The car seat is designed to keep your child stable and secure during any crash, which means they will come to a stop more gradually than if there were no seats. This reduces their risk of injury significantly!
If you’re in a car accident and your child isn’t restrained, they’ll keep moving at the same speed as everything around them until hitting something that slows down their movement. If they are not properly restrained, death or serious injury could occur.
If you have an infant in your family, it is important to use rear-facing seats until they reach the maximum height and weight limits of their car seat. Most children won’t do this until the age of two. It is important to wait until your child has grown enough before turning them forward-facing. Children who are turned too soon may be more likely to get injured during accidents so the law requires that they remain rear-facing up until age two.
When you purchase a car seat, check the manual for maximum weight and height guidelines. For updated child passenger safety laws in your state, refer to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.
When you’re ready to put your little one’s first footboard in the car, there are several options.
- The front-facing seats of this car seat can be used up until your child reaches the maximum weight or height allowed for their classification.
- Make sure to look at the labels on your car seat when purchasing it, because they’ll let you know how much weight and height are allowed for a child in that particular seat.
- When your child reaches the maximum weight or height for their internal harness, some models can convert to a belt-positioning booster seat.
- When your child is old enough to use a booster seat, the harness will be removed from their waist and they can then sit in the booster with the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belt.
We know that parents want what is best for their children, so we encourage you to use a car seat with a full five-point harness for as long as possible.
To ensure the safety of yourself and your kids, always check both vehicles as well as the car seat manual for specific information on installation. Here are a few simple guidelines to get you started.
- It’s important to know that when you are turning from a rear-facing safety seat into a forward-facing one, the harness must also be adjusted
- You should make sure that the harness is adjusted properly before installing a child seat.
- The straps should always be at or above your child’s shoulders when forward facing. This ensures that they are secure and can’t get tangled up in them while you drive, which could cause an accident.
Installing The Car Seat
There are two different systems you can use for installing your car seat. One is using the vehicle’s belt and buckle, or an extra harness that attaches securely onto chair hooks on either side of it; this will keep any sudden movements from harming someone during a collision. The other method entails lower anchors (which look like metal bars) fitted under the thighs area near the feet – these stays put even if there’s a crash so long as they’re tightly fastened. Both methods have been shown to be safe.
It is important to know the correct way of seating in your vehicle. Not every seat has an automatic latch, so make sure that you check the manual for more information.
Here’s how you can install the car seat using a seat belt
- The manual that came with your car seat should tell you which belt path is for a forward-facing position. If it doesn’t, check the label on its side and make sure to use an approved safety harness attachment point when installing.
- Then, pull the seatbelt out and carefully thread it through your car seat’s front-facing belt path.
- Buckle up and make sure that your seatbelt doesn’t have any twists.
- To secure your seatbelt, check the manual. For this car’s belt – slowly pull all of its lengths out from the retractor until it’s locked. Your vehicle may operate differently though – so do some research.
- The forward-facing seats of a car have an extra safety feature known as tethers. The top part connects to your vehicle’s anchor, which helps keep little heads secure in case something goes wrong on the road. This safety feature helps to stabilize the car seat and keep your child’s head in place.
- To ensure the perfect fit, press down on your car seat with one hand while pulling gently in order to stretch it out. To tighten the seat belt, feed it back into its retractor. The seatbelt will remain locked until you unbuckle it.
- When possible, use a car seat that has an attached tether.
- To test whether or not it fits well in your vehicle’s anchors: hold the seat up and pull from side to side. Once you’ve installed your car seat, make sure it moves less than an inch in any direction. If not, press down on the cushion and pull tight before getting into the driver’s seat.
- When you’re sure that the car seat is in a perfect position, make a final check to be absolutely certain.
The most common mistake parents make when installing a car seat is not tightly securing it.
Center seats in some cars don’t have lower anchors, so if your vehicle is one of them it’s best to install a car seat on either side where there are more gaps or space. The weight limits will be different depending on what kind you buy but make sure that they match up with guidelines from the manufacturer before using. To make sure your safety, always pay attention to both these manuals.
The latch weight limit on a car seat may also be indicated by an advisory label located near the base. You should always check your child’s manual for information on how much weight they can carry. If you have no guidance, assume that the combined total of their and any safety seats is 65 pounds or less. If you reach the weight limit for forward-facing seats, use a belt to install it properly and safely.
- The first step in securing your child’s car seat is finding the proper latches. The lower anchors are usually attached with a small plastic button or fabric tag, which will help you find them easily because they’re below this location on most vehicles’ seats.
- Make sure to attach each connector to its own lower anchor and connect the tether strap.
- Secure and adjust the straps according to your car’s manual, making sure they are tight enough.
- Next, check to make sure the seat moves less than an inch when you try rocking it back and forth.
The car seat is now considered safe for your child.
- The harness should be buckled and positioned at armpit level, which will keep the straps over your child’s shoulders.
- Next, make sure the straps are tight enough. If you can pinch a fold at each shoulder then they’re too loose and need to be adjusted accordingly with the slack taken out appropriately so that there’s no drooping in them.
- Make sure your child wears light clothing every time they’re in the car seat. Puffy jackets aren’t safe, as they create too much space between their body. The harnesses won’t be able to hold as securely when there’s a lot of stuffed fabric between them so keep this habit strong.
- It’s always important to check the harness before they ride and make any adjustments as needed.
The ChildPassengerSafety team is always working to make sure that the most up-to-date information on child safety seats is available. Refer back here or our other helpful articles for proper installation before you hit the rope. Have a safe trip!
