A national medical organization and a federal safety organization have revised guidelines for young children riding in cars, recommending, among other things, that they ride in rear-facing car seats until age two, rather than only until age one.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued its recommendations in March “to keep pace with the latest scientific and medical research.” NHTSA recommended keeping children in rear-facing seats as long as the kids meet the manufacturer’s height and weight limits.
At the same time, the American Academy of Pediatrics advised parents to keep children in rear-facing seats until either age two or they meet the manufacturer’s size limits.
The organizations said they based their recommendation on evidence from crashes, which found that one-year-olds are five times less likely to be injured in a crash if they are in a rear-facing, rather than front-facing, car seat. The organizations also recommended that older children who have outgrown front-facing car seats travel in booster seats until they are big enough to wear a seat belt properly, and that children ride in the back seat through age 12.
