• sleeping beauty image by anna karwowska from Fotolia.com
  
  Texas requires that all children ages seven and under, and up to 57 inches tall be placed in a restraint appropriate to their size. Child seat belt laws are mandated at the state level for your child's safety. The maximum fine for the first violation in Texas is $25 plus court costs. Subsequent violations can bring a fine of up to $250 plus court costs.
  
  

Infant Safety Seats

• Texas requires that babies up to one year old and who weigh up to 35 pounds be placed in a rear-facing child safety seat with the chest clip even with the baby's armpits and the harness straps snugly fastened against the baby's body.
  
  

Child Safety Seats

• Texas requires that children between the ages of one and four who weigh between 20 and 40 pounds be placed in a forward-facing child safety seat. The harness straps should be snug against the child's body, and the chest clip should be even with the child's armpits.
  
  

Booster Seats

• Texas requires that children between the ages of four and eight, who weigh over 40 pounds be placed in a booster seat. The lap belt should be across the child's thighs and hips, not his stomach. The diagonal belt should cross the chest, not the neck.
  
  

Seat Belts

• Texas requires that all passengers in a car over the age of eight use an adult seat belt. The driver must also use a seat belt. The lap belt should cross the hips, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should cross over the center of the chest.
  
  

School Buses

• Texas requires all school buses purchased after September 2010 to have seat belts.