What are the basic car safety rules that every child should learn?
You want to have some general principals that you use when you have a child around in the car. One of the things to realise is you don't want children to think of a motor vehicle as a place to play. We have very rigid rules and we do several safety seat check ups. We don't even let children sit with their parents in the front seat during the time that we're looking at their safety seats, because we really don't want children in the front seat. You sometimes see parents who are playing with their children; sitting in front of the steering wheel and letting them play with the steering wheel. So, if a child gets loose in a situation like this, that's the first thing they're going to try to do. I also wouldn't suggest having children play with the keys to the car. Again, this gives them the idea that this is something that connects with a car, and they want to be like parents. They want to do what you do. Some of the incidents with children that have gotten into vehicles with out their parents' permission are very frightening, and some have been fatal. What happens is that the children some times are able to get the car started, either by releasing a break, or in a few cases they've actually turned the key and gotten the car going. When it starts to move is they oftentimes become frightened and they get out of the car, and when they do the car itself runs into them. Also, there have been children who have killed other children who were in the vicinity, because they got the car moving.
How do I keep my child from being injured by a car backing-up in the driveway?
One of the most stunning pieces of information that has become more commonly known is how hard it is to see if a child is behind a vehicle or right in front of the vehicle when somebody's starting it up, especially when you think the child is safe inside the house and have no idea the youngster is there. We have a huge blind spot, particularly in larger vehicles and particularly with smaller drivers. And so, one of the things you can do is to always walk around behind the car before you get into it. That at least gives you a chance to see what's around the vehicle before you start it. But the other thing is if you don't have a camera that allows you to see what's directly behind your vehicle, it's really hard to know, so you have to be exceptionally careful that there's no one there. And every story where a child has been backed over or run over in the driveway is exceptionally tragic, because usually the person driving the vehicle is a relative of this child and really wants to do everything possible to protect them, yet simply didn't see them.
How can I keep my child from misbehaving in the car while I drive?
If I had the answer to the question of how to keep children from misbehaving in the car, I would be a millionaire. I think that we have to assume that often children are in a car because we want them to be there, not because they're going to do something that they want to do. That's the first issue that often leads to children misbehaving and doing things that we don't want them to do in the car. They're bored and frustrated and maybe they've been in the vehicle too long. So, allowing time for children to rest outside the vehicle while you're taking a trip is extremely important. Secondly, having a routine about what we do in the car and praising children for when they do it right and don't misbehave is probably your most valuable piece of equipment in changing children's behavior. Having toys, for example, that are only used only in the cart is a good idea in preventing misbehaviour. But when you give something to a child in the car that's loose, think about it and say, "How would I like that to hit my child at 30 miles an hour in the face?" If that troubles you, then it is not a good toy for the car. So, having special items that the kids only see in the car helps a lot in preventing misbehaviour.
Can my vehicle's sunroof or power windows injure my child?
A sunroof and power windows can be very convenient for parents. But if a child is in a vehicle and is able to operate a power window either by error, or on purpose because they've seen parents do it, they can get their heads between the top of the window and the moving window pane. Then they panic and they can't reverse it. So we recommend that you have the type of power windows that can't be started by a child in error by pressing on something. In many vehicles you really can't operate the power window unless you're pulling up on it and you're thinking about doing it. And that does reduce the risk to some degree. But the main thing is not to leave your children alone in a motor vehicle. That is not appropriate. In fact, in some states, that is against the law.
Can I leave a child in a parked car if the car is not running?
We don't recommend leaving children alone in a motor vehicle. Certainly not children under age 12 because a lot of things can happen. Someone can take the car with the child in it, and that has certainly happened on a number of occasions. Children have been known to release breaks. Children can get out into a parking lot. You might be delayed much longer than you expect. Children can get out of the car and come look for you. There are many reasons not to leave children alone in a car. Parked or not.
Can I be arrested if I leave my child alone in a car while I run an errand?
In some states, you can definitely get a ticket if you leave a child, under a certain age, alone in a motor vehicle. In virtually any state, if the officer believes that this is a case of child endangerment, you can be charged. Then it will be up to the court to decide what happens. So, the major thing is to think about what could happen if your child were alone in the vehicle and something happened to you. You forgot about them because something distracted you, or something happened to you that you didn't anticipate and you couldn't get back to the vehicle. So, take the few moments that it is to unbuckle the child and take the child with you.
At what age can a child legally remain unattended in a vehicle?
