County officials say new guidelines recommend that parents put children in rear-facing car seats until the age of two.

The American Academy of Pediatrics says it has adopted the new car seat recommendation based on “overwhelming evidence.”

St. Lawrence County Traffic Safety Program says that the previous policy, while advising that it is safest for infants and toddlers to remain rear-facing to the limits of the car seat, also included a minimum age and weight of one year and 20 pounds. The AAP reported that, as a result, parents often turned their children to face forward at the child’s first birthday.

The AAP now advises that children should remain rear-facing until at least the age of two, or to the height and weight limits of the particular seat.

A 2007 study from the University of Virginia showed that children under age two are 75 percent less likely to be killed or severely injured in a crash if they are riding facing backward.

Most infants start out in a rear-facing seat, and later are put into a convertible seat when the infant seat has been outgrown. The convertible seat can face forward or to the rear, depending on how it is adjusted and installed. Advances in car seats have given consumers more options for their babies, so that there are several affordable models of infant seats that last until the child weighs 30 to 35 pounds, and a range of convertible seats that can be used rear-facing for weights from 35 to 40 pounds.

Information about the size and weight limits can be found on labels that are required to be on each seat. Some basic installation instructions are also on every car seat label. When planning to install a safety seat, consumers should read the manual that comes with the car seat, and also the child restraint information in the vehicle’s owner’s manual.

Parents are sometimes concerned that when facing the rear, the child’s legs extend beyond the edge of the car seat. In the most prevalent type of crashes, forward-facing seats pose a greater risk of limb injuries than do rear-facing seats. In frontal crashes, a forward-facing infant’s head and limbs are thrown forward from the shell of the seat, rather than being contained as they are in a rear-facing seat. Children who have long legs can sit cross-legged in their car seats (the way they would sit on the floor), or in any other position that is comfortable for them.

The following summarizes the new AAP guidelines:

• Infants and toddlers use infant seats and convertible seats in the rear-facing position. All infants and toddlers should ride in a Rear-Facing Car Safety Seat until they are two years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.

• Toddlers/Preschoolers use convertible seats and forward-facing combination seats with harnesses. All children two years or older, or those younger than two years who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car safety seat, should use a Forward-Facing Car Safety Seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.

• School-aged children use booster seats. All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for their car safety seat should use a Belt-Positioning Booster Seat until the vehicle seat belt fits properly, typically when they have reached 4 feet 9 inches in height and are between 8 and 12 years of age.

• Older children who have outgrown booster seats should always use seat belts. When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use Lap and Shoulder Seat Belts for optimal protection.

All adults should provide a good example and buckle up their own seat belts every trip, every time.

Those who would like more information about properly restraining their children, can contact a certified child passenger safety technician at www.safeny.com web site, or can call the St. Lawrence County Traffic Safety Program at 379-2306.