Important car seat installation tips
By: Dr. Terry Shlimbaum
Did you know that 95 percent of car seats are installed improperly or used incorrectly?
New Jersey law states children need to be appropriately restrained in a child safety seat until 8 years-old or 80 pounds.
Children are too small to sit on a vehicle seat until they are 4-feet 9-inches tall.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury related death among children ages 14 and under in the United States. Child safety seats and safety belts, when installed and used correctly, can prevent injuries and save lives.
Young children restrained in child safety seats have an 80 percent lower risk of fatal injury than those who are unrestrained. Child safety seats reduce injury by 71 percent for infants younger than a 1-year-old and 54 percent for toddlers 1- to 4-years-old in passenger cars.
Estimates show booster seats reduce the risk of injury by 59 percent compared with the use of an adult safety belt alone.
Even though most parents understand the importance of using a car seat to protect their children, many children are unnecessarily injured. Some of the factors that contribute to these injuries are because the car seat is fitted and placed in the car incorrectly, the child is placed in the wrong type of car seat for their age and weight or the child is not securely strapped into the seat.
Children always should ride restrained with a car seat or seat belt in the back seat of a vehicle. Infants should ride in rear-facing car seats until at least 20 pounds and be at least 1 year old.
Do not put a rear-facing car seat in the front seat of a vehicle with an active passenger air bag.
Children ages 4 to 8 between 40 pounds and 80 pounds should ride in booster seats restrained with lap and shoulder belts. A regular seat belt will not fully protect a child this size in a crash.
Children and adults over 80 pounds should use a seat belt for every ride.
Car seats work best when they are properly installed and when the child is correctly placed in the seat. There is not one brand car seat that is the "best" or "safest."
The best car seat is the one that fits your child’s size, is correctly installed and is used properly every time you drive. Do not use a car seat that is over 6 years old.
Do not purchase car seats from garage sales or consignment stores because you will not know if the seat has been in an accident. Receiving a car seat from relatives or friends is OK as long as you know the history of the car seat and all the parts and manufacturers’ instructions are present.
To install the car seat:
If instructions have been lost, call the car seat manufacturer to get a new set of instructions.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Check the vehicle manual under "child seats" for additional information.
Buckle the car seat in the back seat of your vehicle, never the front.
Baby must face the rear of your vehicle until he or she is a minimum 12 months old and 20 pounds.
It is not necessary to turn the child around at this age.
Children withstand crash forces better rear facing so don’t be too anxious to turn your baby around.
Always use a seat belt to anchor the car seat snugly.
The base should not move after the belt is tightened. You shouldn’t be able to shift the car seat from side to side more than a half an inch either way and should not be able to pull it forward more than an inch.
The make of the car seats, model and year of the vehicle will vary on how the car seat is locked in.
If the seat belt will not stay tight, move the car seat to another location and try another belt.
If your vehicle’s back seat slopes sharply, place a rolled towel underneath the base to level it.
This will help keep the baby at a 45-degree angle and make sure their breathing is not impaired. All rear facing car seats must be installed at a 45-degree angle.
To secure your baby in the seat:
Place the baby in the seat and arrange the harness straps over his or her shoulders, centered over each shoulder. Fasten buckle together.
Clip the plastic restrainer clip together.
It should always be centered across the chest at the armpit level. If this clip is not placed correctly, the child may be ejected from the car seat.
Tighten the harness until there is a one-finger width of space at the collarbone and no more than a one-finger width elsewhere.
Never let the baby ride with a loose harness or with straps off the shoulders.
Do not use a "newborn car seat cushion" or thick padding under your baby as the harness straps will not fit snugly, and the baby will not be secure.
Remember, the only item crash tested is the car seat and any items it came with.
Do not purchase or use "after-market" parts such as sleeping bags it is OK to use a cover-up, which goes over the seat like a fitted sheet strap covers, headrests unless it came with the car seat or puffy seat cushions.
These interfere with how secure your baby will be. You may put any thing you want over the straps, but nothing underneath.
Think "NASCAR driver tight." In order for the car seat to prevent and minimize injury, the child must be securely (one-finger tight) strapped in.
In cold weather, do not wrap the baby in a blanket or snowsuit before buckling the harness as it will not fit securely.
Clothing should not be any thicker than sweatshirt material. Instead, after the baby is secured, fold several thin blankets over the harness in as many layers as needed.
With a wide variety of car seats and vehicles on the market today, it can be complicated to install and properly use car seats. Let us help you make your child safe!
Hunterdon Medical Center has certified car seat technicians to assist you. This is a free service offered to the community.
If you have questions about car seats or would like Hunterdon Medical Center to install your car seat, call (908) 788-6634.