Keeping children safe in crashes:
choosing the right type of restraint

More than 1,000 children 12 and younger die in passenger vehicle crashes every year, and more than 100,000 are injured. Parents can reduce the risk to their kids by properly securing them in the back seats.

The videos below help parents choose the right kind of restraint for a child's age and size and provide general information on installation and use. These videos are also available for purchase on DVD.

• Overview (watch first): all children

• Rear-facing: infants and young children
• Forward-facing: children who have outgrown their rear-facing seats
• Booster seats: children who have outgrown their forward-facing seats
• Adult belts: older children

Booster seats can improve the fit of adult belts for children who have outgrown child restraints, but not all boosters provide the recommended belt fit. It's important to ensure that the lap belt fits low across the upper thigh, not across the child's soft abdomen. The shoulder belt should cross snuggly over the center of the shoulder.

What if my vehicle doesn't have shoulder belts?

Adult belts

When older children start using the vehicle belts, the shoulder belt should rest across the chest, away from the neck, and the lap belt should fit low and snug across the upper thigh. Your child needs to sit straight up with knees bent at the edge of the seat.

Related information:

Summary of Institute research on lap belts and booster seats — study conducted with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Child passenger safety from SafeKids USA

Car safety seat information for families from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Child passenger safety from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

Q&A: Child passenger safety

NHTSA/Ad Council infographic: choosing the right seat

LATCH
Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH) makes it easier to attach child restraints securely to vehicle seats. LATCH was installed in some vehicles as early as the 2001 model year and was required in all passenger vehicles by model year 2003. Child restraints have been required to be compatible with the LATCH system since 2002.

Lower attachments connect to anchors in the seat. The two common types of attachments are C-hook (top photo) and flexible hook (bottom photo).

Anchor points usually are marked on the seat.

For forward-facing seats, top tethers are most commonly attached to anchors on the rear shelf (photo below) or on the vehicle seatback, but check your vehicle owner's manual for the location in your vehicle.