I've always been a stickler about car seat guidelines, so I was really interested to read the new guidelines.
excerpt from New car seat guidelines: Will you put your tween in a booster seat?
So much for one of the greatest perks of moving on from the baby years -- the liberation from gear. Just when you thought you were rid of the sippy cups, strollers and crowded backseat, the American Academy of Pediatrics has updated its recommendations on car seats, lengthening the time kids should use them.
Among the changes in AAP guidelines:
- Children should ride rear-facing to age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat. (The old policy from 2002 cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum for when to turn a seat around.)
- Children should use a booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years old.
- Children should ride in the rear of a vehicle until they are 13 years old.
- Entire article here: http://moms.today.com/_news/2011/03/21/6302625-new-car-seat-guidelines-will-you-put-your-tween-in-a-booster-seat
5 comments:
OHhhhhh.....Em's gona be mad!
Well, even though my Type A personality is telling me to "follow the rules", I feel like she has the height, weight, and body type that would be safe to ride in the front seat.
But do I make Abby go back to a booster until she is 4'9"???
I read this earlier today. We haven't turned Darby around yet and probably won't until his legs are too long for him to face backwards.
But to have a child that will have to go back to a booster will be hard. Maybe you should have a discussion with her and explain why.
Oh come on, Make Abbey go back to a booster just b/c some guideline says so? Use your great mommy instincts. I know there's more traffic and things are more dangerous now but we didn't even use seatbelts when I was young. We even rode in the back of windows as unsafe as that was. And you might drop your jaw and fall out but none of my girls are still in boosters. Guess I'm a rebel and breaking the rules. (let me clarify - I've NEVER been known to be a rebel) We do however, go by the state law and legally my girls are ok.
I'm probably not going to make her go back to a booster, but I will probably keep John Brady in a booster until he is tall enough for the shoulder strap to fit him correctly.
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