10 Common car seat mistakes that you have to stop doing for the safety of your children

Stop doing these 1o car seat mistakes

Parents and guardians often make mistakes in their attempts to keep children safe in the car. But even the smallest misuse of a child safety seat can have grave consequences in the event of a traffic collision. 

Caretakers frequently purchase accessories or adjust seat settings to help appease a child during its time in a car seat. The whining might stop, but parents and guardians may actually be doing more harm than good, putting the safety of the child at

Here are 10 common misuses of car seats and the easy steps that can be taken to solve the problem. 

Not Having the Child Riding in the Right Seat Style and Size

The safest way to transport a child in a vehicle is to take into consideration the child’s age, weight, height, and development levels according to Safe Kids Worldwide, an organization that certifies Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technicians.

To ensure you have the child in the correct seat, carefully read the labels on the seat and consider your state’s child passenger safety laws. Safe Kids warns that the safety of the child should never be compromised for the convenience of the caretaker.

Redundant Restraint

Child safety seats should be restrained either via a vehicle’s Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system or a vehicle’s seat belt. Do not use both at the same time unless specifically allowed by both the seat and the vehicle’s manufacturers in the owner’s manuals. 

Both ways of restraint are rated as being equally as safe up to 60-pounds. That weight limit includes the weight of the child added to the weight of the car seat. To test the weight of this combination, place the car seat on a bathroom scale with the child who will be using the seat strapped into place.

The Child Safety Seat Has Been Recalled

Each new child safety seat is sold with a registration card. Fill out this card and mail it to the preprinted address, or go online to the seat manufacturer’s website to fill out an online version of the card.

Manufacturers are required by law to notify every owner of a child seat recall, if one were to happen. Once you have been notified of a recall it is important to have the problem fixed. Sometimes this means installing a clip that is sent to you in the mail or even returning the seat to the store where you purchased it

Your Child Is Facing the Wrong Direction

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that children remain in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible, or until they reach the maximum height or weight allowed by the car seat’s manufacturer.

If a child’s legs are longer than the bottom of the car seat, it is okay for the child to have their feet crossed or touching the back of the vehicle seat they are positioned in. This seat positioning will not affect the safety of the child.

The Seat Is Improperly Reclined

When a child is in a rear-facing car seat, their parent or guardian should ensure the seat is reclined according to the recline-angle indicator on the seat.

To confirm the angle to which the seat should be reclined, check the seat’s manual. Compare that information to the child’s height and weight to ensure safe usage.

The Harness Is Not Tight Enough

According to NHTSA recommendations, caretakers should place the child at the back of the seat and then move the harness straps over the child’s head and attach them to the buckle at the crotch.

Once buckled in, the caretaker should tighten the harness so it fits snugly. A snug fit does not allow for any slack yet does not press on the child’s skin or push the child’s body into an unnatural position.

Perform a pinch test to see if the restraint is tight enough or not. You should not be able to pinch any excess webbing from the harness at the shoulder or hips once the child is in place and the harness is buckled.

The Harness Retainer Clip Is Not High Enough

As part of the harness tightening process, parents and guardians should ensure that the harness retainer clip is at armpit level and not in the middle of the child’s chest.

If your child can rest their chin on the clip, it is positioned too high. If the bottom of the clip is near the belly button, it is positioned too low. Do not remove the clip, even if your child is fussy about its placement.

Your Child Is Wearing a Winter Jacket

Caretakers often bundle up their children to keep warm when the weather is cold. However, the extra mass of a jacket can impede with the safety of a car seat due to the gap it creates between the child and the safety harness.

Parents and guardians should remove these types of coats prior to placing their child in the car seat. Once the child has been properly strapped in, it is considered safe to place a blanket or a jacket backwards over the child’s torso, arms, and legs to help keep them warm.

The Child Safety Seat Is Positioned in the Wrong Vehicle Seat

Most vehicles have designated areas where a child seat should be placed, although these locations do not always have a LATCH system.

To determine which seats in your vehicle are designed to house a child safety seat, check the vehicle’s owner’s manual. Though the seating configuration may not be explicitly spelled out, look for clues like arrows and diagrams near the seating information that point to which seats to use.

Double-check the positioning with the car seat owner’s manual and only use the seat in locations approved by both sources

Accessories Are Attached to the Seat or Straps

Binkies, mirrors, strap covers, and other accessories should not be attached to the seat unless the manufacturer explicitly states that they are allowed to be attached.

In the event of a collision these accessories could move and break off, causing injury to the child.

Additionally, child safety seat experts do not recommend adding a seat cover below a car seat. Those types of coverings create an extra layer of possible slippage and are not tested as part of the crash testing of car seats.

If you have questions about your child seat placement, visit SaferCar.gov for a list of approved child safety seat consultants in your area. Many area police departments, fire departments, hospitals, and AAA offices can help you as well. 

credit cars us new

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About the Author

Mussa Msemakweli is a technology entrepreneur, Book writer and digital marketing expert. He is currently C E O at the Africa shared . His work has been featured in a number of publications, including the Maisha halisi Magazine and on Culture trip. If you have a good time follow me on facebook and instagram or leave a comment, Thanks.
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