Rear-facing, forward-facing, booster seats? Child safety seat rules are among the top of the list of parent's concerns. Often, parents don't know when to transition their infant from rear-facing to forward-facing or when to graduate their child from a child safety seat to a booster seat.

We asked Susan A. Helms, R.N., M.A.L.S., director of Safe Kids Mid-South, what are the guidelines that parents and caregivers need to follow.
 
"There are four stages of child passenger safety as children grow, from infant seats to the time they are ready for an adult safety belt alone. Always follow the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions for the exact weight and height limits. Check your vehicle owner's manual, too. Here are the rules and how they apply:

REAR-FACING SEATS go in the back seat. Infants should ride rear-facing from birth to as long as possible according to the upper weight and height limits of the child safety seat, but should never ride forward-facing before reaching their first birthday and 20 pounds.

FORWARD-FACING SEATS go in the back seat. Children should ride forward-facing in a five-point harness until reaching the upper limits of the harness, which is usually 40- 65 pounds, and when they are approximately 4 years old. Allow toddlers plenty of time to grow and gain weight and height before moving them to a booster seat.

BOOSTER SEATS go in the back seat. Children from approximately age 4 to at least age 9, unless 4 feet 9 inches tall, should ride in a Booster Seat. 

ADULT SAFETY SEAT BELTS are for children age 9 and older or for those children who taller than 4 feet 9 inches. All children age 12 and younger should ride in the back seat.

Child safety seats save lives when they are installed properly. Unfortunately, at least nine out of 10 children in a child safety seat are not buckled in properly. Learn to correctly use the child safety seat by reviewing the instructions from the child safety seat manufacturer as well as the vehicle owner's manual. If you need assistance, a child passenger safety technician can help.

Safe Kids Mid-South schedules on-going child safety seat check ups at Safe Kids-sponsored events. Dates and times are posted on this BLOG or you can schedule a personal appointment by calling (901) 287-6730."

Summer means one thing - vacation! Having fun while traveling is important, but planning ahead to ensure safe travels should be a top priority for all parents.

If your vacation includes a stay at a relative or friend's, make sure you talk to your host about the possibility of installing age-appropriate safety devices such as cabinet locks or outlet covers to prevent injuries to your kids. This is especially true when visiting people whose children have already grown or those without children, as safety devices may be out-of-date or nonexistent.

When traveling by car, always bring your child safety seat or booster seat for your child.

When traveling by airplane, Safe Kids strongly recommends using a child safety seat. Infants and toddlers are safest in an approved child safety seat with a harness, in case of turbulence. A child who rides in a child safety seat on the ground should ride in that child safety seat on a plane. While most child safety seats fit on standard airplane seats, make sure your child safety seat is labeled "certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft."

Children who have outgrown child safety seats should sit directly on the airplane seat and, like all passengers, keep the lap belt buckled across their thighs or hips. Booster seats cannot be used on airplanes, because they require shoulder belts and airplane seats have only lap belts.

Planning ahead also involves packing appropriate gear for your children. If they will be biking, riding a scooter, inline skating, skateboarding, etc, make sure to pack a helmet that is appropriate for the activity and fits them properly.

If you have a baby and the trip involves staying overnight, bring your own folding playpen if possible, rather than relying on borrowed cribs. In several surveys from 2001-2006, Safe Kids found many hotel-issued cribs to be defective, damaged or even recalled from the market. If you must use a hotel's crib, inspect it carefully for broken or missing parts and look up the model on www.Recalls.gov to make sure it isn't subject to any safety notices.

We support the new research by the American Academy of Pediatrics that says toddlers are more than five times safer riding rear-facing in a child safety seat up to their second birthday. Here are some tips:

• All infants should ride rear-facing in either an infant child safety seat or a convertible child safety seat (one that is used in both rear-facing and forward-facing positions).

• If an infant child safety seat is used, the infant should be moved to a rear-facing convertible child safety seat when the maximum weight (usually 22 to 32 pounds) and height (when the infant’s head is within 1 inch of the top of the seat) have been reached and as stated in the child safety seat manufacturer’s instructions.

• Toddlers should remain rear-facing in a convertible child safety seat until they have reached the maximum weight and height recommended for that model, or at least the age of 2.

• To see if your child safety seat is installed properly, call the coalition and ask for a certified passenger safety technician to assist you.

On A Special Note

In Sweden, child safety seats are engineered differently than US models and children ride rear-facing to age 4. Death rates in Sweden are much lower than in this country.

The feet of children rear-facing may touch the back of the vehicle seat raising parent’s concern about potential injury to the lower extremities. To date, no injury has been reported by this mechanism, but even then, the risk of serious injury to the head, neck and spine which occur in infants forward-facing far outweigh the potential risk of injury to the lower extremities.

We are all looking for ways to cut corners, but I am concerned that some parents who are trying to save money might be buying cheaper, second-hand items that can actually be dangerous to their children, including:  

Child Safety Seats
Child Safety Seats should not be used if they have been involved in an accident and also are only good for a certain number of years, so a second-hand child safety with no known history should be avoided at all costs.   

Play Yards and Cribs
Children spend many unsupervised hours sleeping, which makes it critical that their beds be the safest place in the house.  Unfortunately, millions of cribs and portable child beds have been recalled in recent years for having faulty parts that can cause children to strangle and die.  If you are thinking of using a second hand crib, please check and see it if has been recalled for safety reasons.  

Also, you need to know what to look for when buying a bed – even if it hasn’t been recalled it could be too old so that it doesn’t meet current safety standards (slats are too far apart and child can strangle/pieces on the bed where a child’s clothing can get caught and strangle them) or in disrepair.  Check the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Web site – www.cpsc.gov to see if a crib has been recalled and check the Safe Kids Crib Safety Checklist for crib guidelines.  

Toys
Many toys in circulation have high and dangerous levels of lead, some have magnet danger issues.  Check again with www.cpsc.gov to see if a toy has been recalled and shop for more traditional toys such as art supplies, and wooden toys that are from manufacturers known not to use lead paint.  When in doubt, don’t buy the toy.  

What can YOU do?  You can sign up to receive immediate e-mails when dangerous products are recalled via www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx and can check on previous recalls at www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html.  The notices have photos and/or descriptions of the products to help parents determine if they own the product.