The age at which a child can stay in a vehicle alone on a legal basis varies in our country from state to state. However, in some states, it's age twelve. In other states it's lower than that, maybe age six. If you think about this from the terms of your child, some of these children who might legally be allowed to stay in the car are also of an age where they can get out the car and explore or search for you, so you really don't want them to be alone in the car. It's worth remembering that state laws represent a political compromise. Don't use them as the ceiling for safety but instead think of them as the floor. This is the basic minimum. In any situation, if a child is seen to be endangered, this does become a question from that standpoint, so you don't want to get involved in something like that.
Showing posts with label Child Car Safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Child Car Safety. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Child Car Safety Seats
What are "child safety seats"?
A child safety seat is a product that is meant to protect children from motor vehicle crashes while they're riding in a motor vehicle. The child safety seat has components that absorb crash forces, and other parts that keep the child in the seat so that the child doesn't fly around the vehicle in a motor vehicle crash. There are several varieties of child safety seat, designed for the different stages and ages of development.
How does a child safety seat protect my child during a car collision?
A lot of safety comes from proper positioning of the safety seat in the car, the harness on the child, and the child in the seat. All of those things that you do ahead of time mean that if you are hit (and usually we don't know we are going to be hit, because would you get in a vehicle if you thought you were going to be in a collision? Of course not.) then your child is protected. You want to have the positioning proper so that all the forces are taken in the right parts of the child's body; so that the forces are absorbed in the frame of the vehicle, to which you are attaching the safety seat. The child safety seat is attached to the car with the safety belt or the LATCH attachment. What the LATCH attachment does is pull the forces into the frame of the vehicle rather than into your child's body. Using a forward-facing seat with a harness, you also want to make sure that whether you're using the LATCH attachments or the safety belt system to hold the seat in, you do attach that top tether strap. That reduces how far forward your child's head will go in a crash. Your child's head is the most important part of that youngster's body. You want to protect that child from brain damage.
What qualities should I look for in a child safety seat?
The most important thing about a child safety seat is that it fits the child, it fits well in the vehicle, and that you'll use it properly. It's important that it fits with the kind of lifestyle you have and your preferences and that you know how to adjust it and work with it. So, those are the big broad categories. Of course you want a crash-tested safety seat. Any safety seat sold in the United States is supposed to be certified to meet the federal standard for crash worthiness. So, as long as you're buying a new seat from a reputable place you shouldn't have a problem about that. The next thing you want to look at is what you are trying to do with this seat. Are you trying to transport a newborn? Do you have an older child who weighs more than 40 lbs, but you want a seat with a full harness? Then, you want to try the seat that you like best in your vehicle. Make sure you can get it in there tightly, and that you can adjust the harness on the child easily. Children grow, or sometimes they're wearing clothing that's a little bit different, so we always want the harness on the child to be as snug as we want your safety belt to be on you when you're travelling in a vehicle.
Is it safe to use an old or second-hand child safety seat?
On the whole, we don't recommend using second-hand seats. Even a seat that comes from a friend or relative has to be looked at very carefully if it's not brand new, out of the box. Safety seats have a lifespan and also, they need to have all their parts and pieces. Sometimes safety seats are given to a person from someone they trust. That person didn't realize that they didn't have the instructions, or there was a recall on the seat, or the seat had been in a collision. So, for all of those reasons, our first recommendation is to get a new seat.
If I want to use a hand-me-down child safety seat, how do I check the quality?
How can I find out if my child safety seat has been recalled?
Well, the federal government keeps a record of child safety seats that have been recalled, and has a recall list which it's on their website and so forth. SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. has developed a recall list that is extremely comprehensive. First of all, we cover all the seats that are out there within the last ten years. We list which recalls there are by manufacturers name, model name, date of manufacture, problem, and what to do about it. We also list all the good seats, so you can find your seat on the list, and know whether it's had a recall or not had a recall. We list older seats that we don't want you to use because they're too old, and some of the comments will even say "many of these models are on recall" as well, so not only are they too old, but there was a recall on them. The point is, it gives parents as much information as possible. Finally, we have started adding safety seats that are not on recall, but for which we know there is either a replacement part, there's a change in the instructions, or there's something that you should know about that seat; a warning of some sort. The reason we began to do this is that at one point, there was a warning about a safety seat we thought was pretty important, but it did not develop into a recall. We realised that if somebody happened to call the company, they would be told about this, but if they didn't happen to call the company, they wouldn't know about it. That's when we expanded our list. Anyone can watch or look at our list on our website; that's www.carseat.org, and we invite people to check there.
Are regular child seats safer than seats that are also used in strollers?
All safety seats that are certified to meet the federal standard have to meet that standard. So whether they can also be part of a stroller or whether, as with one model, the stroller is built into the safety seat itself, the safety seat must meet the standard. So the question of whether a safety seat is safe enough has to do with whether it meets the federal standard or not.
