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A child safety seat , sometimes called a infant safety seat , child restraint system , child seat , baby seat , car seat , or a booster seat , is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most commonly these seats are purchased and installed by car owners, but car manufacturers may integrate them directly into their vehicle's design and generally are required to provide anchors and ensure seat belt compatibility. Many jurisdictions require children defined by age, weight, and/or height to use a government-approved child safety seat when riding in a vehicle. Child safety seats provide passive restraints and must be properly used to be effective. However, research indicates that many child safety restraints are often not installed or used properly. To tackle this negative trend, health officials and child safety experts produce child safety videos to teach proper car seat installation to parents and caregivers. In 1990, the ISO s...

Since the first car was manufactured and put on the market in the early 1900s, many modifications and adjustments have been implemented to protect those that drive and ride in motorized vehicles. Most restraints were put into place to protect adults without regard for young children. Though child seats were beginning to be manufactured in the early 1930s, their purpose was not the safety of children. The purpose was to act as booster seats to bring the child to a height easier for the driving parent to see them. It was not until 1962 that two designs with the purpose of protecting a child were developed independently. British inventor Jean Ames created a rear-facing child seat with a Y-shaped strap similar to today's models. American Leonard Rivkin, of Denver Colorado, designed a forward-facing seat with a metal frame to protect the child. Seat belts for adults were not standard equipment in automobiles until the 1960s. Child safety seats first became available in the late 1960s, b...

There are several types of car seats, which vary in the position of the child and size of the seat. The United Nations European Regional standard ECE R44/04 categorizes these into 4 groups: 0–3. Many car seats combine the larger groups 1, 2 and 3. Some new car models includes stock restraint seats by default. Group 0 edit Group 0 baby seats, or infant carriers, keep the baby locked up in a rear-facing position and are secured in place by a standard adult seat belt and/or an ISOFIX fitting. Group 0 carrycots hold the baby lying on its back. Carrycots are secured by both seat belts in the rear seat of the car. Both types have handles to allow them to be easily moved into and out of the car. Position: Laying (in carrycots), rear-facing (in infant carriers), no airbags (with the exception of curtain airbags). Recommended weight: Birth to 10 kg (22 lb) Approximate age: Birth to 15 month Car Seat - Middle Back Seat Car Seat - Not in Front Seat Fastened carrycots edit Carrycots...

All child restraints have an expiration date. Seats can expire 6 years from the date of manufacture, although this can vary by manufacturer. Expiration dates are highly debated, with proponents and manufacturers claiming that older car seats can degrade over time to be less effective and that changing laws and regulations necessitate an expiration date. Opponents argue that it is simply for their legal protection and to sell more car seats, and point out that manufacturers have noted that the plastics in most car seats long outlast the expiration date. As ageing is due to temperature swings and UV-light, a seat ages faster in a car than in a cool, dark cellar. Like motorcycle and race car helmets, child restraints are tested for use in just one crash event. This means that if the restraint is compromised in any way (with or without the child in it), owners are strongly suggested to replace it. This is due to the uncertainty with how a compromised child restraint will perform in subsequ...

A study of car crash data from 16 U.S. states found that children under the age of 3 were 43% less likely to be injured in a car crash if their car seat was fastened in the center of the back seat rather than on one side. Results were based on data from 4,790 car crashes involving children aged 3 and younger between 1998 and 2006. According to data, the center position was the safest but least used position. However, economist Steven Levitt (see below) has demonstrated that car seats do not reduce fatalities when compared to regular seat belts. The move from having car seats in the front passenger seat to having them in the back seat, facing backwards, may make it easier for a busy, distracted parent to leave an infant in the car. Each year, between 30 and 50 infants die of heat illness and hypothermia in the United States after being left in a car.

Baby car seats are legally required in many countries, including most Western developed countries, to safely transport children up to the age of 2 or more years in cars and other vehicles. Other car seats, also known as "booster seats," are required until the child is large enough to use an adult seat belt. This is usually, but not always, when the child is 1.49m (4 ft 9in) tall. The child needs to meet five criteria before moving out of the booster seat, including the child's seating position, shoulder belt position, lap belt position, knee position, and ability to sit properly for the length of the trip. Generally, countries that regulate passenger safety have child safety laws that require a child to be restrained appropriately depending on their age and weight. These regulations and standards are often minimums, and with each graduation to the next kind of safety seat, there is a step down in the amount of protection a child has in a collision. Some countries, such as...

Though there are hundreds of variations of makes and models in the world of child safety seats, the materials used in the manufacturing process are basically the same. Factories in which the seats are put together receive loads of polypropylene pellets. Foam makes up the padding of the individual seats, while vinyl and fabrics are used to make up the covers for the seats as well as the harnesses. A safety seat increases the safety of a properly restrained child in the case of a motor vehicle accident. The safety seat includes foam padding, fabric covers, a harness, and buckles or attaching mechanisms. Labels and instructions are also attached. Every child safety seat will have an expiration date on it. The Safe Kids USA organization does not recommend using a child safety seat that is more than 6 years old citation needed . Periodically, child safety seats are recalled by manufacturers for safety reasons. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration posts a link to recent recall ...

There are different types of child safety seats for children of different sizes and ages. Infant seats - Child safety seats made specifically for infants are the smallest and have carrying handles for easy carrying and loading. Newborns are most often placed in a rear-facing seat. These seats are designed for infants is up to 22 pounds (10.0 kg) to 32 pounds (15 kg), depending on the model. Convertible seats - Similar to the infant seat, the convertible seat can be used in a rear- or forward-facing position and is used for children typically beginning at 5 pounds (2.3 kg) up to 50 pounds (23 kg). The rear-facing position is used for children until they weigh more than 20 pounds (9.1 kg) and are at least two years old. Research studies and crash test results show that children are safer in a rear-facing child safety seat. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping children in a rear-facing seat until “they are 2 years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height...

Manufacturers have quality controls to ensure seats are properly put together and packaged. However, it is not guaranteed that the included instructions are always adhered to and correctly followed. Up to 95% of the safety seats that are installed may not be the right seat for the child, may be hooked into the vehicle loosely, may be hooked with an incompatible belt in the vehicle, may have harnesses incorrectly fastened in some way, or may be incorrectly placed in front of air bags. In 1997, six out of ten children who were killed in vehicle crashes were not correctly restrained. Along with the problem of instructions not being followed properly, there are other hazards that can affect children involving these safety seats. A recent study clarification needed attributed many cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) to the prolonged sitting or lying position these infants are in when putting the safety seats to use. When researchers reviewed more than 500 infant deaths, it was fou...

There has been some criticism of forward-facing child safety seats , in particular by the economist Steven D. Levitt, author of the popular book Freakonomics . Levitt's study and findings have been criticized and refuted by subsequent peer reviewed studies, which found child safety seats offer a considerable safety advantage over seat belts alone.