New Rules for Babies Under 2 and Car Seats

There’s a huge buzz in the parenting community this week – on Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics officially revised its rules regarding buckling up babies.

The new ruling: Babies should remain rear-facing in their car seats until they are 2 years old and older children should use a booster seat until they are at least 8. All states require children to ride in a car seat up to age 4.

Studies show that babies are 75% LESS LIKELY to die or be severely injured in a car crash if they are seated in the rear-facing position. Babies under 2 need the neck support they get from a rear-facing car seat if they happen to be in a crash.

Luckily, most car seats manufactured today will accommodate children in the rear facing position until 35 pounds, which is a weight most children will not reach until after they turn 2 years old.

Children under 8 years old need (OR under 4’9) need to use the booster seat so that their bodies are positioned in the correct way for the seat belt to work properly.

The new ruling means big changes at my house and in my car – my 17 month old may not like it, but his car seat is getting turned around once again starting tomorrow! And my 7 year old may not think it is cool to show up at school in a booster seat, but…he’ll just have to deal with it. Safety is one rule I won’t budge on.

Please do the same for your little ones at home and comply with the new carseat guidelines.