Do child safety seats need to be replaced after a crash?
SafetyBeltSafeUSA recommends that parents replace a safety seat after it's been involved in a crash. The reason is that one doesn't necessarily see damage that may have occurred to the structure of the safety seat and one doesn't know if there will be a second crash, and perhaps a more serious one. So we like to err on the side of caution with a safety product.
Can I still use a child safety seat after an accident?
The federal government suggests that if there's no damage visible to the child safety seat, if no one was injured in the crash, if the airbag did not deploy and if the door next to the safety seat was not damaged, that one could continue to use the safety seat. However, Safety Belt Safe are a bit more conservative. It is a parental choice. In two states of the United States, there's a state law that requires the responsible insurer to replace the child safety seat after a crash.
Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected?
Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected? Many people want to have their safety seats checked by someone who has technical training and we certainly encourage considering that. There's a wide variation in the experience and knowledge of people who are certified as technicians and there is not just one kind of location that we can guarantee will have a safety seat checker. Here are some clues. First of all, you can check the list at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or at SeatCheck.org to see the names and locations of people who are certified -- some of whom will be willing to check your safety seat. Secondly, if you go to someone who is a certified child passenger safety technician, here are some clues that you should expect to see. First of all, the technician should be recording information about your child, your vehicle and your safety seat. Secondly, the person should be using the instructions for the safety seat and the vehicle owner's manual. There are also some products such as a book that has information about a lot of vehicles and the equipment that they have inside to protect children. That is a good reference manual and many technicians will have that. You want to make sure that the person is teaching you about your safety seat and how to install it -- not simply installing the seat for you -- because the idea is that you'll be able to do this correctly and who knows when the next time is that you'll need to remove the safety seat. You want to make sure that the person has a current recall list. We can't tell you what that date will be because we never know. Today, the date on a current recall list might be a particular date. Two days later there might be a new recall. So you want to make sure it's current. Finally, you want to make sure that the person has information for you that is really current and that they're giving you the best suggestions for what the newest information is, not something that was the recommendation two or three years ago.
A child safety seat is a product that is meant to protect children from motor vehicle crashes while they're riding in a motor vehicle. The child safety seat has components that absorb crash forces, and other parts that keep the child in the seat so that the child doesn't fly around the vehicle in a motor vehicle crash. There are several varieties of child safety seat, designed for the different stages and ages of development.
How does a child safety seat protect my child during a car collision?
A lot of safety comes from proper positioning of the safety seat in the car, the harness on the child, and the child in the seat. All of those things that you do ahead of time mean that if you are hit (and usually we don't know we are going to be hit, because would you get in a vehicle if you thought you were going to be in a collision? Of course not.) then your child is protected. You want to have the positioning proper so that all the forces are taken in the right parts of the child's body; so that the forces are absorbed in the frame of the vehicle, to which you are attaching the safety seat. The child safety seat is attached to the car with the safety belt or the LATCH attachment. What the LATCH attachment does is pull the forces into the frame of the vehicle rather than into your child's body. Using a forward-facing seat with a harness, you also want to make sure that whether you're using the LATCH attachments or the safety belt system to hold the seat in, you do attach that top tether strap. That reduces how far forward your child's head will go in a crash. Your child's head is the most important part of that youngster's body. You want to protect that child from brain damage.
What qualities should I look for in a child safety seat?
The most important thing about a child safety seat is that it fits the child, it fits well in the vehicle, and that you'll use it properly. It's important that it fits with the kind of lifestyle you have and your preferences and that you know how to adjust it and work with it. So, those are the big broad categories. Of course you want a crash-tested safety seat. Any safety seat sold in the United States is supposed to be certified to meet the federal standard for crash worthiness. So, as long as you're buying a new seat from a reputable place you shouldn't have a problem about that. The next thing you want to look at is what you are trying to do with this seat. Are you trying to transport a newborn? Do you have an older child who weighs more than 40 lbs, but you want a seat with a full harness? Then, you want to try the seat that you like best in your vehicle. Make sure you can get it in there tightly, and that you can adjust the harness on the child easily. Children grow, or sometimes they're wearing clothing that's a little bit different, so we always want the harness on the child to be as snug as we want your safety belt to be on you when you're travelling in a vehicle.
Is it safe to use an old or second-hand child safety seat?
