What is the law in New Hampshire?
Everyone under age 18 must use a seat belt or child safety seat. Effective January 1, 2014, each child under age seven or 57 inches tall (whichever is reached first) is required to use a child safety seat. The safety seat can be a seat with a harness or a booster seat.
Until the child's seventh birthday they are required to use a child safety seat. f the child is 57 inches tall before their seventh birthday, they are only required to use a seat belt.
Best practice is for a child to use a child safety seat until the seat belt fits them properly which is usually when they reach 4 foot 9 inches tall.
When can I move my child from one seat to another?
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommend keeping children rear-facing as long as possible, using a seat with a harness as long as possible, and using a booster until the child can safety fit with seat belt only. Each step away from rear-facing with the harness reduces the protection for a child.
Rear-facing to forward-facing
Keep a child rear-facing until at they are at least two years old AND until the child out grows the rear-facing seat by either weight or height. The child's head must be at least an inch of the top of the child safety seat. The child must be at least one year old and 20 pounds. Rear-facing with a harness provides the most protection for a child. High back boosters are always preferred.
Forward-facing to booster
Use a seat with a harness for as long as possible. Harness limits range from 40 to 90 pounds. Be sure the child is within the height and weight limits of the child safety seat. Use of a harness provides more protection for the child. When the child reaches the limit of the harness by height or weight and is mature enough to use only the booster with the lap/shoulder belt, then the child can move to the booster seat.
Booster seat to seat belt
Use a booster seat when the child has reached the limit of the height or weight limit of the harness and is mature enough to remain in their seating position with the booster seat.
The booster seat must be used with a lap and shoulder belt. The purpose of a booster seat is to raise the child up for a better fit of the seat belt.
When is a child ready to use only the seat belt?
If you answer NO to any of the following questions, your child is not ready to use only the seat belt. Use a booster seat or other child safety seat. Keep your child safe!
- Can your child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat?
- Do your child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the vehicle seat?
- Does your child's feet touch the floor?
- Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and arm?
- Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
- Can your child stay seated like this for the whole trip?
Take the booster seat quiz (PDF).
Which is better: the booster with or without a back?
Choose a booster seat that provides the most protection for your child. The purpose of the booster seat is to raise the child up for the seat belt to fit properly.
Booster seats without backs are fine as long as there is some protection for the child's neck and head. The head restraint in the vehicle can provide this protection.
Booster seats with a back protect the child's neck and head. A booster with a back keeps the child in the correct position for the seat belt to do its job if there is a crash.
Without the back on a booster, children often lean on doors which could pose a danger in a crash. If the child is leaning on the door and a side air bag deploys it could cause injury. If the child is in the seating position with a booster sitting up straight and the air bag deployed there is no danger.
My child's safety seat says it goes up to 110 pounds. Can I use the harness up to this weight?
Be sure to read the instructions and labels on the child safety seat. Every seat will have limits on the weight and height for each position. For instance, a seat may be rated for use with a harness up to 50 pounds and then can be used without the harness up to 110 pounds.
How do I get my child's safety seat checked?
Contact a Child Passenger Safety Inspection station to schedule an appointment.
I'm looking for a new car seat but am overwhelmed by the choices and worried about how to properly install your car seat. Where can I get help?
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has rated each child safety seat according to its Ease of Use. Check out how car seat features differ among various models.