Baby Car Safety Seats - A comprehensive information and installation guide

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What should I know about child safety in the car ? One of the most important jobs you have as a parent is keeping your child safe when riding in a vehicle. Each year thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes. Proper use of car safety seats helps keep children safe. But with so many different car safety seats on the market, it’s no wonder many parents find this overwhelming. The type of seat your child needs depends on several things including your child’s size and the type of vehicle you have. All children should be seated in a suitable restraint when travelling in a car for their own safety. Adult seatbelts do not offer sufficient protection for babies and children and an appropriate child restraint must be used until your child reaches approximate 26kg in weight (generally at about 7 years of age). This includes your first journey home from the hospital with your baby, so don't leave it too late to get one fitted! There is not such thing as "best" or "safest" when it comes to baby car safety seats. The best seat is the one that fits your child’s age and size, is correctly installed, fits well in your vehicle, and can be used properly every time you drive. Don’t decide by price alone. A higher price does not mean the seat is safer or easier to use. Avoid used seats if you don’t know the seat’s history. Never use a car seat which: Is too old. Look on the label for the date it was made. Check with the manufacturer to find out how long it recommends using the seat. Has any visible cracks on it. Does not have a label with the date of manufacture and model number. Without these, you cannot check to see if the seat has been recalled. Does not come with instructions. You need them to know how to use the seat. Is missing parts. Used car safety seats often come without important parts. Check with the manufacturer to make sure you can get the right parts. Was recalled. You can find out by calling the manufacturer or by contacting the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Vehicle Safety Hotline at 888/327-4236. You can also visit the NHTSA Web site at www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/childseat.cfm. > Do not use seats that have been in a moderate or severe crash. Seats that were in a minor crash may still be safe to use. The NHTSA considers a crash minor if all of the following are true: The vehicle could be driven away from the crash. The vehicle door closest to the car safety seat was not damaged. No one in the vehicle was injured. The air bags did not go off. You can’t see any damage to the car safety seat. All new cars come with front air bags. When used with seat belts, air bags work very well to protect teenagers and adults. However, air bags can be very dangerous to children, particularly those riding in rear-facing car safety seats and to child passengers who are not properly positioned. If your vehicle has a front passenger air bag, infants in rear-facing seats must ride in the back seat. Even in a relatively low-speed crash, the air bag can inflate, strike the baby car safety seat, and cause serious brain and neck injury and death. Side air bags improve safety for adults in side-impact crashes. Read your vehicle owner’s manual for more information about the air bags in your vehicle. Read your car safety seat manual for guidance on placing the seat next to a side air bag. Vehicles with no back seat or a back seat that is not made for passengers are not the best choice for traveling with small children. However, the air bag can be turned off in some of these vehicles if the front seat is needed for a child passenger. See your vehicle owner’s manual for more information. Common types of car safety seats (boosters) Infants Infant seats and rear-facing convertible seats. All infants should always ride rear-facing until they are at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. Toddlers/Preschoolers Convertible seats It is best to ride rear-facing as long as possible. Children 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds can ride forward-facing. School-aged children Booster seats are for older children who have outgrown their forward-facing car safety seats. Children should stay in a booster seat until adult belts fit correctly (usually when a child reaches about 4' 9" in height and is between 8 and 12 years of age). Older children Seat belts Children who have outgrown their booster seats should ride in a lap and shoulder belt in the back seat until 13 years of age. We recommend that all infants should ride rear-facing starting with their first ride home from the hospital. They should remain rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer. At a minimum, children should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. Infant-only seats Are small and have carrying handles (and sometimes come as part of a stroller system). Are used only for travel (not for positioning outside the vehicle). Are used for infants up to 22 to 32 pounds, depending on the model. Many come with a base that can be left in the car. The baby car seat clicks into and out of the base so you don’t have to install the base each time you use it. Parents can buy more than one base for additional vehicles. Convertible (used rear-facing) Can be used rear-facing, then “converted” to forward-facing for older children. This means the seat can be used longer by your child. They are bulkier than infant seats, however, and do not come with carrying handles or a separate base. Have higher rear-facing weight and