On the whole, we don't recommend using second-hand seats. Even a seat that comes from a friend or relative has to be looked at very carefully if it's not brand new, out of the box. Safety seats have a lifespan and also, they need to have all their parts and pieces. Sometimes safety seats are given to a person from someone they trust. That person didn't realize that they didn't have the instructions, or there was a recall on the seat, or the seat had been in a collision. So, for all of those reasons, our first recommendation is to get a new seat.
If I want to use a hand-me-down child safety seat, how do I check the quality?
How can I find out if my child safety seat has been recalled?
Well, the federal government keeps a record of child safety seats that have been recalled, and has a recall list which it's on their website and so forth. SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A. has developed a recall list that is extremely comprehensive. First of all, we cover all the seats that are out there within the last ten years. We list which recalls there are by manufacturers name, model name, date of manufacture, problem, and what to do about it. We also list all the good seats, so you can find your seat on the list, and know whether it's had a recall or not had a recall. We list older seats that we don't want you to use because they're too old, and some of the comments will even say "many of these models are on recall" as well, so not only are they too old, but there was a recall on them. The point is, it gives parents as much information as possible. Finally, we have started adding safety seats that are not on recall, but for which we know there is either a replacement part, there's a change in the instructions, or there's something that you should know about that seat; a warning of some sort. The reason we began to do this is that at one point, there was a warning about a safety seat we thought was pretty important, but it did not develop into a recall. We realised that if somebody happened to call the company, they would be told about this, but if they didn't happen to call the company, they wouldn't know about it. That's when we expanded our list. Anyone can watch or look at our list on our website; that's www.carseat.org, and we invite people to check there.
Are regular child seats safer than seats that are also used in strollers?
All safety seats that are certified to meet the federal standard have to meet that standard. So whether they can also be part of a stroller or whether, as with one model, the stroller is built into the safety seat itself, the safety seat must meet the standard. So the question of whether a safety seat is safe enough has to do with whether it meets the federal standard or not.
Do child safety seats need to be replaced after a crash?
SafetyBeltSafeUSA recommends that parents replace a safety seat after it's been involved in a crash. The reason is that one doesn't necessarily see damage that may have occurred to the structure of the safety seat and one doesn't know if there will be a second crash, and perhaps a more serious one. So we like to err on the side of caution with a safety product.
Can I still use a child safety seat after an accident?
The federal government suggests that if there's no damage visible to the child safety seat, if no one was injured in the crash, if the airbag did not deploy and if the door next to the safety seat was not damaged, that one could continue to use the safety seat. However, Safety Belt Safe are a bit more conservative. It is a parental choice. In two states of the United States, there's a state law that requires the responsible insurer to replace the child safety seat after a crash.
Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected?
Where can I have my child safety seat or booster seat inspected? Many people want to have their safety seats checked by someone who has technical training and we certainly encourage considering that. There's a wide variation in the experience and knowledge of people who are certified as technicians and there is not just one kind of location that we can guarantee will have a safety seat checker. Here are some clues. First of all, you can check the list at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or at SeatCheck.org to see the names and locations of people who are certified -- some of whom will be willing to check your safety seat. Secondly, if you go to someone who is a certified child passenger safety technician, here are some clues that you should expect to see. First of all, the technician should be recording information about your child, your vehicle and your safety seat. Secondly, the person should be using the instructions for the safety seat and the vehicle owner's manual. There are also some products such as a book that has information about a lot of vehicles and the equipment that they have inside to protect children. That is a good reference manual and many technicians will have that. You want to make sure that the person is teaching you about your safety seat and how to install it -- not simply installing the seat for you -- because the idea is that you'll be able to do this correctly and who knows when the next time is that you'll need to remove the safety seat. You want to make sure that the person has a current recall list. We can't tell you what that date will be because we never know. Today, the date on a current recall list might be a particular date. Two days later there might be a new recall. So you want to make sure it's current. Finally, you want to make sure that the person has information for you that is really current and that they're giving you the best suggestions for what the newest information is, not something that was the recommendation two or three years ago.
Installing Child Safety Seats
Where should a child safety seat be installed in a vehicle?
Safety seats need to be installed in the safest location in the vehicle you're using. We recommend that children stay in the back seat until they're age 15, based on the newest research that we've seen. So the safety seat should be installed in the back seat. The center of the back seat is generally the safest location in the vehicle for the safety seat. However there are reasons sometimes not to use that position. So, the first thing is to look at that location and see if the safety seat fits tightly there, and if the system that you have in that location for holding the safety seat in is appropriate for the age and size of your child.
What are "car tethers"?
