Ask the Experts Blog

Many people think they have installed their child safety seat correctly and believe they are using it properly. However, according to National SAFE KIDS Campaign Car Seat Check Ups, as many as 85 percent of child safety seats are found to be improperly installed and/or used when vehicles are stopped and checked. Safe Kids Worldwide estimates that three out of four children are too small for seatbelts, or are incorrectly restrained in car seats or booster seats.

Don't join the crowd; avoid these mistakes:

• Using a defective car seat – Don't buy a used seat; you don't know its history. Avoid old ones (more than 7 years old), especially with missing parts or cracks. And never use seats that are missing a label or instructions, have been recalled, or were in a crash.
• Using a forward-facing car seat too soon – Until children are age 2, they should face the rear. When they're older than 2, and have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car safety seat (depending on the seat's limitations), the car seat can face forward. Older children should be in booster seats until they're at least 4 feet, 9 inches tall (usually ages 8 to 12). Until age 13, all children should sit in the backseat.
• Installing the car seat incorrectly – Make sure it's tight, and never place the car seat in the path of an airbag.
• Securing the harness straps incorrectly – They should always be snug and straight. For rear-facing car seats, strap the harness at, or slightly below, the shoulders. For forward-facing seats, use the top slot and strap at, or slightly above, the shoulders.
• Positioning the chest clip incorrectly – Snap the chest clip at armpit level for rear-facing car seats, and at mid-chest or armpit level for forward-facing ones.

Certified Car Seat Technician, Margaret Clayborn with the Community Health and Wellness at Lakeland Health shares some of the common tips she tells new parents: 

• All car seats undergo the same safety tests so a brand name or higher price doesn’t necessarily ensure a safer product
• When shopping for a car seat, it’s important to know your child’s exact height and weight
• You need to find a proper seat for your type of vehicle – the car seat shouldn’t be touching the back of the driver’s seat when it is installed
• Pool noodles and receiving blankets are great tools to use in order to get the correct 45 degree angle on the car seats
• Parents and caregivers should carefully read their vehicle owner's manual and the instructions that come with the child safety seat to ensure proper installation and use of the seat

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends doing the following quick safety seat assessment to ensure your child’s safety:

• Is your child riding in the back seat? (The back seat is the safest place in a crash.)
• Is your child facing the correct way? (Infants up to age 2 should face the rear.)
• Is the child safety seat held tightly in place by the seat belt?
• Does the harness buckle snugly around your child?
• If your child is between 40 and 80 pounds, is he or she in a booster seat for better seat belt fit?
• Does your older child fit properly in the vehicle's seat belts? (The shoulder belt should rest over the shoulder and across the chest, and the lap belt should fit low and tight over the upper thighs. The child should be tall enough to sit with knees bent at the edge of the seat--at least 58 inches tall and 80 pounds.)

If you are unsure if you’ve properly installed your child’s car seat or simply have questions, make an appointment with one of our certified car seat technicians by calling (269) 927-5403