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Types of Car Seats
There are three types of car seats: rear-facing, forward-facing and booster seat. Even though there are many different models to choose from, all car seats meet the same U.S. federal safety standards.
Experts Can Help You Install Your Car Seat
- Go to a Checkup Event. Safe Kids coalitions have car seat checkup events and inspection stations around the country.
When you’re expecting a baby – especially if it’s your first – there are lots of things you might want to have on hand: A crib, a baby monitor, a box of diapers (or ten!).
But perhaps the most important piece of gear is your baby’s first car seat. You’ll need one for the ride home from the hospital, and for every ride until your child can ride safely using just a seatbelt. That can be as long as 10 years!
So with all the different options on the market, how do you choose the right car seat for your baby?
Last year, more than six million car seats were recalled. Was your car seat one of them? And if so, have you made the repair?
In advance of National Child Passenger Safety Week (September 13 – 19), Safe Kids Worldwide is urging parents and caregivers to follow these steps to ensure their child is as safe as possible in a vehicle.
Register Your Car Seat
Registering your car seat is the best way for parents to learn about a recall in the most timely and dependable manner – directly from the manufacturer. It’s easy to do.
Why use a booster seat?
Keep your growing passenger safe. A
Despite progress over the years, there is one aspect of car seat safety that has seen no progress: top tether use. Tethers are used with forward-facing car seats that have a harness.
Every 33 seconds, a child in the United States is involved in a car crash. That’s a scary statistic. Worse yet, more than a third of kids who died in crashes were completely unrestrained: no car seat, no seat belt, nothing. To help parents and the people they entrust to take care of their kids and get answers to their car seat questions, Safe Kids Worldwide created the Ultimate Car Seat Guide.
Time to Move to the Next Type of Car Seat?
- Don’t be in a rush. Use your current car seat until your child reaches the maximum weight or height limit listed on the label.
This week, as part of Child Passenger Safety Week (September 14-20), we’re teaming up with the General Motors Foundation to help keep kids safe while riding in the car.