The Illinois State Police is offering several safety tips for children this summer which could help save lives.

Driver’s licenses expire. The license plates on your car expire. The medicine in your cabinet and the milk in your refrigerator expire. That child safety seat in the back seat of your car has an expiration date too. The expiration date can be found actually cast into the plastic shell of the seat or on a label on the seat. If you cannot find either then the rule of thumb is the seat expires six years after the date of manufacture.

The date of manufacture can be found on a label on the seat. If that label is missing it is time to get a new seat. The reason child safety seats expire is that the plastic weakens with age.

Exposure to sunlight, heat and cold causes the plastic to become brittle.

Although an expired seat looks just fine, it could fail when it is needed most. If the seat is expired, replace it.