Ludlow Fire offers car sear installation and car seat checks to residents. To schedule an appointment please fill out the form below.
Choosing the Right Car Seat for your Child from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Children under 2 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. A rear-facing car seat has a harness, which cradles and moves with your child during a crash to reduce the stress to their fragile neck and spinal cord. It is recommended to keep your child in a rear-facing car seat until age 3, or until they reach the top height and weight allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer.
- Your child can be moved to a forward-facing car seat once they outgrow the rear-facing car seat. Forward-facing car seats have a harness and tether that limits your child’s movement during a crash. Tethers should always be used for forward-facing car seats.
- Once your child outgrows a forward-facing car seat, they can be moved to a booster seat. A booster seat raises and positions the child so the vehicle’s lap-and-shoulder belt fits properly over the stronger points of their body, the hips and across the chest. Keep your child in a booster seat until they are big enough to properly fit in a seat belt.
- For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snug across the shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face. The proper placement of a seat belt restrains the child safely in a crash.
- Your child should not be moved to the next car seat level until they reach the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer. In 2019, about 16.6% of children 4 to 7 were prematurely moved to seat belts, when they should have been riding in booster seats.
- Children under 13 should ALWAYS ride in the back seat.