Your baby’s car seat is the most important piece of baby gear you will need. Choosing the appropriate car seat for your child’s age, weight, and height is very important. Be sure to always read your car seat’s manual carefully to insure you are installing your child’s seat correctly.
SpoilYourBaby.com cares a great deal about car seat safety. Here are some important car seat tips we want to share with you:
- Always read the manual
- Keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible. Do not turn your child too soon…allow them to remain rear-facing until they reach the limits of their car seat. A lot of seats now rear-face up to 35 lbs. Don’t worry about squishing their legs. Rear-facing can help to prevent severe head and neck injuries.
- Keep your child in a 5-point harness for a long as possible. There are some great car seats that keep your child harnessed to 80 lbs. The harness adds extra protection a booster doesn’t provide
- Don’t move a child into a regular seat belt too soon. 8 years old and 4′9 are the general guidelines for seat belt use, but if your child still fits in a child restraint, use one!
- Never use the LATCH lower anchors and the seat belt together….just use one or the other. (It is fine to use the tether with the seat belt, just not the lower anchor LATCH connectors)
- Always use the tether strap when forward-facing if possible.
- Place the chest clip across your child’s CHEST at armpit level.
- Make sure the harness is tight against your child. You should not be able to fit anymore than one finger between your child and the strap
- Do not use aftermarket car seat accessories….this includes head rests, strap covers, designer covers etc. Using aftermarket accessories may result in injury and may void your car seat’s warranty. Use only the accessories that came with your car seat or that are approved by your car seat’s manufacturer.
- Remove all bulky coats, snowsuits etc before you buckle your child into their car seat. Coats and heavy clothing may compress during a crash which results in the harness being too loose. Injury may occur.
- Do not use a car seat past its expiration date. If you don’t know what the date is, contact the manufacturer.
- Remove anything from your car that may become a projectile in a crash
- Have your car seat installation checked by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician
For more information on car seat safety visit www.car-seat.org
PLEASE CLICK THE CAR SEAT CATEGORIES BELOW TO SEE OUR FAVORITE PICKS FOR EACH CATEGORY!
Infant Seats (Rear-facing only)
Convertible Seats (Rear and Forward Facing)