Posted on Monday, January 29th, 2018 at 5:57 am
Choosing a car seat is a big decision for most new parents. You need to trust that the car seat will protect your child if your vehicle is involved in an accident. As new parents quickly learn, infants should be in rear-facing car seats. Some infants seem to hate facing the back seat. They cry or fuss each time they are strapped into the car seat.
Rear-facing car seats are required by law in California for infants and toddlers under two years of age. The child must remain in a rear-facing car seat until the child reaches the age of two, weighs 40 pounds or more, or is 40 inches tall or taller. Children are to remain in a car seat or booster in the back seat until they are eight years of age.
However, if your child hates rear-facing car seats, is it safe to use a front-facing car seat as soon as your child meets one of the requirements or is it safer to use the rear-facing model?
Changing from Rear Facing to Front Facing Car Seats
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children should remain in rear-facing car seats as long as possible. Even if a child does not like, it is recommended that you keep your child in a rear-facing car seat until the child outgrows the height and weight limits of a convertible car seat. Toddlers will outgrow their infant seats, but parents can purchase convertible car seats for toddlers that can remain rear-facing for a longer period. Only when toddlers have outgrown the weight and height limits of the rear-facing seat should you turn them around to a forward-facing car seat.
The Academy recommends that toddlers and preschoolers remain in car seats with a harness until they outgrow the highest weight and height limits allowed by the car seat manufacturer. After that, a booster seat is recommended until the child reaches a height that allows the seat belt to fit correctly, usually when the child is about 4 feet 9 inches tall. Children should remain in the back seat until they are at least 13 years of age.
Sacramento Child Injury Attorney
If your child is injured in a car accident, you need to take steps to protect your child’s legal rights. An injury in a car accident can cause long-term health issues for your child. You need to work closely with your child’s physician and your personal injury attorney to ensure that all future damages are included in any settlement proposal. Your child could face problems as he or she ages. Your child deserves to be compensated for everything he or she has gone through since the accident and whatever pain and suffering he or she may endure in the future because of the injuries.
Our Sacramento injury attorney aggressively pursues full compensation for all damages, including past, present, and future damages. We fight for your child’s right to hold the negligent driver who caused the injury accountable and liable.
Contact The Tiemann Law Firm by calling (916) 999-9000 to schedule your free consultation and no-obligation case evaluation. Our law firm serves clients in Sacramento and the entire Bay Area.