Safety seats that are forward facing and have a full harness system now come with a strap on the back of the seat and this strap has a hook which is meant to attach to a tether anchor in the back of the vehicle. Generally tethers are used only forward facing although there are some models of safety seats for which a tether may be used in the rear facing position. Clearly as with any safety seat situation you must read the instructions for that particular product. What a top tether does is to hold the seat in position during a crash so that the top of the seat does not go as far forward. All forward facing safety seats must meet a particular standard without the use of the top tether. But, they also have to meet another standard where they may use the top tether to meet it and you want your child to be protected with a top tether. A top tether can actually reduce the distance forward your child's head goes in a crash, anywhere from two to eight inches. Tethers are better.
What is a "LATCH" attachment system?
LATCH stands for "Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children". The LATCH attachment system is a system for installing safety seats without the use of a vehicle safety belt. The idea was that many safety belts were designed for better protection for human beings, and so they weren't convenient to use safely with safety seats anymore. The safety belts were too far forward from the crack where the vehicle seat back and seat bottom come together, and so they weren't pulling back on the safety seat and holding it tightly in place. Instead, starting in about 2002, some bars were put into the crack at the back of the vehicle seat that were designed specifically to attach the safety seats. At the same time, lower attachment connectors and attachments were put on the safety seats so that they could match up with the bars.
When should I use a safety belt instead of the LATCH system in my car?
There are times when you want to use the safety belt instead of the attachments, particularly if you are using a safety seat with a full harness that goes above 48 pounds. The current weight limit on most of those lower attachment bars is 48 pounds. So, LATCH is a convenience and sometimes it improves protection because it allows for a tighter fit and greater ease for parents to attach the safety seat properly, but the safety belt will always be a safe restraint system in terms of the weight of the child in the seat. In many cases, it will lock tightly. Since 1996 models, safety seats have had to have what's called a lockability feature. In other words, it means that you can manually lock the belt through the car seat by something that you do to the safety belt; a lot of parents don't know about that and they're missing the fact that they can lock that safety belt through the car seat properly.
How do I install my rear-facing child safety seat using the LATCH system?
A rear-facing safety seat for a newborn must be at a fourty five degree angle. The way to keep the babies airway open depends on the angle of the safety seat, so that's extremely important for a newborn. When you install the safety seat in the vehicle with LATCH, you're using generally flexible fabric with hooks on each end to attach to the bars, and they usually have a way of tightening them. It is even possible to have LATCH attchments that have an automatic LATCH attachment system. You should put the safety seat in there so tightly that you can not move the safety seat more than an inch to the sides or front of the vehicle. To test this you put your hands on the safety seat near the place where the LATCH attachments go through it, and try to move the seat from side to side or toward the front of the vehicle. Remember that with most rear facing seats, you can push the safety seat up and back towards the back of the vehicle with your finger, so don't worry about that. It means the seat is allowed to rotate toward the back and forward in a collision. The best way to get the safety seat in tightly is to put your weight on the safety seat to compress the vehicles seat cushion. Generally I find that people find it easier if they stand at the back of the safety seat and push it back and down with their legs while they're putting one hand in the seat, using the other to buckle the seat and pull the LATCH attachment tightly.
How do I install my forward-facing child safety seat using the LATCH system?
Safety seats that have a full harness system come with a full LATCH system. That means it has lower anchors and the top tether. So when you put a safety seat in with the lower anchors you will also want to make sure that you attach the top tether strap to the tether anchor. Again, you want to compress the vehicle seat cushion with your weight. With a forward-facing seat it's usually easiest to put your knee in the seat and push it down and back while you're tightening the LATCH attachments. And then, you want to tighten the tether strap so it's also quite tight. To test the seat, put your hands near where the latch attachments go through the safety seat, it's generally through the back of the safety seat, and see if it can move more than an inch to the sides or front of the vehicle.
How do I install my child safety seat using a safety belt?
It's a choice as to whether you use a child safety belt or the latch connectors, if your vehicle has the lower anchors. However, if you don't have the lower anchors, you want to achieve tightness by putting the safety belt through the proper belt pad, putting your weight on the seat, and buckling the belt. All motor vehicles made from model year 1996 on have a lockability feature in the safety belt, so that you can lock it manually. For most shoulder lap belts, after you buckle the belt, you will pull the top of the shoulder belt all the way out, and then when you release it, you will hear it ratcheting back and taking up all the slack. So, put your weight on the safety seat and push the additional slack of the safety belt up into the top of the safety belt on the shoulder harness. With lap belts only, the locking mechanism is usually in the buckle. There's a bar in the buckle that needs to lie flush on the webbing of the safety belt in order to keep it locked. What I tell parents is the easiest way to test a safety belt to see how it works, first you sit in the belt. You will naturally put the belt on properly because safety belts are designed for the human body and you will naturally tilt the buckle to make the safety belt get longer. You will naturally pull the end of the safety belt to tighten it around you. If you look, you will see that the bar inside the buckle is lying flat on the webbing of the safety belt and that's what locks the belt, when it's a lap belt.
