1 – Find a car seat that fits your child well, whether that is rear facing, forward facing, or a booster.
2 – When using a harness, the straps may NEVER be twisted.
3 – When using a harness, the straps must ALWAYS be tight, snug as a hug, with no extra slack.
4 – When rear facing, straps must be AT or BELOW the shoulder for it to fit properly.
5 – When forward facing, straps must be AT or ABOVE the shoulder for it to fit properly.
6 – A chest clip must ALWAYS be at armpit level. It is a chest clip, NOT a belly clip.
7 – Do NOT allow your child to wear puffy jackets in their car seat, this will compress in the event of an accident, and your child could fly out of their seat.
8 – A car seat MUST be installed correctly for it to keep your child safe. Install it using LATCH or a seatbelt, but not both. The car seat should NEVER be able to move more than an inch side to side. If forward facing, make sure you tether the car seat to an anchor point as well.
9 – Car seats DO expire, make sure you check your seat and know when you need to replace your seat. Most are good for 6 to 8 years depending on the manufacture.
10 – State laws are the minimum of what’s required for your child, please do the maximum for your child. They only have one life.
If you’d like a more in depth look to car seat safety check out our post – Important Car Seat Safety for Babies, Toddlers, and Kids.
It has pictures and a lot of information if you’re interested in learning more.
Here are a few car seat reviews we have done which will show my girls in different seats and their limits in each one.
Britax Pavilion 70-G3
Chicco KeyFit 30
Britax Pioneer 70
Safety 1st Elite 80
Recaro Performance Sport
micheleash1961
Thursday 4th of December 2014
Thank you so very much for the Terrific Quick Tip Guide for Car Seat Safety! All of your tips are extremely useful for moms just learning how to use a car seat in their car! I would probably be lost on how to install one correctly now that we haven't used one in years! They have so many on the market and keep coming up with newer and more sophisticated seats! I know I'd be looking for one that has a government seal of approval or something of the sort. Some of these car seats are so difficult to get secure in your car. Thanks so much for the Quick tip Guide! I honestly do appreciate it! Thanks again, Michele :)
atthemapletable
Friday 13th of June 2014
Thank you for sharing all these great tips.
darlene
Sunday 27th of April 2014
Thanks for sharing these tips. I did not know about the puffy jacket compressing. I am moving to where it snows from CA so that is good to know!
nancyfancypink
Wednesday 23rd of April 2014
Thanks for the reminder that car seats expire! Ours is a few years old, so will have to get a new one if past expiration for the next child.
M.Clark
Tuesday 22nd of April 2014
This is a great list of Car Seat Safety Guidelines, very important as well. Thank you for sharing this post.