5 Top Car Seat Safety Tips

A correctly installed car seat can be the difference between life or death for a child in the event of a car accident. These simple tips will help you to determine whether or not your infant car seat is correctly installed. As always, be sure and consult your car seat manual to be sure you are following your car seats specific instructions.

1. Infants should remain in a rear facing car seat until they reach one year of age AND 20 pounds. If your infant outgrows their infant seat they can be moved into a rear facing convertible car seat until they reach both milestones. Before an infant reaches both of these milestones they are not developmentally ready to be placed in a forward facing car seat.

2. Use only pieces that came with your car seat. Do not use a head positioner or other attachment if it was not made by your car seat manufacturer. Bulky coats or other heavy clothes should be removed from your child before buckling your infant into their car seat.

3. Car seats should not move more than an inch in any direction. If they move more than that see your car seat’s owners manual to determine what can be done to secure your car seat. You may need to tighten straps or adjust other parts of your car seat to get a secure fit.

4. Infants seats should sit at a 45 degree angle. Many seats have adjustments on the base of the infant seat to help you achieve the right angle. Read your car seat manual to see what you can do to achieve the correct angle.

5. Infant car seat carrying handles should be locked down in position behind your infants head and not left in place above your baby’s head.

Many local health departments offer free or low cost car seat classes. Some will offer you the opportunity to buy a quality car seat and a minimum cost to you. They will check your car seat to be sure that it is installed correctly and give you advice for your car seat and answer any questions you may have.

It is best to keep a car seat in each car that your baby will be traveling in. Moving a car seat back and forth between cars makes it more likely that the car seat will be installed incorrectly.

It is important that your baby or toddler is safe every time you travel in the car. A correctly installed car seat can drastically affect the outcome if you were to be in an accident.

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