Safety seats need to be installed in the safest location in the vehicle you're using. We recommend that children stay in the back seat until they're age 15, based on the newest research that we've seen. So the safety seat should be installed in the back seat. The center of the back seat is generally the safest location in the vehicle for the safety seat. However there are reasons sometimes not to use that position. So, the first thing is to look at that location and see if the safety seat fits tightly there, and if the system that you have in that location for holding the safety seat in is appropriate for the age and size of your child.
What are "car tethers"?
Safety seats that are forward facing and have a full harness system now come with a strap on the back of the seat and this strap has a hook which is meant to attach to a tether anchor in the back of the vehicle. Generally tethers are used only forward facing although there are some models of safety seats for which a tether may be used in the rear facing position. Clearly as with any safety seat situation you must read the instructions for that particular product. What a top tether does is to hold the seat in position during a crash so that the top of the seat does not go as far forward. All forward facing safety seats must meet a particular standard without the use of the top tether. But, they also have to meet another standard where they may use the top tether to meet it and you want your child to be protected with a top tether. A top tether can actually reduce the distance forward your child's head goes in a crash, anywhere from two to eight inches. Tethers are better.
What is a "LATCH" attachment system?
LATCH stands for "Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children". The LATCH attachment system is a system for installing safety seats without the use of a vehicle safety belt. The idea was that many safety belts were designed for better protection for human beings, and so they weren't convenient to use safely with safety seats anymore. The safety belts were too far forward from the crack where the vehicle seat back and seat bottom come together, and so they weren't pulling back on the safety seat and holding it tightly in place. Instead, starting in about 2002, some bars were put into the crack at the back of the vehicle seat that were designed specifically to attach the safety seats. At the same time, lower attachment connectors and attachments were put on the safety seats so that they could match up with the bars.
When should I use a safety belt instead of the LATCH system in my car?
There are times when you want to use the safety belt instead of the attachments, particularly if you are using a safety seat with a full harness that goes above 48 pounds. The current weight limit on most of those lower attachment bars is 48 pounds. So, LATCH is a convenience and sometimes it improves protection because it allows for a tighter fit and greater ease for parents to attach the safety seat properly, but the safety belt will always be a safe restraint system in terms of the weight of the child in the seat. In many cases, it will lock tightly. Since 1996 models, safety seats have had to have what's called a lockability feature. In other words, it means that you can manually lock the belt through the car seat by something that you do to the safety belt; a lot of parents don't know about that and they're missing the fact that they can lock that safety belt through the car seat properly.
How do I install my rear-facing child safety seat using the LATCH system?
A rear-facing safety seat for a newborn must be at a fourty five degree angle. The way to keep the babies airway open depends on the angle of the safety seat, so that's extremely important for a newborn. When you install the safety seat in the vehicle with LATCH, you're using generally flexible fabric with hooks on each end to attach to the bars, and they usually have a way of tightening them. It is even possible to have LATCH attchments that have an automatic LATCH attachment system. You should put the safety seat in there so tightly that you can not move the safety seat more than an inch to the sides or front of the vehicle. To test this you put your hands on the safety seat near the place where the LATCH attachments go through it, and try to move the seat from side to side or toward the front of the vehicle. Remember that with most rear facing seats, you can push the safety seat up and back towards the back of the vehicle with your finger, so don't worry about that. It means the seat is allowed to rotate toward the back and forward in a collision. The best way to get the safety seat in tightly is to put your weight on the safety seat to compress the vehicles seat cushion. Generally I find that people find it easier if they stand at the back of the safety seat and push it back and down with their legs while they're putting one hand in the seat, using the other to buckle the seat and pull the LATCH attachment tightly.
How do I install my forward-facing child safety seat using the LATCH system?
Safety seats that have a full harness system come with a full LATCH system. That means it has lower anchors and the top tether. So when you put a safety seat in with the lower anchors you will also want to make sure that you attach the top tether strap to the tether anchor. Again, you want to compress the vehicle seat cushion with your weight. With a forward-facing seat it's usually easiest to put your knee in the seat and push it down and back while you're tightening the LATCH attachments. And then, you want to tighten the tether strap so it's also quite tight. To test the seat, put your hands near where the latch attachments go through the safety seat, it's generally through the back of the safety seat, and see if it can move more than an inch to the sides or front of the vehicle.
