aap car safety seats guideline

i recently noticed that AAP changed their guidelines regarding carseats b/c i was looking it up to send to my friends. it's great! they finally did something. when i was younger, there were no carseats. however, i can't help but smile and laugh b/c i would have still be in a booster in HS according to their height and weight requirement if it weren't for the age statement. i graduated HS weighing 85 lbs and was around 5'1" so i probably would still fit in a booster in HS.


Infants Infant seats and rear-facing convertible seats
All infants younger than 1 year and who weigh less than 20 pounds should always ride rear-facing.
Toddlers/Preschoolers

Convertible seats Children 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds can ride forward-facing. It is best to ride rear-facing as long as possible.
School-aged children Booster seats Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seats. Children should stay in a booster seat until adult belts fit correctly (usually when a child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age).

Older children Seat belts Children who have outgrown their booster seats should ride in a lap and shoulder belt in the back seat until 13 years of age.

The AAP changed that a while ago, I just wish they would emphasize it more!

It's a fine line regarding what you said about needing a booster in HS. The age "8-12" they put there does not actually read as a recommendation but simply a this-is-when-it-usually-happens regarding properly fitting the adult seat belt which is actually what they are recommending. I doubt there are too many HSers out there who would sit in a booster, no matter their size, but age does not make an adult belt fit properly, size does. Maybe someday we'll see a redesign in the seat belts that will allow them to fit properly.

There's a poster on here whose adult sister was recently in an accident in which she sustained injuries because of not fitting the adult belt properly that have left her afraid to drive again. The poster was thinking she may consider using a NBB to get a safe fit of the belt.

Does it mean we should make tiny 14 year olds sit in boosters? It's a tough call...but the fact is it's size, not age that makes a difference.