height limits than infant-only seats, which makes them ideal for bigger babies. A baby restraint, or 'capsule' is a rear facing seat. This should be used until your child is at least 8kg in weight or 70cm in length. A child restraint is a forward facing seat with it's own belt system. This should be used until your child has outgrown it - when the shoulders are too broad to fit or when the head is above the back of the restraint. A booster seat is for older children to position them correctly to use a conventional adult seatbelt. A booster seat should be used until a child's eyes are level with the top of the rear seat. If you have a booster seat without a seat belt system, ensure that you use a child harness with the seat, rather than the adult seat belt. If your child is tall enough to not need a booster seat, a harness is still recommended as an additional belt system that should be used instead of the standard belts fitted into the car. Harnesses offer more protection to your child from abdominal and internal injuries than standard seat-belts which are designed for children. It is possible to buy seats that combine two of the above categories so that you only need to obtain two different seats as your child grows. We are not aware of any seats currently available on the market that are suitable from birth right through to 26kg. You may also consider buying: Sun shades for car windows. Mirror to enable you to view your child in a rear facing capsule from the drivers seat. Head support for young baby. Tips and notes for seat installation There are some things to know and rules to follow in any car seat installation: Use the right kind of baby car seat for your child's age, weight and height. (See our article How to Choose a Car Seat.) If you have leather seats, get some non-slip rubber shelf liner or purchase a "seat saver" to put under the car seat. It will keep your vehicle seat clean and prevent the car seat from sliding around. (Depending on your car seat, though, a seat saver could interfere with installation, so hold on to the receipt.) The safest placement for a car seat is in the rear seat; never put a baby in the front seat if you can help it. Absolutely never in front of a passenger-side airbag that can't be deactivated. The middle rear seat is generally considered the safest, but most aren't LATCH compliant, so use the standard seatbelt installation for the middle seat unless your child safety seat's instructions specifically note otherwise. We've said it before, and we'll say it again: Read both the car and child seat manuals carefully, and always follow the car seat manufacturer's advice. If you have questions, call the car seat or vehicle manufacturer. Your local dealer may or may not be up to speed on your installation questions. Rear-Facing, Infant-Only Seat — Standard Shoulder and Lap Belt Install What if your car or your baby car seat is an older model and doesn't feature LATCH? Or what if your car's seat cushions or anchor placements make LATCH installation impossible? You can still do a standard shoulder and lap belt installation that's perfectly safe. First, thread the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt through the correct slots, called the "belt path." If you have a convertible car seat that reverses from forward-facing to rear-facing, be careful to choose the correct path - it will be clearly marked. Plug the latch plate (male end of the seatbelt) into the buckle (female end), then, using your weight as above, tighten the belt. Make sure all the slack is taken out of both the lap and the shoulder. Typically, using a locking clip will give you a more secure installation. A locking clip is an H-shaped piece of metal that comes with all new car seats or can be ordered from the manufacturer. To use one, plug the seatbelt in, make it as tight as possible, then unplug it again while holding the belt very tightly. Wind the locking clip around the belt as close as possible to the latch plate, then plug it back in. You may have to bounce down on the seat a few times to get it closed. This won't be easy, but it will give you a rock-solid installation. Remember that a rear-facing infant car seat should sit at a 45-degree angle to prevent the baby from slumping and to keep his or her airway open. Check your instructions to see if your seat has an angle adjuster; if so, use it. If not, a small piece of a swimming pool "noodle" wedged under the seat is the safest way to get the same angle. Why a noodle? Well, you can also use a tightly rolled towel, but towels compress over time, whereas the material in pool noodles does not. If you use a towel, check it occasionally to see that the angle has been maintained. Forward-Facing Toddler — LATCH Install Use your body weight to compress the vehicle seat. With a rigid LATCH attachment, simply push the attachments onto the anchor. For a flexible one, hook the attachment over the anchor. In both cases, pull the straps as tight as you can. Then comes the tether, which you'll find at the top of the safety seat. The purpose of the tether, when properly anchored, is to prevent the car seat (and thus the baby's head) from snapping forward. Different cars have different locations for the tether anchors. They can be behind or under the seat, along the rear window shelf and, in many SUVs and wagons, on the floor of the cargo bay or in the ceiling. You must check your vehicle owner's manual to be sure. If your car was made prior to 1999, you may need to consult the car's manufacturer or your local dealer to complete your installation. In a 1991 Honda Accord, an easy to install, $13 bolt available at the local