Child Seat & Restraint Resources
Keeping Kids Safe in Vehicles
In Minnesota, three out of four child safety seats are used incorrectly and many parents aren’t aware of the restraining steps a child should progress through as they grow. A vehicle is the most dangerous place for children and crashes are the leading killer of children under age 14.
Steps of Safety Seat Progression for Growing Children
A Guide for Child Passenger Safety Seats and Seat Belts
How to Properly Secure Your Child
Child Restraints and How to Use Them
Common Child Passenger Safety Mistakes
- Turning a child from a rear-facing restraint to a forward-facing restraint too soon. American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends keeping children rear-facing until 2 years old if possible.
- Restraint is not secured tight enough. It should not shift more than one inch side-to-side or out from the seat.
- Harness on the child is not tight enough. If you can pinch harness material, it’s too loose.
- Retainer clip is up too high or too low. The retainer clip should be at the child’s armpit level.
- The child is in the wrong restraint. Don’t rush your child into a seat belt.
Give Kids a Boost! Booster Seats Are the Law in Minnesota
Booster seats lift a child up to help the child fit into standard adult seat belts. Children must start riding in a booster seat when they have outgrown a forward-facing harness restraint (typically age 4 or 40/60 pounds). Children should remain in a booster seat until age 8 or 4 feet 9 inches tall, whichever comes first. (This booster seat recommendation is based on a child’s height rather than age.)
Minnesota law requires a child who is both under age 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches to be fastened in a child safety seat or booster. Learn more about Minnesota’s Child Passenger Safety Law.
Additional Safety Seat Resources
The Pregnant Woman’s Guide to Buckling Up (Plus a quick guide to child safety seats.)
Office of Traffic Safety: Child Passenger Safety
