Car Seat Safety

The other day, it came up that Dillon may be old/big enough to move to a booster seat. I couldn't remember the law, but thought it was 4 yrs/ 40 lbs. However, after looking into it, there are some booster seats that claim to be for 30 lbs and up to 80lbs or whatever. I was surprised by how difficult it was to find basic information. I just wanted to know a general guideline when it is safe to move kids up to the next seat. I came across the following information and videos. (Note: the videos may make you tear up, but they do get the point across...)

Generally, keep your child in the seat/position they are in until they are too big for it anymore (refer to your seat's guidelines). Rear-facing is safest, followed by forward-facing with a 5-point harness (seat should be as upright as possible, not reclined as an infant seat is), followed by the car's safety belt with a booster seat, and finally, the car's seat belt alone. Of course, the middle seat is the safest, and the middle row in a mini-van is the safest...

Car Seat Timeline from Consumer Reports:
http://blogs.consumerreports.org/baby/2008/05/car-seat.html

Excerpt from Kyle David Miller memorial website (http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/pages/4211/Car_Seat_Safety:_5-point_Harness_is_Safest.htm):

A child is too small for a forward-facing the seat if:
The child weighs less than the seat's lower weight limit.
The harness can not be adjusted to snugly fit.
The child is still small enough to be rear-facing.

A child is too large for the seat if:
The child weighs more than the seat's upper weight limit.
The top of the child's ears are above the top of the seat.
The top of the shoulders are above the top harness slots (except for the Radian car seats).

Some believe that when a child is too tall/heavy for a 40lbs convertible, they should move to a booster seat. This is untrue - continuing to keep your child harnessed for as long as possible is the safest solution.

Videos:
Crash video of 5-pt harness (opposite side) vs. booster seat using car's seat belt:


Belle's Gift:


Kyle Miller:

***NEW NEWS***
The Kyle David Miller Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of http://www.HipMonkey.com
- You can now purchase Britax, Sunshine Kids, Safeguard and Recaro car seats and many other baby/children's products from Hip Monkey and the 100% of proceeds from every sale will be donated to the Kyle David Miller Foundation to go towards purchasing car seats for children in need!! Please visit HipMonkey.com and help support children in need through your purchase!

I hope someone found this information useful, I know I learned something from it...