Child Car Seat Safety - It's Not What You Have but How You Use It
Mar 15 '06 (Updated May 28 '06)
The Bottom Line You are probably making mistakes with your child's car seat. Make the time to have it inspected.
Parents want their children to be safe. That’s why we put little plastic covers on electric outlets, insist our children hold hands in a parking lot and use child safety seats. Yes, car seats may be a matter of law but most parents wouldn’t dream of driving in a car without their child properly secured. The key word there is properly.
You’ve gone through the trouble and expense of purchasing a car seat so of course you are going to use it properly. No parent ever thinks they are using their car seat improperly yet statistic show that 70-90% of parents are making an error when using their child’s car seat. Is it a statistical anomaly that 100% of parents fall into the category of the 20% who use their car seat correctly? Probably not. Chances are, no matter how much care you take you are overlooking something when it comes to using your child’s car seat correctly. Here are a few common errors parents make when using a car seat.
Installation
Installing a car seat correctly is no easy task. LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) was supposed to ensure that everyone installed their car seat perfectly every time. It doesn’t. In fact there are some studies that indicate more mistakes are made with LATCH installations than with standard seat belts.
The concept behind LATCH does make the actual installation easier. Two large clips attached to the base of the car seat clip onto hooks buried under the car’s rear seats. Unfortunately because it seems so simple parents using LATCH are less likely to have their car seats inspected. Since a car seat inspection checks for a variety of potential problems, not just installation, LATCH installed car seats should still be The most common problem with LATCH installation is not tightening the straps properly to keep the car seat from moving around. The best way to get a tight fit is to climb into the car and put your knee in the seat while tightening the straps.
Installing a car seat using the vehicle’s built in seat belts is quite a bit more difficult than a LATCH installation and therefore it is easier to make a mistake. Like a LATCH installation the seatbelt must be tightened properly to ensure the child seat stays put. On top of that you have to make sure you are threading the seat belt through the correct slot in the car seat and using seat belt lock-off clips when necessary. There is no simply check list to make sure you have done everything properly since each car seat and car is different.
No matter how much you tug on those LATCH straps or your car’s seat belt it is still possible that your child’s car seat still isn’t as tight as it should be. That is because not every car seat fits every vehicle the same. No matter how much you may want a particular car seat if it doesn’t fit in your car properly it won’t provide your child the maximum amount of protection. It is important to check the fit between your car and your car seat.
The best thing you can do for child when it comes to installing his or her car seat is to have it checked by a certified car seat inspector. You hospital, police department or fire station probably has someone on staff who will check your car seat(s) for free. Make sure you bring the installation manual with you. A trained inspector will be able to make sure you have installed your car set properly, that it is a good fit with your car and ensure you are using the car seat properly.
Buckle-Up
Once you have the car seat installed properly, buckling the child in sure seems easy and for the most part it is. The biggest error parents make is not tightening making the harness tight enough. The instruction manual will tell you how to test for the proper tightness of the harness, but usually you do not want more than the width of a finger between your child’s collar bone and the harness. If the straps are any looser the car seat cannot provide maximum protection in a crash.
Remember the chest clip needs to be at armpit level, not on the child’s stomach. You also need to keep you eye on the harness height. Forward facing the harness should come out at or above the child’s shoulders while rear facing the harness should be at or below the child’s shoulders.
People in cold climates hate to hear this one, but children should not wear heavy coats when riding in a car seat. The material and stuffing of a winter coat makes it difficult to get the straps tight enough. In an accident that stuffing does not provide your child any protection from the forces that throw your child forward. That forward movement can cause serious internal injuries. A properly snug harness keeps your child sandwiched between the straps and the back of the seat, minimizing the chance for injury.
The Right Car Seat
Not only is it important that your car seat fits your car, it must also fit your child. The instructions that accompany your child’s car seat will provide you with the proper height and weight limits for your car seat. Using a seat beyond the limits is dangerous. A car seat with a 20 lb limit is not safe for your 25 lb infant. Remember that you car seat doesn’t care what your naked baby weighs at the doctor’s office. If at your child’s doctor’s appointment you notice he or she is approaching the weight limit of your car seat it is probably time to upgrade to take into account the weight of your child’s clothes, shoes and lightweight jackets.
Do You Have the Right Number of Car Seats?
Installing car seats properly is important and takes time to do it right. The more often you do it the greater your chance of making a mistake or overlooking something. Any car your child rides in regularly should, if at all possible, have a car seat permanently installed in it. Your child will be far safer if you purchase a $75 car seat for you van, your spouse’s car and you mother-in-law’s vehicle than is you purchase one $250 car seat and move it around between three cars on regular basis. Obviously not everyone can afford more than one car seat at any price, but if your budget permits one car seat per car instead of per child is the safest way to go.
All car seats sold in the United States are required to meet the same safety standards. The $250 car seat will have more convenience features than a $75 but it doesn’t provide more protection. Yes, your child may be more comfortable in a $250 car seat, but safety needs to be the primary goal. Cup holders, pillows and seat covers with your alma matta’s logo are nice extras but they do little keep you child safe. Install the car seat once, have it checked out and then leave them installed. That way you know that everyone driving your precious cargo at least has the seat installed properly.
Double Check
You’ve installed your car seat and had it checked. You’ve read and re-read the instruction booklet. That’s it, right? Not quite. Straps can loosen over time. It is important to periodically check to make sure the seat belt or LATCH straps have not loosened. If the car seat slides around it is time to tighten your securing system.
You also want to periodically inspect the car seat. Check for any damage to the plastic or fraying on the straps. Inspect the plastic shell for any damage - look for cracks or changes in color at stress points, such as where the car seat belt holds the seat in place. If you spot any damage it is time to replace the car seat. You also need to inspect the car seat belts as well. Car seats can cause damage to the belts which will effect how well it can hold a seat in place during an accident.
Remember car seats don’t last forever, most have a 6 year life from the date of manufacture, not the date you installed it. Your owner’s manual will tell you exactly how long you can use the car seat; after that you need to replace it. And of course if you are ever involved in an accident all car seats need to be replaced. While they may look like they are still good there may be unseen damage to the seat that may cause it to fail if it were involved in another accident. Because of this you should never purchase a used car seat since you don't know its history.
Final Thoughts
The single most important factor that determines the safety of a car seat is using it right every time, not the price you paid for it. Statistics show that you are probably making a mistake. Read your owners manual, install the seat and get it checked. If you don’t install and use your child’s car seat properly it does not matter how much you paid for the seat.
My Other Car Seat Reviews
Safety 1st Apex 65
Graco Turbo Booster Safe Seat
Britax Regent
Britax Marathon
Evenflo Triumph
Graco Comfort Sport
Evenflo Comet Booster
Cosco Opus 35
More Advice
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