Car Seat Recommendations: What are YOU doing?

Two months ago the American Academy of Pediatrics released new guidelines that children face the back of the car until age 2, or until they reach their car seat's maximum height/weight restrictions. Once they face forward, the AAP says they should stay in a car seat as long as possible,and then in a booster seat until they are 4 feet 9 inches tall -- and between 8 and 12 years old. 

The previous recommendation said parents could face their children forward starting at 1 year old and 20 pounds. The new recommendations say parents should delay that transition as long as possible. 

Starting in 2006, Wisconsin law required children be in a car seat until age 4 and in a booster seat until age 8. Under 1 year old, they must face the back of the car, from 1-4 years old (or less than 40 pounds) they must be in a forward-facing car seat in the back seat, and from age 4-8 and between 40 and 80 pounds, they must be in a booster seat. Tall kids could get an early repreive, as the state says children taller than 4 feet 9 inches tall no longer need a booster seat. Drivers with children in a carthat are not following these recommendations face fines.

The AAP recommendations come after further study on exactly how muchcar seats, harnesses and their orientation in the car protect children in a crash. The AAP says rear-facing seats do a better job of supporting infants' and toddlers' heads, necks and spines in a crash and harnessed seats do a better job than booster seats protecting older children. 

The statistics are pretty sobering. A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention showed children under 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are in a rear-facing seat, the AAP stated. 

The recommendations made me rethink my haste to get our 3-year-old son out of his car seat and into a belt-positioning booster. The month before these recommendations came out we were shopping for seats, and the $50-$80 boosters were far more attractive to our budget than the $80-$150 harnessed boosters.