According to the findings of a new study recently carried out by a safety group, an alarming number of parents fail to follow car seat safety guidelines when they ride their children in their cars, because they do not know these guidelines properly.

The safety group's report comes in coincidence with the ongoing 'National Child Passenger Safety Week' this week.

Going by the findings of the study, 90 percent of the parents give up the use of booster seats too soon. Car seat safety guidelines require that children should not be allowed to sit in a car without extra protection till they are 10 years of age.

However, the study has revealed that most parents permit their children to stop the use of car seats or booster seats long before the children are 10 years old.

Moreover, the study has also found that 70 percent parents are not aware about what should be their child's minimum height when the transition is made from booster seat to seat belt. As per the guidelines, children must be at least 57 inches tall before they are allowed to wear a seat belt; though some car-seats can be adjusted as the child grows.

Noting that a child's age and height determine the kind of seat he/she should be in, traffic safety specialist, Blanca Castro said: "We have the infant car seat and goes up to 20 pounds. A convertible will go up to 40 pounds. Then we move up to booster."