How do I install my child safety seat using a safety belt?
It's a choice as to whether you use a child safety belt or the latch connectors, if your vehicle has the lower anchors. However, if you don't have the lower anchors, you want to achieve tightness by putting the safety belt through the proper belt pad, putting your weight on the seat, and buckling the belt. All motor vehicles made from model year 1996 on have a lockability feature in the safety belt, so that you can lock it manually. For most shoulder lap belts, after you buckle the belt, you will pull the top of the shoulder belt all the way out, and then when you release it, you will hear it ratcheting back and taking up all the slack. So, put your weight on the safety seat and push the additional slack of the safety belt up into the top of the safety belt on the shoulder harness. With lap belts only, the locking mechanism is usually in the buckle. There's a bar in the buckle that needs to lie flush on the webbing of the safety belt in order to keep it locked. What I tell parents is the easiest way to test a safety belt to see how it works, first you sit in the belt. You will naturally put the belt on properly because safety belts are designed for the human body and you will naturally tilt the buckle to make the safety belt get longer. You will naturally pull the end of the safety belt to tighten it around you. If you look, you will see that the bar inside the buckle is lying flat on the webbing of the safety belt and that's what locks the belt, when it's a lap belt.
Seating Children In Cars
Where should my children sit in my car if I am transporting more than one child?
Stephanie Tombrello, National Child Passenger Safety Instructor, SafetyBeltSafe USAWell if we all had just one child, we would put them in the center of the backseat because that's the safest location in the car. However, many times you're transporting more than one child, and unless you decide to choose one of them to be your favorite child, and I don't know many parents who are willing to do that, certainly no grandparents. You'd have to use another system. We suggest that you put the child who's riding most safely in the least safe location. So it's a little counter intuitive. For example, supposing I had three children, one of them was a child who's under two and in a rear-facing safety seat, another child was over two and in a safety seat that's forward facing with a full harness and a top tether strap attached; the third child is perhaps five or six and using a booster seat. The way I would arrange them in the car if I had the shoulder lap belt in each position, is to put the booster child in the center, because that child has the least protection of those three children.[text on screen:] FACT: The safest seat in the vehicle is the center rear seat. The safest child's car seat is a rear-facing safety seat. [Stephanie Tombrello] I would put the rear-facing child on the outside, and the forward-facing child with the top tether strap on the other outside position. If I had only the two younger children, I would put the rear-facing child on the outboard position next to the door, and the forward-facing child in the center.
Where should my child sit in a vehicle that has no rear seats?
Well, the first thing is to decide whether it's important for your child to ride in this vehicle. If you do have a vehicle that has no back seat, that vehicle will come with some system for disabling the airbag. If it does not, you can apply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for permission to have your airbag disconnected. Never put a rear-facing child in a seat in front of a front passenger airbag. That is almost certainly going to be instant brain death. What happens is, as always happens in a collision, everything moves towards the point of impact, so the safety seat is moving toward the front. Passenger airbags only deploy in frontal crashes, so you know that the seat is going to be going toward the front of the vehicle, as the airbag comes out at anywhere from 100 to 200 miles per hour. When it slams into the back of the child restraint, the children are usually brain-dead from the force of the impact.
Stephanie Tombrello, National Child Passenger Safety Instructor, SafetyBeltSafe USAWell if we all had just one child, we would put them in the center of the backseat because that's the safest location in the car. However, many times you're transporting more than one child, and unless you decide to choose one of them to be your favorite child, and I don't know many parents who are willing to do that, certainly no grandparents. You'd have to use another system. We suggest that you put the child who's riding most safely in the least safe location. So it's a little counter intuitive. For example, supposing I had three children, one of them was a child who's under two and in a rear-facing safety seat, another child was over two and in a safety seat that's forward facing with a full harness and a top tether strap attached; the third child is perhaps five or six and using a booster seat. The way I would arrange them in the car if I had the shoulder lap belt in each position, is to put the booster child in the center, because that child has the least protection of those three children.[text on screen:] FACT: The safest seat in the vehicle is the center rear seat. The safest child's car seat is a rear-facing safety seat. [Stephanie Tombrello] I would put the rear-facing child on the outside, and the forward-facing child with the top tether strap on the other outside position. If I had only the two younger children, I would put the rear-facing child on the outboard position next to the door, and the forward-facing child in the center.
Where should my child sit in a vehicle that has no rear seats?
