Car Seat Safety
Buckles, Belts & bumpy Rides – Understanding Car Seat Safety & laws
Car seats are the law! The use of a car seat is necessary to provide your child with a chance of surviving a collision and the type of car seat you use is equally as important as using one at all. When it comes to car seat safety and laws it can be confusing at first and proper installation may seem difficult. Hopefully, this will help to clear up all the misconceptions and confusion.
From birth to one year old a child should be in an infant seat. Many infant seats are carrier type seats that have a base. Another necessity during this time is that a baby should always be rear facing and in the rear seat. If your car is equipped with an air bag it is lethal to place a rear facing car seat in the front seat. The best infant car seats will have a 5 point harness that straps around the hips and chest and the belt should be positioned so that you can only get one finger underneath it. If your child is wearing bulky clothes you should remove them before installing the buckles and simply cover them from the top with a blanket. If you are nervous about your baby being in the back seat than get a two way mirror that will allow you to see your child’s face.
While many parents look forward to turning their baby forward, many do it to soon which can risk your baby’s life. A baby has to be BOTH twenty pounds and one year before they can be turned to a forward facing car seat. This is because until they are both one year and at least twenty pounds they do not have the neck muscles necessary to survive a collision. When both requirements are met, you can turn them around but they should still remain in the back seat. They can stay in this seat for many years. Most have adjustable belt loops and the shoulder straps should hit them from directly above their shoulders. Make sure the clip goes across their breast plate and that the belts are pulled taut at all times. Five point harnesses are best.
Once a child is larger and weighs 40 pounds (although it is better to wait) they can be sat in a belt positioning booster seat. The longer you wait to move them, the safer they will be.
When purchasing a car seat always make sure you buy it new. This way you will be notified in the event of a recall and you are positive that all the original pieces are included and that the belts, buckles and bolts are not worn. When you install it you are to use either the LATCH system in your car or the regular belts. If you use the regular belts, install the car seat and then place the weight of your body in it. Pull the seat belt all the way out until you hear it click and then pull it into the retract position as tightly as you can. The seat should not wiggle side to side or frontward and backward more than an inch. If it does, you may need to choose another seat or seek professional advice.
Car seats save lives and in your child’s early years they are the only thing that can stand between them and death during a car wreck. By always enforcing that your child ride in the back seat, in an age appropriate car seat and that they are always buckled – you will be setting boundaries for a lifetime of car safety.
