Transport Canada offers tips to parents on choosing the right child car seat, installation and more information about car seat best practices.
Rear-Facing Car Seats
Babies have large heads and weak necks. The car seats are angled backwards because babies need extra support while riding in a car. A rear-facing car seat will support your baby’s neck in a sudden stop or crash.
Important tips
By law, children must be buckled up in a car seat made for their weight and height.
Many car seats are not installed correctly. If you are not sure that you have installed your car seat correctly, there may be a car seat clinic in your community that can help.
Do not leave loose items in your vehicle during a trip, as they may hit and hurt someone in a sudden stop.
When using bulky winter clothing, make sure that the harness system is tight, compressing the material for a snug fit. Check with the car seat manufacturer for alternative methods of clothing during the winter.
It is important to make sure the harness system remains snug when you switch your child from winter clothing back to slimmer, summer clothing.
When should you move your child from a rear-facing car seat to a forward-facing car seat?
Don’t hurry. Keep your child in the rear-facing car seat until he or she grows out of it. Your car seat user guide will tell you the weight and height limits of a child for that car seat.
It is okay if your child’s legs touch the back of your vehicle seat.
Even if your child weighs more than 10 kg (22 lbs), and your provincial/ territorial law says you can use a forward-facing car seat, your child is safer in the rear-facing car seat as long as he or she is still below the car seat’s weight and height limits and fits in the car seat correctly.
Forward-Facing Seats
Forward-facing car seats are for older children with stronger back and neck muscles. As long as your child fits within the weight and height ranges of his or her rear-facing car seat and fits the car seat properly, it is best to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible.
When should you move your child from a forward-facing car seat to a booster seat?
Keep your child in the forward-facing seat until he or she grows out of it. A forward-facing car seat spreads the force of a sudden stop or crash over the strongest parts of your child’s body.
Your car seat user guide will tell you the weight and height limits of a child for that car seat. There are forward-facing car seats that are made for children up to 30 kg (65 lbs).
Even if your child weighs more than 18 kg (40 lbs) and your provincial/territorial law says you can use a booster seat, your child is safer in the forward-facing car seat as long as he or she is still below the car seat’s weight and height limits and fits in the car seat correctly.
Booster Seats
Booster seats are designed to allow seat belt use by children who no longer need forward-facing seats.
The booster seat positions a child so that the seat belt is correctly located on the lap and shoulder. Don’t hurry to move your child to a booster seat.
As long as your child is within the weight and height ranges for his or her forward-facing seat and fits the car seat properly, it is safest to use that car seat as long as possible.
Important tips
Always use a lap belt and a shoulder belt with a booster seat.
Leave as much space as possible between the booster seat and the front seat of your vehicle.
If you are not sure that you have installed your booster seat correctly, there may be a car seat clinic in your community that can help.
When should you move your child from a booster seat to a seat belt?
Your child must be able to sit up straight, with his or her back against the back of your vehicle’s seat.
Your child’s legs should be able to hang over the seat without slouching. Slouching makes the lap belt move up over the stomach when it should be over the hips. The shoulder belt should rest on your child’s shoulder, never on the neck or arm.
If your child can’t sit in the right position or the vehicle seat belt does not fit properly, he or she is still too short and should stay in a booster seat for a while longer.
Seat Belts
Don’t hurry. It is best to keep your child in a booster seat as long as possible. If your child has outgrown his or her booster seat, you must check that the seat belt fits him or her correctly before switching..
Is your child tall enough for a seat belt?
Your child must be able to sit up straight, with his or her back against the back of your vehicle’s seat. Your child’s legs should be able to hang over the seat without slouching. Slouching makes the lap belt move up over the stomach when it should be over the hips.
If your child can’t sit in the right position, he or she is still too short for a seat belt and should stay in a booster seat for a while longer. If your child has outgrown his or her booster seat, you may be able to buy one that fits your child before switching to a seat belt.
When can your child sit in the front seat of the car?
Kids 12 and under should always be in the back seat. Most cars have front seat air bags, and these can hurt small children if the bags inflate during a crash or sudden stop. The safest place in the car for children is always in the back seat.
For more information visit canada.ca/en/services/transport/road/child-car-seat-safety.html.
