The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says car accidents are the leading cause of death for kids ages two to fourteen, and they say half of those deaths are from not using safety seats or seat belts.

By simply using a child safety seat or belt, the risk of death for infants and toddlers can be reduced by 71 percent.  NHTSA says three out of four parents don't know how to use them.

According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, there are four steps to keeping your child safe.

From birth to 35 pounds, infants need a rear-facing seat in the back seat of the car.  Children should stay in this as long as possible, and once they outgrow it, they should move to a forward-facing seat.  DPS warns to never switch to a forward-facing seat before the age of one.  At age 4, the child can move to a booster seat with an adult safety belt.  A new Texas law requires kids to stay in a booster seat until they reach 4'9" tall. Once they reach that height, they can move to the adult safety belt.  The longer they can stay in each phase, the better the children are protected.

For more information:

http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/children-car-accidents-the-alarming-statistics-695796.html

http://www.ntsb.gov/

http://childcarsafety.adcouncil.org/