Community Corner

American Academy of Pediatrics Releases New Car-Seat Policy for Kids

The group says children should ride rear-facing until age 2 and use a booster until at least age 8.

Under Washington law, every passenger in a vehicle, including children, is required to buckle up.

To further protect the children in a case of accidents, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently released a new policy for parents to use a rear-facing car seats for toddlers younger than 2 or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat.

According to the release, published on March 21, the organization also advises that most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet, 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years old.

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The previous policy, from 2002, advised that it is safest for infants and toddlers to ride rear-facing up to the limits of the car seat, but it also cited age 12 months and 20 pounds as a minimum. As a result, many parents turned the seat to face the front of the car when their child celebrated his or her first birthday.

“Parents often look forward to transitioning from one stage to the next, but these transitions should generally be delayed until they’re necessary, when the child fully outgrows the limits for his or her current stage,” said Dennis Durbin, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement and accompanying technical report.

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“A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body,” Dr. Durbin said.

“For larger children, a forward-facing seat with a harness is safer than a booster, and a belt-positioning booster seat provides better protection than a seat belt alone until the seat belt fits correctly.”

While the rate of deaths in motor vehicle crashes in children younger than 16 has decreased substantially (dropping 45 percent between 1997 and 2009,) it is still the leading cause of death for children ages 4 and older. AAP said there are more than 5,000 deaths each year involving children and teens up to age 21.

Additionally for every fatality, roughly 18 children are hospitalized and more than 400 are injured seriously enough to require medical treatment.

According to AAP, new research has found children are safer in rear-facing car seats. A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention showed that children younger than 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.

“The ‘age 2’ recommendation is not a deadline, but rather a guideline to help parents decide when to make the transition,” Dr. Durbin said. “Smaller children will benefit from remaining rear-facing longer, while other children may reach the maximum height or weight before 2 years of age.”

Children should transition from a rear-facing seat to a forward-facing seat with a harness, until they reach the maximum weight or height for that seat. Then a booster will make sure the vehicle’s lap-and-shoulder belt fit properly.

The shoulder belt should lie across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not near the neck or face. The lap belt should fit low and snug on the hips and upper thighs, not across the belly. Most children will need 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 back seat until they are 13.

Although the Federal Aviation Administration permits children younger than 2 to ride on an adult’s lap on an airplane, they are best protected by riding in an age- and size-appropriate restraint, AAP said.

Here is more information regarding the new policy:

A car seat guide for parents is available at www.healthychildren.org/carseatguide


Editor's note:The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.

Akiko Oda is the editor of Gig Harbor Patch.


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