child injury car crash seattle | Seattle Personal Injury & Accident Blog

Prevent Child Injuries By Using the Right Car Seats for Your Kids

By Hardwick & Pendergast, P.S. on July 11, 2011

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) provides safety guidelines for child car seats. Nearly all children from birth to age 12 need to ride in some kind of car seat in order to be restrained properly if an accident occurs. The following tips can help you choose the right car seat for your kids.

Starting at birth, infants should ride in a rear-facing car seat in the back seat of the car. Never put a rear-facing car seat in front of an airbag, since the child can be severely injured if the airbag goes off. Use a rear-facing car seat as long as your child fits the seat’s height and weight requirements – usually, about one to three years. When a child has outgrown a rear-facing car seat, they may switch to a forward-facing seat, but should still ride in the back seat of the car. Read the rest »