Infant Car Seat Installation
Proper car seat use can help keep kids safe by significantly reducing the risk of injury, hospitalization, and death in children. “For children younger than three, the best practice is to keep them rear facing until they become too heavy or too tall to fit properly in the car seat,” says Washington Regional Trauma Outreach Coordinator Sarah Webb-May, RN. “In this position, their head, neck and spinal cord are cradled and cushioned and protected in the event of a crash.”
Webb-May says it is important to follow the directions provided with your car seat to ensure the base is installed correctly. “Most vehicles have options for securing the car seat,” she says. If you will need to remove the car seat from your vehicle often, using the car seatbelt to secure the base may be a good choice.
“The first thing we need to do is pull the seatbelt all the way out and then let it back in,” Webb-May explains. “You should hear a clicking noise. That's very important because it locks the belt in place. You want to feed the belt through the correct belt path for the direction the car seat is facing, and then take all the slack out, allowing it to become secure. We want no more than one inch of movement, side to side or front to back at the belt path.”
Another good option for securing car seats in most cars is the LATCH system, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children. The LATCH system is made up of built-in straps and hooks on the car seat base and anchors in the vehicle. “If your car is compatible, you'll see a LATCH logo showing you where the latch hooks are. When you set the car seat base in, you’ll clip it to the hooks, making sure it is secure.”
Webb-May says don’t forget to make sure the car seat base is level. “Some car seats have a little bubble level indicator. It's very important to set the recline angle so that the line is level. This keeps the baby at the correct recline angle.”
Remember that car seats should always be placed in the back seat. “We never want to place any car seat in the front seat. In the event of a crash, the airbag can cause serious injuries or death.””