Is there an infant or toddler in your family? If so, please read about this new policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

In the April 2011 issue of the journal Pediatrics, the AAP urges parents to keep children in “rear-facing car seats until age 2, or until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat.” This new recommendation calls for young children to ride in rear-facing seats twice as long as the previous “one year” policy issued in 2002.

New research shows that children are safer in rear-facing car seats. A 2007 study in the journal Injury Prevention showed that children under age 2 are 75% less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they’re properly secured in a car seat that’s facing the rear of the vehicle.

“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,” according to Dr. Dennis Durbin, MD, FAAP. “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.”

The AAP also advised that “most children will need to ride in a belt-positioning booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years of age,” and that “children should ride in the rear of a vehicle until they are 13 years old.”

“The ‘age 2’ recommendation is not a deadline, but rather a guideline to help parents decide when to make the transition,” Dr. Durbin said. “Smaller children will benefit from remaining rear-facing longer, while other children may reach the maximum height or weight before 2 years of age.”

A parent's guide to car seats is available at www.HealthyChildren.org/CarSeatGuide.

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