 |
Car Safety Seats
As a parent, one of our most important jobs is to keep our children safe when riding in a vehicle. Thousands of young children are killed or injured in car accidents each year. We can prevent many deaths and injuries by using properly installed infant or child passenger seats.
Important things to remember:
- Always read and follow the installation instructions that accompany the car safety seat.
-
Select a car seat that best fits your child and vehicle.
- Check for a tight installation each time and make sure your child’s harness is snug.
- Never install a rear-facing child seat in front of an active front-passenger airbag.
- The center of the back seat is the safest location in the vehicle.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all infants should ride in rear-facing car safety seats until they are 2 years old or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the car safety seat’s manufacturer.
Important note to parents: Prior to April 2011, the recommendation was until age 1 and 20 pounds.
If your infant “outgrows” his infant car seat, he should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible seat or 3-in-1 seat. A convertible seat can be used rear-facing and forward-facing for older children. A 3-in-1 seat can be used rear-facing, forward-facing or as a belt-positioning booster.
Hawaii’s Child Passenger Restraint Law requires children less than 4 years old to ride in child safety seats. Children 4 through 7 years old must ride in a child passenger seat or booster seat.
We can also encourage our children to be safe by being good role models for them. We should always wear our seat belts in our vehicles. This will help our children form lifelong habits of buckling up.
General guidelines from the AAP regarding car safety:
1. All children 2 years of age or older should remain in a forward-facing car seat with a harness (i.e., five-point harness) for as long as possible, up to the limits allowed by the seat manufacturer.
2. All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for their car safety seats should use belt-positioning booster seats until the vehicle lap-and-shoulder seat belt fits properly. This is typically when they have reached four-feet-nine inches in height and are between 8 and 12 years old.
3. When children are old enough and large enough to use vehicle seat belts alone, they should always use the lap-and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection. The shoulder strap of the seat belt should never be placed under the child’s arm.
4. All children under age 13 should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for safety.
 |
Pediatric Group of Honolulu
1319 Punahou St., Suite 1100
Honolulu, HI, 96826
955-7845
