19, here are four important tips to keep handy when transporting children in a car.

Step 1 – Rear-Facing Seats:

The best possible way to keep infants protected in the car is in rear-facing child safety seats that are in the back seat for as long as possible. Rear-facing seats should be used up to the height and weight limit on the particular seat. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until a minimum age of 1 and at least 20 pounds. Most pediatrician offices recommend children stay in rear-facing seats until the age of 2.

Step 2 – Forward-Facing Seats:

Once children outgrow their rear-facing seats they should move to forward-facing child safety seats that are in the back seat until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 pounds).

Step 3 – Booster Seat:

Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats they should ride in booster seats, in the back seat until the vehicle seat belts fit properly (usually at age 8 or when they are 4’9” tall). As of January 1, 2015 Florida law changed to require that children aged 4 and 5 must be restrained in a child safety seat or a booster seat. They are no longer allowed to just be restrained by a lap belt unless getting a ride from someone not in the immediate family as a favor, riding in an emergency vehicle or has a medical documented condition.

Step 4 – Seat Belts:

When children outgrow their booster seats, they can use the adult seat belt in the back seat, if and only if it fits properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest.

Keeping kids safe in vehicles is as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4.

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