By Janelle Retka

Yakima Herald-Republic

With the new year comes new rules for children’s car and booster seats.

The new rules were signed into law in April and bring Washington state in line with best practices prescribed by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

“Previously, the law has stated that your child needed to be in the appropriate car seat. It was very, very vague,” said Nikki Sandino, a community services officer and child passenger safety tech for the Yakima Police Department.

The appropriateness of a car seat was determined by the minimum and maximum weight and height, as prescribed by the manufacturer. Children would outgrow a booster seat when they were 8 years old or 4 foot 9 inches tall in the past — whichever came first.

Moving forward, rules have become a bit stricter and more clear-cut:

* Children under 2 must be in a rear- facing car seat with a five-point harness

* Children 2 to 4 years old must be in a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness

* Children over 4 years but under 4 feet, 9 inches tall must be in a booster seat

* Children under 13 must be in the back seat

The changes are based on research and best safety practices data.

Beth Ebel, a pediatric doctor and member of the Washington State American Academy of Pediatrics who studies transportation safety at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle, testified in support of the legislative change.

In April, she told the UW Medicine Newsroom that Harborview has seen life-threatening injuries to children that could have been prevented had they been in the correct car seat. Poorly fitted seat belts are associated with injuries to the spine, intestines, head and neck, for example, even at speeds as low as 30 mph, she said.

Sandino said most of the rule updates are unsurprising and small scale.

“The part that has a lot of people oh-my-god-ing is the booster seat section,” said Sandino, who is one of five certified car seat technicians with the police department; there are 18 such technicians countywide. “It could be older than 8 years old (now before a child outgrows a booster seat). You’re probably looking closer to 10 or 12 years old.”

To determine if a child is grown enough to solely use an adult seat belt, she said they should be able to sit with their bottom all the way back against the seat and have knees fold properly over the seat’s edge with their feet touching the floor. The seat belt should fit properly across the hips and over the collarbone, she said, and not ride up across the neck.

“That’s the biggest thing we’re looking for,” she said, because children are inclined to pull the belt down or put the strap behind them. “So that seat belt isn’t being used appropriately. It’s not going to help in a crash.”

Sandino said these rules are aimed at protecting children as their bodies develop.

While some children might be big enough physically that the front seat seems like a fair place to put them, she said it’s not worth it.

“Their bodies are still developing, still growing, so to risk injury to them by putting them in front of an airbag isn’t worth it,” she said.

Essentially, Sandino said, you want to keep kids in the most protective seat for as long as possible.

Khadija Sami, mother of 4-year-old Adeena Sami, said she was glad to see the laws being updated.

“I think it’s for the (kids’) safety,” she said. “If they’ve done the research, then why not?”

Sami said she has pretty closely followed the new policies. Her daughter sat rear facing until she was 2, and only graduated to the booster seat when she was 4. Adeena now excitedly jumps into her booster seat and buckles herself. The seat still has a back support, which is helpful if Adeena falls asleep in the car, Sami said.

Sonia Arias, mother of 8-year-old Ramiro and 1-year-old Luka Arias, agrees that the new measures are for her kids’ safety. But before buckling Luka into a rear-facing seat, she said the age limits might not be realistic for all kids — they’re not one size fits all.

“With my older son, when he was 1, he was already to the point where his legs were too long to keep him rear facing,” she said as an example.

But there are exceptions for cases like this, said Sandino of the Yakima Police Department. If a child is too tall or too heavy for a seat based on the manufacturer’s instructions before they meet the law’s age benchmarks, they should be graduated into the next level of security, she said. And if there is not space in the car for all children under 13 to be in the back, the front seat can be used.

“The goal with the changing of the law is just to go closer to what best practice is,” she said.

For parents who need support to ensure they’re installing their child’s seat properly or following the correct guidelines, car seat checks can be scheduled with someone from the countywide child passenger safety team by calling 509-575-6197.