INDUSTRY INSIGHT
Child Safety
CAR SEAT
Safety
I
Sponsored Content
t is exciting for parents to see children transition from one stage to
the next. Yet with car seats, it is often safer to delay moving to
the next step as long as possible. Once children outgrow the
manufacturer’s height and weight limits on a safety seat, it is time
to consider a new one, but there are few clear age, height, or weight
recommendations that all children should follow. Below are some
guidelines to consider:
Children under two years of age should remain rear facing. Since
2011, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recommended
that children remain rear facing in child safety seats until the age
of two. This can be in an infant car seat or convertible car seat. This
recommendation is based on studies that show: 1) children birth to
age two are 75% less likely to die or experience a serious automobilerelated injury if they are rear facing, and 2) children age 12 months
to 23 months are five times less likely to suffer death or a serious
injury than toddlers who are facing forward. In a crash, a child’s
disproportionately heavy head and weak neck musculature can
contribute to spinal or brain injuries. When rear facing, the seat cradles
the head and neck, and disperses crash forces across the entire body.
It should be noted that the ”age two” recommendation should not be
seen as a deadline, as some children may outgrow their rear-facing
seat before that age, and some smaller children may benefit from
remaining rear facing past that age.
When children outgrow the height or weight recommendations
for their rear-facing child safety seat, secure them in a forward-facing
seat with a harness for as long as allowed by the manufacturer of the
seat. When children outgrow their forward-facing seat with a harness,
then secure them in a booster seat that allows the vehicle’s seat belt
to fit properly (lap belt low and snug across the hips, and shoulder
belt across the center of the chest and the collar bone, not the neck).
Booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children
aged 4–8 years when compared with seat belt use alone.
Many children are ready to be out of a booster seat and in a regular
seat belt at approximately 4-foot-9 inches tall and between eight and
12 years of age, though this may vary depending on the automobile
and child. A child should be able to sit with his/her back straight
against the vehicle seat back cushion, and knees able to bend at the
front edge of the seat before leaving a booster seat. All children under
age 13 should ride in a back seat. A lap and shoulder seat belt should
always be used.
Car seats may be installed with either the vehicle’s seat belt or
the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system. Both
installations are safe. If you install the car seat using the seat belt, check
the vehicle’s owner’s manual to see if a locking clip is needed to keep
the belt locked into position. Many vehicles do not need a locking
clip, but one must fully extend the seat belt and the allow it to retract
in order to keep the belt tight around the car seat. When in doubt on
installation, call both the automobile and car seat manufacturers for
advice.
Other great resources about car seat safety include:
www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety and www.justdrivepa.org.
Don’t forget that many local municipalities offer car seat installation
checks as well!
This Industry Insight was written by Amanda Kramer, MD and Bradley Kramer, MD.
Amanda Kramer, MD, and Bradley Kramer, MD,
are a husband and wife team who practice at
CCP – Moon, CCP – South Fayette and CCP –
Wexford. They married while attending the
University of Maryland School of Medicine,
conducted their residencies at Rainbow Babies
and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and
joined Children’s Community Pediatrics in 2010.
They are both native to Imperial, Pa.
Moon Township | Summer 2014 | icmags.com 31