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Home › Articles › Preparing for Baby › Oops, Don't Do It Again

Oops, Don't Do It Again

Buying, Installing and Using Infant Seats the Right Way

By Teri Brown

Pages:  1  2  3  

According to Horvath, there are many programs that offer either no-cost or low-cost seats for parents who cannot afford one, and there are programs in place that can help a parent learn how to install them correctly.

Common Infant Car Seat Mistakes
Horvath says one of the most common mistakes parents make is turning their children's car seat around too soon. "The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should face the rear of the vehicle until they weigh at least 20 pounds and are at least 12 months old," she says. "A former study conducted by Safe Kids World Wide observed 53.5 percent were in appropriate restraint systems for their weight or age, 32.6 percent were in the wrong restraint system for their weight or age and 13.9 percent were completely unrestrained."

Trooper Lonny Haschel is the public information and education officer for the Texas Highway Patrol and participates in child safety seat inspection and installation fairs sponsored statewide by 21st Century Insurance. He has found that one common mistake encountered by safety seat technicians is the child exceeding the height and weight limit for the child safety seat.

"We also see the internal harness straps too loose when the child is in the seat," says Haschel. "They should be parallel on the child's chest, falling in a straight line down to the buckle in the child safety seat with no slack in the system."

Another common issue, according to Haschel, is the child safety seat being too loose in the vehicle. The child seat should be installed in the car tight enough so it doesn't move more than one inch side to side or front to back. "We encourage parents to read the owner's manual for the child safety seat and the owner's manual for their vehicle," says Haschel.


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