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"  This past Monday the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued new recommendations on car seat usage to help keep children safer. Previously the recommendation was for children to ride rear facing in car seats until they reached the height or weight limit of their seats as specified in the manufacturers&amp;#039; manuals (and sometimes on the seats themselves) for the rear-facing position but it also specified a minimum of 1-year/20 pounds. The new advice is to keep children rear facing until they reach 2 years of age or the recommended height or weight limits for their seats in that position. The press release from the AAP states: &amp;quot;A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of infants and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body,&amp;quot; Dr. Durbin (lead author of the policy statement and accompanying technical report) said: &amp;quot;For larger children, a forward-facing seat with a harness is safer than a booster, and a belt-positioning booster seat provides better protection than a seat belt alone until the seat belt fits correctly.&amp;quot; The news release from the AAP also recommends that a child remain in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches 4&amp;#039;9&amp;quot;. Children should also ride only in back seats until they are 13 years old. Be sure to check the limits of your car seat before you use it and base your decision on how to use it (rear facing, forward facing with harness, booster seat) on the height and weight of YOUR child and not his or her age or what other children their age are doing as all children are different sizes. Be sure to check out GH&amp;#039;s other stories on child safety: How to Childproof Your Home, Child Safety on the Road, Child Safety: The Best New Products. And if you&amp;#039;re planning on being in the New York City area, be sure to come take a tour of the Good Housekeeping Research Institute "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/institute/a24065/new-car-seat-recommendations/>