car seat safety

photo credit: treehouse1977

Car seat safety is something that is very important to me, so when Momfluence asked me to share how to keep your children, or little passengers, safe in the car, I jumped at the chance.

This is an issue we’ve been talking about a lot in our house since the 5 year old would LOVE to ride in a booster seat so I don’t have to buckle her in. She’s super light though, at only 37 lbs. and she still fits in her Britax Decathlon. The booster will have to wait.

My 7 year old will be 8 soon, and thinks 8 is the magic number to ditch the booster seat, so I explained to her that she will need to pass this test to ride without a booster. She wasn’t too pleased with that, but her safety comes first.

For current laws in your state, look here. Our state, Pennsylvania requires children to ride in car seats until age 4, and booster seats until age 8, and in the backseats until age 12. Think that’s overkill? Google car seat or booster seat crash test.

There are some amazing resources available to answer any questions or concerns you may have about child seat safety. These links were provided by the NHTSA and the Ad Council.

A safety expert mans @ChildSeatSafety on Twitter, and will answer any questions
that parents have about child passenger safety. This is such a unique resource from a government agency!

NHTSA has a Facebook page where parents can learn about everything from LATCH to locating inspection offices.

The Ad Council and the NHTSA have created a site with all the resources parents need to keep
their smallest passengers safe. On the site you can find your local inspection station, watch instructional videos, and even take a fun quiz!

If you have questions about car seat safety, please feel free to leave them in the comments.

Kelly

Disclaimer: This is not a paid post, nor did I receive compensation for it.

About Kelly

Kelly Whalen is the founder of The Centsible Life, a blog where motherhood and money meet. Her goal is to help readers live well on less. Kelly is a mom to 4, and loves that she can stay at home with her kids, and still pursue her passions for writing, personal finance, and social media. You can often find her on twitter and Facebook talking money and motherhood.

Tagged as: kids, safety

http://www.observingcasually.com/ The Casual Observer

The free inspections are great, especially for new parents. Many people don't know the tricks to getting a car seat in safely.

Many times, the agency sponsoring the inpections accepts donations. It's a valuable service – be generous.

(No, I'm not affiliated with any such agencies – just a happy recipient of services)
http://www.observingcasually.com/ The Casual Observer

The free inspections are great, especially for new parents. Many people don't know the tricks to getting a car seat in safely.

Many times, the agency sponsoring the inpections accepts donations. It's a valuable service – be generous.

(No, I'm not affiliated with any such agencies – just a happy recipient of services)
http://www.FabulouslyBroke.com Fabulously Broke

I know even up to age of 10, my niece rides in a booster seat.. she's too light to sit on her own

What's funny is that when I was a baby or a child, we never bought booster seats or anything past a baby seat for a baby… I can remember being 5 and riding on my own in the front with just the seatbelt!

Child car safety has come a long way!

http://intensedebate.com/people/CentsibleLife CentsibleLife

That will be my 5 year old she's like a feather.
It has come a long way, and it's saved so many kids. I'm grateful we know so much better now!

http://www.FabulouslyBroke.com/ Fabulously Broke

I know even up to age of 10, my niece rides in a booster seat.. she's too light to sit on her own

What's funny is that when I was a baby or a child, we never bought booster seats or anything past a baby seat for a baby… I can remember being 5 and riding on my own in the front with just the seatbelt!

Child car safety has come a long way!