Did you recently PCS to a new state? Have you thought to check if your new state has different car seat guidelines? Don’t worry if you haven’t, we’ve got your back! Every state in the U.S. has a military installation, but here at DMM, we made it easy to find what your new home state has to say about child car seat safety.
Ages and Stages
While all state requirements may vary slightly, all states do strongly suggest the following information, per the expertise of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):
Under the age of 1 – Children must always ride rear facing
Ages 1 through 3 – Keep your children rear facing for as long as possible in either an infant or rear facing convertible seat. They should remain rear facing until the height and weight limit for rear-facing use on that seat has been reached. This may result in many children riding rear-facing to age 2 or older. (Think your child may be uncomfortable? Read why that’s a myth here.)
Ages 4 through 7 – Keep children in a forward-facing seat with a five-point harness to the maximum height and weight limit allowed by the seat. Then transition them to a booster seat.
RELATED: Is your Car Seat Ready for an Overseas Move?
Ages 8 through 12 – Keep children in a booster seat until they either exceed the height/weight requirement for remaining in a booster seat or until they are big enough to fit the criteria for fitting appropriately in a seat belt. The shoulder belt should lie across the shoulder and chest, not across the neck or face, and the lap belt must lie across the upper thighs, not the stomach.
“All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection” (AAP).
Find Your Location
Scroll down to see if your child should be in a rear-facing infant seat, forward-facing or convertible seat, or booster. We all want our kids to be as safe as possible when driving in a car!
Car Seat Safety, State by State
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 5 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster or child safety seat: under 6 years
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: between 1-5 years and greater than 20 lbs.
Booster or child safety seat: between 4-8 years, under 57” and between 20 to 65 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 8 years and under 57’’
Booster or child safety seat: under 8 years and under 57’’
Rear-facing: under 1
Forward-facing: under 7 years and less than 60 lbs.
Booster or child safety seat: between 8 and 12 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years and less than 40 lbs. or under 40’’
Forward-facing: under 8 years
Booster or child safety seat: under 8 years and under 57’’
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 8 years
Booster: under 8 years and less than 66 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 8 years
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 5 years
Booster: under 8 years or 57’’
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 8 years and under 57’’
Booster: between 8-12 years or under 57’’
Rear-facing: under 2 years or less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: over 40 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 2 years or less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 7 years
Booster: under 7 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 8 years
Booster: between 8-12 years
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and less than 40 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: between 4 and 8 years and less than 80 lbs. or under 57’’
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and between 40-57’’
Rear-facing: under 1 year or less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 4 and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: between 4-7 years
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: under 57” and less than 65 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 1 year or under 20”
Forward-facing: under 4 years or less than 40 lbs.
Booster: Between 4-8 years and under 57” or less than 80 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 6 years and less than 60 lbs.
Booster: between 5-8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 6 years
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 6 years
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years and less than 30 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 4 years and under 40”
Booster: under 7 years and 60″
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: until the child reaches the harness’s highest size limit allowed by the manufacturer
Booster: under 8 years and less than 80 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: until the child reaches the harness’s highest size limit allowed by the manufacturer
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 1 year
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 2 years and less than 30 lbs.
Forward-facing: until the child reaches the harness’s highest size limit allowed by the manufacturer
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 20 lbs.
Booster: under 9 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 2 years and less than 35 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: over 4 years and greater than 40 lbs.
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 1 year and less than 20 lbs.
Forward-facing: under 4 years and less than 40 lbs.
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Rear-facing: under 2 years
Forward-facing: until the child reaches the harness’s highest size limit allowed by the manufacturer
Booster: under 8 years and under 57”
Wouldn’t it just be easier if all states could adhere to the same child car seat safety requirements, that way we wouldn’t have to remember to check for changes everytime we PCS? If you’re ever unsure, just go by The American Academy of Pediatrics’s guidelines (see beginning of article) to ensure optimal safety for your children. You can also check your car seat manufacturer’s height and weight requirements.
If someone forwarded this article to you, please do not be offended. They’re sharing this life-saving information not to judge you, but because they care about and love your family and want to see them safe. We all do.
WANT TO READ MORE?
Check out this article on 3 Tips for Car Seat Safety in Real Life.
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