Vehicle Safety Information & CarSeat Review Sites:
The CDC
The CarSeat Lady (PICU mommy doctor who specializes in car safety)
CarSeats For the Littles
The CarSeat Blog
Safe Kids Worldwide
Bureau of Highway Safety
NTHSA Car Safety
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| My tall 7 year old son, very comfortable in his full car seat, making a silly face |
The Biggest Mistakes Parents Make:
1) Not installing the carseat properly
Most parents think they have installed the car seat correctly themselves, but 71% of car seats are not installed or used correctly!
The best thing to do is have your car seat installed and checked by a certified professional. You can find car seat inspection locations here and here.
You can get advice on how to install all types of car seats here.
2) Putting the baby/child in with straps too loose, too high or low, and the chest clip not at the chest
Many parents place their child in the seat, but leave the chest clip too low and/or the straps too loose. The Car Seat Lady has a nice video explaining how to get your new infant in the seat just right. Remember, the chest clip should always be at armpit level. See above graphics (borrowed from the internet) for more information.
3) Turning a toddler forward facing too soon
Children should be at least 2 years old and have reached the maximum weight or height for rear-facing in their chair, before being turned around. Regardless of age or size, it is 5 times safer to be rear-facing!!
This video demonstrates why kids under 2 years old are in greater danger when facing forward in a crash.
This blog post by Dr. Stuppy is my favorite explanation on why kids should be rear-facing and stay in car seats as long as possible.
This website goes over common car seat direction myths.
4) Putting a child in a booster, instead of a car seat, too soon
Parents often want to move their kids to booster seats as soon as possible, for the convenience of having a lighter, more portable, cheaper seat, but it's NOT convenient if your child is hurt in a minor accident because you moved them too soon (and it will cost you a lot more money than a new car seat, too).
Children will always be safer in a 5 point restraint (aka harness system), than using a regular seat belt. I often remind my patients that race car drivers use a harness system, and don't rely on simple seat belts to keep them safe.
More information on how to decide when your child can move to a booster can be found on CSFTL and TheCarSeatLady.
5) Letting the child use a regular seatbelt too soon
This is also a matter a cost and convenience, as well as peer pressure, but don't let what other people do put your child at risk. Most children need to ride in a booster seat until at least age 10, since they need to be at least 57" (4 foot 9) to fit with a regular seatbelt. TheCarSeatLady has another good explanation on how and why booster seats work. Aside from height, they also need to be mature enough to sit straight and still i the car, since if they are leaning over in a crash, the seatbelt will not be in the proper place, and may not protect them as well as it can.
6) Letting a child/tween sit in the front seat
Children that are not fully skeletally mature (e.g. have not gone through puberty yet), and are younger than 13 years, should not sit in the front seat. Dr. Burgert does the best job explaining why on her blog. Regardless of age, size, or type of seat, everyone is safer in the back seat.
No one wants to think about getting into a car accident, especially when you're transporting your most precious cargo. But with tens of thousands of deaths from motor vehicle collisions every year, no parent can afford to take chances. The odds are reasonably high that you will be involved in some kind of car accident before your littlest one turns 18. If your children are with you, you want to have done everything in your power to reduce the risk that they will suffer serious injury, and you will demonstrate to them the importance of car safety for when they have families of their own.
