Is your baby in a rear-facing car seat? Is your toddler in a forward-facing seat with a full harness? Does your 4- to- 8 year old ride in a booster seat, and do all of your kids sit in the back seat? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you may be putting your child’s safety at risk.

Currently all 50 states and the District of Columbia require safety seats for infants and children fitting specific criteria, and for good reason. Infants and toddlers require special attention — and equipment — in the car to keep them safe.

In fact, safe driving practices require that parents make sure their kids are properly restrained at all times, but especially before setting out on a road trip when they’ll be spending a lot of time in the car. Here’s what you need to know about the four types of restraints (including adult seat belts) that will keep your child safe, and how to decide when it’s time to purchase a new car seat or booster seat.

1. Rear-facing seats. In general a child should ride in a rear-facing seat until he or she is at least 1 year old and/or 20 pounds. Once your child has reached the highest weight or length allowed, he should continue to ride rear-facing in a convertible seat until he outgrows it.

2. Forward-facing seats. As soon as your child has grown out of her rear-facing seat, you should purchase a forward-facing seat with a full harness. The child should remain in this seat until he or she outgrows it.

3. Booster seats. These are for older children who have grown out of their forward-facing car seat. Your child should stay in the booster seat until an adult seat belt can fit correctly – usually when your child reaches about 4-feet, 9 inches in height and is between 8 and 12 years-old.

4. Seat belts. Children are ready for standard seat belts when — and only when — their knees naturally wrap over the edge of the seat, their feet reach the floor, they can sit tall in the seat without slouching, the seat belt can be worn low across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt naturally rests over the center of the shoulder and across the chest.

Additional safety tips can be found on your car insurance company’s website. There you can also make sure you aren’t paying too much for insurance by requesting auto insurance quotes online.