Many children are unnecessarily injured in car accidents because car seats are used incorrectly or not used at all, children are being placed in the wrong type of car seat, and/or they are being moved out of a car seat and into regular seat belts at too early an age. Learning how to use a car seat appropriately can help decrease your child's chance of being hurt or killed in a car accident.

General Care Seat Safety Tips
Be sure to read the car seat manufacturers instructions and your car owner's manual to be sure that you are installing and using the car seat correctly. If you are unsure if you have installed your child's car seat correctly, ask for help. Or consider getting an inspection from a certified child passenger safety seat (CPS) technician or visit an inspection station (see Related Resources links below).

• All children under 12 years of age should be placed in the back seat of the car, especially if you have passenger side air bags.
• Infants should be in a rear facing infant only seat or convertible seat until they are 1 year old and 20 pounds. Children who reach 20 pounds before their first birthday still need to face backwards, and can be moved into a rear facing convertible seat.
• After they are 20 pounds and have passed their first birthday, toddlers can use a forward facing car seat (or a forward facing combination seat) until they are about 40 pounds or their ears have reached the top of the car seat.
• Children over forty pounds should be placed into a belt positioning booster seat.
• You should not use your car's regular seat belts until they fit correctly when your child is about 80 pounds and 4 feet 9 inches tall.
• Your child will not be ready to use regular seat belts until the shoulder strap fits across his shoulder and not his neck, and the lap belt fits across his hips and not his stomach.
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Infant Only Seats
Children should be in a rear facing car seat until they are 12 months old and 20 pounds. Infant only seats can be used rear facing for children weighing up to 20-22 pounds, although a few can accommodate a child until he is 25-35 pounds. Features of infant only seats can include a detachable base and either a 3 point or 5 point harness.

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Convertible Seats
These seats are used rear facing until an infant is 22 to 35 pounds (although newborns may not fit as well as they do in an infant seat), and then convert to a forward facing seat until a child is about 40 pounds. They may have either a 5 point harness, T-shield or overhead shield.

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Forward Facing/Combination Seats
Forward facing seats are used for children who are at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. A combination seat can also be used as a forward facing seat (but never rear facing), and can convert into a belt-positioning booster seat for child who weigh more than 40 pounds.

Booster Seats
A booster seat can be used once your child outgrows his forward facing seat, either by passing the weight requirements or if his ears have gone over the top of the seat. The two types of booster seats include belt-positioning boosters (preferred) and shield boosters (use of shields not recommended by the AAP). Use a booster until your child is ready for regular seat belts when he is about 80 pounds and 4 feet 9 inches tall.

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Which Seat is Best?
You should compare prices and features of the different seats to find the one that fits your child best. Consider buying an Infant Only Seat for you newborn, since they can usually also be used as an infant carrier, and then a Combination Seat after he is a year old. Alternatively, you could buy a Convertible Seat, especially if you have a big baby who you think will reach 20 pounds before he is a year old, and then a Booster Seat once your child when he is about 40 pounds.

• Car Seats: compare prices