Do you know if your child is in the right car seat? A new study says most parents don’t. National Child Passenger Safety Week is underway. It’s a week dedicated to providing parents with valuable information to keep their children safe on the road.
Kate Carr, President & CEO of Safe Kids Worldwide, said it recently surveyed 1,000 parents with kids between the ages of 4-10 and found some alarming news.
“We heard that seven out of 10 parents had no idea at what time they should move their child out of the booster seat and into a regular seatbelt,” Carr said. “We also heard that nine out of 10 parents were letting their kids ride in a seatbelt when, in fact, they should have still been in a booster seat.”
The seat your child should be in depends on your child’s age and size. Rear-facing car seats are recommended for as long as possible, from birth to at least three years. When your child outgrows that car seat they can be placed in a forward facing one with a harness and tether, likely until they’re at least 7 years old. Then a booster seat until they can properly wear a seatbelt.
“So many parents move their child out of a booster seat and into a seatbelt before that child is really tall enough to fit into a regular seatbelt in a car. So, parents measure your child,” Carr said. “Make sure they are at least 4’9″, that’s 57” tall, and they weigh between 80-100 pounds,” said Carr.
SaferCar.gov has a weight and size chart that helps parents determine where their child should be. SafeKids.org also has child safety tips and information on the hundreds of car seat check-up events the organization is holding around the country this month.