dealer was all that was required. Hook the tether to the anchor point, then pull tight on the belt to remove any slack. Make sure NOT to attach the tether to the sliding seat adjuster or to a cargo hook. Don't attach more than one car seat tether to the same anchor point unless your vehicle manual says it's OK. Forward-Facing Toddler Seat — Shoulder and Lap Belt Install For a shoulder and lap belt installation, thread the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt through the appropriate belt path. Buckle the seatbelt. As before, use your body weight to compress the vehicle seat cushion. If the child seat has a "lock-off" clip — located on the side of the seat — be sure to refer to your instruction manual on how to use it. If it doesn't have a lock-off clip, pull the shoulder belt slowly all the way out, then let it retract. If you hear clicking sounds, the seatbelt has an automatic locking retractor, and is locking itself. Some retractors are very quiet, though — if the belt feels rigid after it retracts, the seatbelt is most likely locked. Pull the belt as tight as possible. If you can still pull out slack on the belt, you do not have seatbelts that lock automatically and you will need to use a locking clip to secure the seat, same as above. Bear in mind that emergency locking retractors are not the same as automatic ones and, despite their name, must still be locked down with a clip. To use a locking clip, unplug the seatbelt and hold it tight. Wind the locking clip around the belt as close as possible to the latch plate, then plug it back in. What many people don't understand is that the lap portion of the seatbelt is the part responsible for keeping the car seat secure. The shoulder belt portion must be "locked down" if the lap portion isn't locked on its own, which is what usually happens. Dodge and Chrysler vehicles, however, have a special mechanism on the lap portion of their shoulder/lap belt that locks the lap belt securely, so that the shoulder belt portion becomes irrelevant. It's important to remember that, after a car seat is installed, the seatbelt's latch plate should NOT lie against the curved opening of the car seat. If it does, try to make the buckle shorter, even if it means twisting it a full turn or two around. If that still doesn't work, your car seat might not be the right choice for your car. When using a rear-facing seat, keep the following in mind: Make sure the car safety seat is installed tightly in the vehicle and that the harness fits the child snugly. Never place a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has an active front passenger air bag. If the air bag inflates, it will hit the back of the car safety seat, right where your baby’s head is, and could cause serious injury or death. If your rear-facing seat has more than one set of harness slots, make sure the harnesses are in the slots at or below your baby’s shoulders. Be sure you know what kind of seat belts your vehicle has. Some seat belts need locking clips. Locking clips come with all new car safety seats. If you’re not sure, check the owner's manual that came with your vehicle. Locking clips are not needed in most newer vehicles. If you are using a convertible seat in the rear-facing position, make sure the seat belt is routed through the correct belt path. Check the instructions that came with the car safety seat to be sure. If your vehicle was made after 2002, it may come with the LATCH system, which is used to secure car safety seats. See below for information on using LATCH. Make sure the seat is at the correct angle so your infant’s head does not flop forward. Many seats have angle indicators or adjusters that can help prevent this. If your seat does not have an angle adjuster, tilt the car safety seat back by putting a rolled towel or other firm padding (such as a pool noodle) under the base near the point where the back and bottom of the vehicle seat meet. Be sure the car safety seat is installed tightly. If you can move the seat more than an inch side to side or front to back, it’s not tight enough. Common Questions and Answers Q: What if my baby weighs more than 20 pounds but is not yet 1 year old ? A: Use a seat that can be used rear-facing by children who weigh more than 20 pounds and keep your baby rear-facing as long as possible into the second year of life, or at least until he has reached his first birthday. Q: What do I do if my baby slouches down or to the side in his car safety seat? A: Pad around your child (never under or behind) with rolled-up cloth diapers or blankets. Do not use any sort of baby car seat insert unless it came with the seat or was made by the manufacturer of the seat. Q: Can I adjust the straps when my baby is wearing thicker clothing, like in the winter? A: Yes, but make sure the harnesses are still snug. Also remember to tighten the straps again after the thicker clothes are no longer needed. Dress your baby in thinner layers instead of a bulky coat or snowsuit, and tuck a blanket around your baby over the buckled harness straps if needed. Q: Are rear-facing convertible seats OK to use for preemies? A: Premature infants should be tested while still in the hospital to make sure they can ride safely in a reclined position. Babies who need to lie flat during travel should ride in a crash-tested car bed. Very small infants who can ride safely in a reclined position usually fit better in infant-only seats; however, if you need to use a convertible seat, choose one without a tray-shield harness. The shields often are too big and too far from the body to fit correctly.

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