Buying a car seat can be a stressful and expensive endeavor for most parents. 5 percent of them - incorrectly use a child safety seat, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety administration. By failing to properly use the safety restraints, the study reports, many parents unknowingly put their child in peril. Both the harness straps and safety belt attachments were frequently too loose. Among the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s study, these mistakes - the most frequent ones - are also the most potentially ‘critical,’ because they pose a great danger to the child.
{So how do you know make sense of keeping your newborn safe?}
Some parents do not get the correct seat for the child’s weight, age or height, or they put it in the wrong position. Children who are tinier than 20 pounds and younger than one year can ride in a rearward-facing car seat. These types of seats are designed especially for babies; they are a snug fit and small and portable. Make sure your infant car seat is placed in the back seat of your car, and only in the rear-facing position.
Convertible seats provide a good opportunity to get the most bang for your buck, because they fit infants and still allow the baby to grow. Growth of the child is accommodated through the heavier convertible car seat. Convertible seats allow parents to put any child that would be placed in a rear-facing infant-only seat in the same position. You can go ahead and place any child that is 20-40 pounds in a front-facing position. The most important part of car safety dictates that you simply use the seat in the manner it was intended. You have two important guides to help you do this: your vehicle owner guide book and your safety seat manufacturer’s guide. The car seat must be buckled snugly into a locked position, and the baby should be locked snugly in the seat itself. You can be one of the parents who actually get the harness strap position right if you place the harness in the right slot position and make sure it is a snug - not loose - fit around the baby’s chest. The baby’s shoulders are a good way to measure where the straps slide into the slots; for infant car seats they go below, and for convertibles, they go above. The harness clip that holds the straps together should be at about armpit level and the straps should not be twisted: check the owner’s manual to confirm appropriate placement.
The path of the safety belt depends upon the position you have it in, so make sure your path is correct, and tilt your seat back at about a 45 degree angle. Some parents put a rolled up towel under the seat’s base as well. Make sure that the safety seat is fastened to your vehicle, and tighten the seat belt as needed. If you have a LATCH system, use it according to the instructions in your car seat guide and car ownership guide. Other important facts to keep in mind are the general seat age and condition. As we have seen, manufacturer’s instructions are vital, so you should never buy a seat that doesn’t come with them; also do not purchase a seat that is more than five years old. Make sure your used seat has all its part and inquire on whether or not it has been in an accident.
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