Child Passenger Safety Week 2025

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Child Passenger Safety Week, observed from September 21st to 27th, is a timely reminder to ensure children are traveling safely.  Motor vehicle crashes rank high on the list of leading causes of injury and fatality for children in most age groups.  An average of two children under the age of 14 were killed and an estimated 345 were injured every day in 2023.  Understanding how to select, install, and use a car seat properly can make a critical difference in the event of a crash.  With that in mind, here are some key points to help ensure your child’s safety on the road[EH1] :

When is a Seatbelt Appropriate?

Most states require children to ride in a harness car seat or a booster seat until age 8.  Children who are 4 feet and 9 inches or taller may begin using a seatbelt, but proper fit is essential for safety, as seatbelts are generally designed for adults.  While there is no single criterion indicating when a child is large enough for a seatbelt without a booster or child’s car seat, here are steps you can take to determine when a child can rely solely on the seatbelt.

Car Seats for Smaller Children

Children under 4 feet and 9 inches in height should ride in a car seat.  Two important checks should be made for safety.  First, check the expiration date to confirm the child car seat is not past its allowed lifetime, which is six years for many car seats.  Second, verify the car seat has no open recalls.  To do this, you will need the car seat manufacturer, model number, and date of manufacture (labeled on the car seat).  Check for recalls on  the manufacturer’s website or on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) website (https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/owners/SearchSafetyIssues?prodType=C) by selecting “Car Seat” and entering the model of your child’s car seat.

Fit and Direction Matter

Verify the car seat’s fit is appropriate for the child’s age, weight, and height, and is facing in the proper direction.  As a child grows, they may outgrow their first car seat but still not be ready to ride forward facing.  In this case, you should replace the car seat with one that supports the heavier weight but remains facing rearward.  The current American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) policy is to keep children rear-facing as long as possible.  The limits for your car seat can be found on its labels or in the manual.

Where to Install Car Seats

Choosing the proper place to install the car seat in your vehicle is just as important as having the correct size and position.  Not all vehicle seats are able to have a car seat installed due to the seat design, seat placement, or both.  For example, rear-facing car seats should not be installed in the front seat of a vehicle unless the airbag has been turned off.  If a crash occurs, a deploying airbag can injure a child.  Seat design also poses an issue for vehicles that have side-facing jump seats or rear-facing seats, both of which are not acceptable for installing a child in a car seat.

Installation Methods and Safety Tips

Car seat installation is done using LATCH (Lower Anchor and Tether for Children) or the vehicle’s seatbelt.  Not all seating positions in your vehicle are equipped with LATCH, so it is important to utilize the section of your vehicle’s owner’s manual on installing car seats to learn which seating positions have LATCH.  If you are installing a car seat facing forward and the child is within the allowed weight to use the upper tether strap, it should always be used to reduce the motion of the seat and increase the protection provided by the car seat.  Review the manuals for both the car seat and the vehicle for information on the specifics of installation.

After following the installation steps, the tightness of the installation should be checked by grasping the car seat near where the seatbelt or the LATCH systems lower anchor strap passes through and trying to move the car seat.  You should not be able to move the car seat side-to-side or front-to-back more than one inch.  If it does move more than one inch, repeat the steps used to tighten the car seat and re-test the tightness.  If you installed a rear facing car seat, you should also verify the car seat is at the proper recline angle, this could be shown with a recline indicator on the car seat or base or indicated by a line on the side of the car seat.  Check your car seat owner’s manual for specifics for your car seat.

Harnessing Your Child Correctly

Ensure you are properly harnessing the child into the car seat.  To do so, place the child in the car seat so they are positioned all the way back in the seat with their back against the back of the car seat.  Check where the shoulder straps are relative to the child’s shoulders.  If the car seat is rear facing, the shoulder straps should come out of the car seat even with or slightly below the child’s shoulders.  If the car seat is forward facing, the shoulder straps should come out of the car seat even with or slightly above the child’s shoulders.  With the shoulder straps at the proper height, put the harness on the child, buckle the straps, and tighten the harness. To check if the harness is properly tightened, perform the “pinch test” to check for any slack. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnQRvuRlOks)

Cold Weather Reminder

Finally, keep in mind as the weather gets cooler, bulky clothing or jackets should not be worn by children in car seats, as they can prevent the harness from fitting properly.  It is better for the child to wear a light jacket and to place a blanket or heavier jacket over the child after they are securely harnessed in the car seat.

Help is Available

Taking the time to make sure your car seat is appropriate for the child, properly installed, and the child is harnessed correctly in the car helps to protect your child in a crash.  If you cannot get your car seat installed properly or are just unsure if you have done it correctly, help is available.  There are certified technicians in most areas who will inspect your car seat and work with you to ensure proper use.  In many cases, this service is provided free of charge.

To locate a certified technician near you, use the CPS Technician search tool at:  https://www.nhtsa.gov/equipment/car-seats-and-booster-seats#installation-help-inspection  

Scroll down to “Installation Help” and enter your location information.

Or go to https://cert.safekids.org/get-car-seat-checked and follow the steps under “Get a Car Seat Checked.”