Child Car Seat Safety Laws in Texas: What Every Parent Needs to Know

Is your infant, toddler or child in the right car seat?

Three out of four parents choose the wrong size car seats for their kids.

A 75% error rate is something to be concerned about. So what is the magic weight and height to graduate an infant to a booster seat, and a child from a booster seat to a safety belt? When should seatbelts be allowed? Are there any exceptions to seat belt law?

Many adults dream of the day when their children can assume control over the process. Until that day though, parents must make these important executive decisions.

Texas has car seat regulations to protect young children who aren’t large enough or old enough for seatbelts. The following resources will help you determine when your child can sit in the big kid seat.

We recommend following Texas’ rules and and keeping your child in age- and weight-appropriate seats.

Car Seat Regulations in Texas

The car seat rules in Texas explain what parents should do on behalf of their children
(and remember, any seat should be used according to their manufacturing instructions):

Phase 1	Phase 2	Phase 3	Phase 4
Rear-Facing Infant or Convertible Seats in Back Seat	Forward-Facing Seats in Back Seat	Booster Seats and Lap/Shoulder Belts	Adult Safety Belts
Birth to 35+ pounds and/or 2+ years old	Use as long as possible, up to upper weight & height limits on seat (40-80+ pounds)	After age 4 and 40+ pounds (and behavior maturity, according to manufacturer’s manual)	Once booster seat is outgrown (~10-12 years old)

Parents or supervising adults must ensure that children in a car are properly restrained in a federally-approved child car seat. The Texas Department of Transportation implemented a “Click It or Ticket” program intended to protect drivers and passengers, and parents can reference the website to learn which car seat is appropriate.

Under this program, failure of adults to wear seatbelts or for children to be properly restrained can result in a ticket of at least $250.

There are also basic safety guidelines that families should remember. For example, children should ride in the back seat of the car rather than the front. This is because of the many concerns with air bag deployment, which – given a kid’s size and the location of the air bags – could result in head trauma or worse. Keep your child in a booster seat until they are 4’ 9” tall, which lessens the possibility of grievous injuries during an accident.

Weight, height and age considerations for child car seat safety

Child car safety seats reduce the risk of death by 70%. Federally-approved car seats can cost as little as $15, and you can even have the seat inspected for free in Texas.

Child car safety seats reduce the risk of death by 70% Tweet this

A seat belt should cross the shoulders and hips, not the passenger’s neck and belly. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that the leading cause of death for American children ages 5-14 is caused by failing to properly restrain kids in the event of a car accident. This is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children cling on to their booster seats until they reach 4’ 9”.

The Safe Kids Coalition also says children should stay in each particular car seat until they hit the maximum weight guidelines before moving up to the next one.

The takeaway for parents

The best thing for your kid is to keep him or her in each seat for the longest time possible — and don’t let them use a seatbelt until they hit a height of 4’ 9”. Once your child has reached that marker, you should feel better about allowing the use of an adult seatbelt.