According to the AAP and HealthyChildren.org, these are the car seat recommendations for 2011.

Please remember these car safety principles.
* All infants and toddlers should ride in a Rear-Facing Car Safety Seat until they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.
* A rear-facing car safety seat must not be placed in the front passenger seat of any vehicle equipped with a passenger-side front air bag.
* All children 2 years or older, or those younger than 2 years who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car safety seat, should use a Forward-Facing Car Safety Seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.
* All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for their car safety seat should use a Belt-Positioning Booster Seat until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically when they have reached 4 feet 9 inches in height and are between 8 and 12 years of age.
* It is necessary to properly secure the child in the seat and the seat in the vehicle.

For the complete list of recommendations, please visit HealthyChildren.org.

If you are unsure about the placement of your carseat, click below to get referred to local child passenger safety technicians by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations: “Child Passenger Safety Contact Locator”:http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/childps/contacts/index.cfm . You can also contact your local Fire or Police Departments to find where you can get you car seat checked.

Please visit the “Texas Children’s Hospital”:http://www.texaschildrenshospital.org/carecenters/InjuryPrevention/Default.aspx website to find out more information on childhood injury prevention.

3.22.09