Car seats are one of the most expensive child safety items parents invest in. We hope these pieces of molded plastic and foam will protect our little ones in the event of an accident.
But car seats won’t work if they aren’t used correctly. So today we are going to go over car seat safety.
Get the right seat.
Before our little one was born, we thought we could get a convertible car seat. We would start with it rear-facing and then turn it around when she was big enough. One car seat until she was ready for a booster seat to save money and reduce the amount of stuff in the house.
Then she was born early, and it became clear there were only 2 infant seats that could cinch down enough for her to fit safely. Not a single convertible seat would hold the 4 lb baby we were taking home.
Don’t push it, buy the car seat that fits your baby when they are born, and then get something more permanent for later. I recommend buying the car seat as close to your due date as possible. If you are going to have an average to large baby (7lbs +), a convertible seat may be an option for you; but small babies (under 7 lbs) should always start in an infant carrier. It simply isn’t worth the risk.
If you have a preemie, or very small baby (below 5 lbs), ask your nurses what car seats are good. They tend to know the brands that actually fit babies that small and what you should look for in a good car seat. Then take a baby doll or stuffed animal that is approximately your baby’s size to the store and try the car seat out to make sure it gets tight enough.
Never use a used car seat!
I get it. Car seats are really expensive, and that free one on the corner seems to be in good shape.
Go ahead and pick it up, but don’t use that seat for your child! As soon as a car seat is in an accident, it needs to be replaced. Car seats also expire. The foam wears out and is no longer effective at protecting your little one.
To help mitigate the cost of car seats and to make sure all little ones are in new seats, there are trade-in programs for old car seats. So pick up that free seat on the side of the road and bring it into your local Target or Walmart for up to significant savings on a new car seat.
The savings are definitely worth it. Please don’t use an old car seat for your baby.
Check out this trade-in program roundup from Carseat Mom to find a trade-in program in your area.
Always read the instructions!
There are a lot of things you don’t actually need to read the instructions for. Most people I know don’t read the full instruction manual for their cars, TVs, microwaves, or other electronic devices.
That isn’t going to fly for your car seat. Even veteran parents read the full instructions for every carseat they buy. It isn’t worth the risk of not installing the car seat properly.
Remember: an improperly installed car seat will NOT protect your baby as well as a properly installed one.
When reading the instructions, take special note of weight and height restrictions and the car seat’s expiration date. Write them down, they are important!
Install the seat correctly
My husband and I are both rocket scientists, and I can confidently say installing a carseat is not rocket science. Depending on the seat you get, installing it might just be harder than rocket science.
Investing in a car seat that is easy to install will make your life easier, but it could also be out of budget. If you are struggling to install your car seat or you are concerned you didn’t quite do it correctly, take a moment to get the installation checked.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has inspection stations. Find your local station by visiting the NHTSA website, calling 1-866-SEAT-CHECK, or visit seatcheck.org.
If you need someone to come to you, try checking the NHTSA website for a child passenger safety technician.
Put the child in the seat correctly
The child should be placed in the seat so they are all the way back. No gaps between the child’s butt or back and the seat. No slouching. A gap could mean the straps don’t cinch down enough to keep them safe. Often this means putting the child in the seat and then repositioning them.
Once they are fully in the seat, buckle the bottom buckle, and make sure the top buckle is at armpit height. You want that buckle to be solidly over their rib cage. If you get into an accident and the buckle is low, it will crush the unprotected organs in their stomach and could cause spinal issues.
Making sure the top buckle is over the rib cage at armpit height looks scary in very small babies. It can feel like you are choking them. You aren’t. They are fine.
No coats in the car seat!
Car Seats rely on a tight fit, coats that can compress compromise that tight fit.
Instead of putting your little one in a coat and then putting them in the car seat, put thin swaddle blankets over the baby after they are buckled in. Make sure there is nothing between the baby and the seat, so don’t tuck them in under the baby.
This is not only safer, but it gives the baby the option of kicking off a layer if they are too hot.
How to know if your baby has outgrown the seat/ configuration
Remember when you were reading the car seat instructions and I said you would need to pay extra attention to the height and weight requirements? This is when they come into play.
Every car seat gives clear height and weight indicators for when the child is too big for the seat. Pay very close attention to the wording! Many infant carriers say the child is too big for the seat at “30 lbs or 30 inches.” The industry generally assumes an average of 1 lb per inch of baby, but that isn’t always true.
My daughter is very long. She was only 20 lbs when she crossed the 30-inch mark. If I only went by the given weight restrictions she would have been in the carseat long after she outgrew it, which would have put her at risk for a head injury.
I see children in infant carriers they have outgrown all the time. When I try to point out that the child has outgrown the seat I get angry parents telling me their child is still under 30 lbs. Yes, but their head is over the back of the seat which means it isn’t protected. It is an OR statement, not an and statement.
Conversely, some larger convertible seats do have and statements. They will say things like “turn the seat to forward-facing when the child is 40 inches and 40 lbs.”
