The Importance Of Childrens Car Seats
Safety is a priority with parents, and this is reflected in the amount of time and money they are willing to spend on a car seat for their child. 5 percent of the child safety seats inspected. As the study suggests, many parents actually put the child in danger by not using the restraint properly. Typically, the biggest mistakes were loose harness straps and safety belt attachments. The NHTSA classifies these as ‘critical’ errors, because of the potential risk they could cause the child.
How to make sure your newborn safe?
Make sure you are not one of the parents who overlook obtaining a seat that is custom made for the child’s weigh and age; once you purchase it, make sure you put it in the right position. For children who are a year old and not yet 20 pounds, they can usually be placed in a rear-facing position in their car seats. For both their size and their design, infant-only seats are carefully crafted especially for the smaller children. Infant car seats should always be used in the back seat, as should all child safety restraints, and only in the rear-facing position.
Convertible seats allow the safety seat to grow with the child. Unlike infant-only car seats, these types of seats are typically difficult to navigate because they need to be heavier so that the baby can grow into them. Convertibles should also be placed in the rear-facing position for infants under 20 pounds and younger than a year. Eventually, the infant will pass the height and weight requirement for infants; they should be placed facing the front of the car at the point and remain in their convertible seat until they reach 40 pounds.
The car seat should buckle into the car, and the baby should buckle into the seat. Of the critical components that the study by the NHTSA found, the biggest majority dealt with parents who did not have the harness strap in the right slot or fitting snuggly enough. If strapping the harness into a slot position in a convertible, the appropriate slots are above or at the shoulder; if using an infant car seat, the appropriate place is below. Harness clips should hold the untwisted straps around armpit level – for exact placement double check the guide that came with the seat.
For correct seat belt placement, follow the path that is detailed in your owner’s guide, and tilt the seat back by about 45 degrees when possible. A helpful tip is a rolled towel underneath the base. An additional tightening of the safety belt is sometimes needed to make sure the safety seat is secure. All cars that come with a LATCH system should have instructions in their owner guides about how to use them with a car seat; consult your owner’s guide and your safety seat guide.
When buying a used seat, be sure to get one that has all its instructions and is less than five years old. Along with the owner’s manual, your seat should have all its parts, and should have never been involved in any type of car accident.
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