Pay attention to this wording, and adjust the car seat accordingly. Furthermore, if you think your little one is outgrowing their infant carrier, trust that instinct. They will be in the convertible seat for the next several years, so just upgrade to the convertible seat early if you feel that is right for your baby.
Can I reuse my first kid’s car seat for subsequent children?
Good question! And the answer is… maybe.
Remember that expiration date? It matters.
The foam in the car seat degrades over time. The molded plastic gets weaker over time from the heat of the car and the sun. An expired car seat may no longer provide your child adequate protection.
If your car seat is still within its use period and it hasn’t been through an accident, then you can keep using it. If it is expired or has been through even the smallest fender bender, it is better to replace it.
A quick note about car seat accessories
Almost all of them are a waste of money.
Let’s go over the most common and discuss if you should invest in them.
Baby cover
These covers go over the entire car seat and hide the baby from view. Many parents use this as a sun shield or a light filter for when the baby is sleeping in the car seat.
This is a bad idea. Because the covers go over the entire baby and make a seal around the infant carrier, they block airflow which reduces the amount of available oxygen and increases CO2 around the baby while making the area under the cover hot.
These covers can cause the baby to overheat or make it hard for them to breathe.
Instead, throw a thin swaddle blanket over the seat and make sure it has gaps on either side of the baby. Light will be blocked, but the air will flow through the holes on the side preventing the baby from overheating or breathing stale air. Even then, it is best to use this technique sparingly, especially if you have a child with lower lung capacity.
Solar Shield
These covers go over the car seat to block the heat from the sun while the baby is not in the seat. On the surface, they seem great. Living in the desert, I have acquired quite a collection of them. Not a single one works as well as an old, bleached-out towel.
The problem is none of them can be put over the seat one handed. They all have elastic around the base that requires two hands to make it go over the car seat. And they are thin.
They are a good idea in theory, but in practice, they fall flat. Just use an old, light-colored towel. Works just as well at blocking the heat while allowing you to throw it over the seat one-handed.
Infant carrier handle padding
This is a pad that goes over the handle of an infant carrier so that it doesn’t hurt when you hold the carrier in the crook of your elbow. Please don’t carry your infant carrier that way. It is painful and can hurt your back.
Check out this tutorial on the easy way to carry your infant carrier. Ditch the handle padding.
Mirror for rear facing seat
These mirrors attach to the headrest of the seat the car seat is in so you can check on your baby while you are driving.
Honestly, these are fantastic, but you need to be careful to get the right one. Make sure the one you get straps all the way around the headrest so it can’t fly off during an accident. As your child gets older they will start kicking the mirror so you want it to be shatterproof too.
Do your research and invest in a safe mirror. You will be glad you did.
Winter cover
These are basically winter coats for your car seat. To that end, they are a “you know if you need this item” item.
If you are having your baby in November in Minnesota, then you should really invest in one. But I can’t think of a reason a person from Texas might need one– it doesn’t get cold long enough (before the hate starts, I lived in Texas for several years and the cold doesn’t compare with the cold these coats were made for).
Don’t put this on the registry unless you really need it.
Rain cover
Remember the car seat covers from earlier? They make the area hot and don’t change out the air? Yeah, these have the same problem.
If you are going from the car to a building, just use an umbrella. But if you are trying to walk your baby around the block during the rain, I just have to ask why? There is no “fresh air” under these covers, so the benefits are more or less nonexistent.
Don’t walk your kiddo during a storm and you won’t need one of these.
Car Seat toys
It is helpful to have toys available to your child in the car seat, but they don’t have to be toys marketed as a “car seat toy.” Any toy with a clip or that can be attached to a clip will do.
Sensory toys like these are particularly fun for infants and great for car travel.
Get one or two “special car toys” that they only get to play with in the car. That way they will be very interested in those toys and will be less likely to have a tantrum.
Tips and tricks
This is a lot to remember, so here are some tricks to make your life easier:
- Write the expiration dates and weight/ height requirements on a sticker and stick it to the side of the carseat
- Copy your child’s information (name, birthday, address, parents, and allergies) onto a label and stick it on the bottom of the carseat in case you get separated after a big crash
- Attach toys to the car seat using a binky clip so the kiddo doesn’t lose their toys during the drive
- It is easier to clean things that crumble than things that are sticky. Easy to clean snacks include cereals, rice cakes, dry toast, etc.
- Throw a towel over the car seat in the summer to keep it from getting too hot while you and the baby run errands
- The easy way to carry an infant carrier
- NEVER LEAVE YOUR INFANT IN THE CAR ALONE!
- Use a mirror on the headrest to see the baby on the trip
- Keep one or two special toys in the car seat to hold the baby’s interest
That’s it. I know it feels like a lot right now, but it does get easier. Promise.
What are your car seat tips and tricks? Let me know in the comments below!
Jane
Jane Reid, the primary author of Unprepared Mom and STEM 911, is an educator, tutor, women’s rights advocate, and mom. Here to make your life easier one article at a time.