Well, the first thing is to decide whether it's important for your child to ride in this vehicle. If you do have a vehicle that has no back seat, that vehicle will come with some system for disabling the airbag. If it does not, you can apply to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for permission to have your airbag disconnected. Never put a rear-facing child in a seat in front of a front passenger airbag. That is almost certainly going to be instant brain death. What happens is, as always happens in a collision, everything moves towards the point of impact, so the safety seat is moving toward the front. Passenger airbags only deploy in frontal crashes, so you know that the seat is going to be going toward the front of the vehicle, as the airbag comes out at anywhere from 100 to 200 miles per hour. When it slams into the back of the child restraint, the children are usually brain-dead from the force of the impact.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Rear-Facing Infant Seats
Why are infants placed in rear-facing safety seats?
The first thing is, we're concerned about a crash that comes from the front. We always worry about that because those are the most common and serious collisions. Since in a collision, everything moves toward the point of impact, you're not thrown away from crashes, you move toward them. So, in a frontal crash, everyone goes toward the front. If you understand how a safety seat works, you can see that a rear-facing seat is going to cushion the entire body against the whole shell of the seat. Therefore, that's the safest way to ride. If you're in a forward facing seat, and you've got that top tether attached (which helps to hold the child's head and back farther back from the point of impact) that's another safe way to ride. When you're in a booster seat, you're going to move into the shoulder lap belt. You'll probably move perhaps a little farther than if you're in a tethered seat, although boosters are tested, but you might have a little more looseness in the safety belt than what we would recommend. Also, with a booster seat, there is less around the child to absorb crash forces, particularly because a lot of impacts are not directly frontal or directly from the side. Again, if you think about a side impact, the child in the rear facing seat is more enclosed, and the seat will turn a little bit toward the side. You have more protection. So, it has been shown that riding rear-faced in a car is the best way to ride.
When can my baby use a rear-facing safety seat?
For the average baby, rear-facing in a semi-reclined position in an infant-only or convertible rear-facing safety seat, is the proper way to travel. Most safety seats for infants only are designed to be used up to 20 to 22 pounds but there are some that are designed to be used to 30 pounds. So, you must read the instructions for the product that you are choosing and using before you know how long to use it rear-facing. A rear-facing infant-only seat may never be used to face the front; it is not designed for that, and that is a dangerous choice.
What is a "convertible child safety seat"?
The second kind of rear facing seat is a convertible child safety seat that can be used rear facing and forward facing. Today in the United States, all convertible child safety seats are designed to be used to at least 3 pounds, rear facing. We want people to think about keeping their children in rear facing child safety seats for at least 18 to 24 months. But of course, if you have a convertible child safety seat, use the child safety seat rear facing as long as the child is under the poundage.
When should I move my baby to a convertible seat?
There's one other feature of safety seats that you want to look at when you're deciding whether a child can still stay in that rear-facing safety seat or move to a convertible seat. It is an error that is particularly made with infant only safety seats. Sometimes a child is under the expected weight, but the childs' head is too close to the top of the plastic of the seat. We recommend that there is at least an inch between the top of the plastic of the safety seat when it's in the rear-facing position, and the top of the child's head. The reason for this is when a safety seat is in a frontal collision, it's allowed to rotate, forward and down. If the baby's head is to close to the top of the safety seat, as the seat rotates, the childs' head may emerge from the top of the seat which we don't want to happen. One of the beauties of the rear-facing seat is that the childs' head, which is the most important part of the childs' body, is fully enclosed and is supported during the whole crash. So with infant only seats, you want to be particularly careful about that, because that's a common way that a child outgrows that product. Then they should go onto a convertible seat in the rear-facing position and use it until the child reaches the weight, or the childs' head is within an inch of the top of the plastic of the rear-facing seat.
How do I secure my infant in a rear-facing child safety seat?
Once you get the rear-facing safety seat at the proper angle, which for a newborn is halfway back and for an older child is more upright, you put the child in buttocks-first so that the baby's back is carefully lined up along the back of the rear-facing safety seat. That not only makes the child safer, but also makes the child more comfortable. Next, you want to make sure that the rear-facing safety seat straps are in slots that are at shoulder level or below shoulder level for the rear-facing position. The reason for that is, when that rear-facing safety seat tilts in a crash, the harness straps keep the baby's body lower in the safety seat and prevents the child's head from shooting out of the top of the rear-facing safety seat, particularly if it rotates quite a bit down, which it's allowed to do. Once you have the straps in the correct slots, you put the straps on the child's body and make sure that they're snug. You adjust the harness, and then attempt to pinch the fabric of the harness between your fingers, just as if you were trying on a skirt or a pair of trousers to see if the waist fits you properly. Take a pinch. If you can pinch fabric between your fingers, you need to snug the harness more tightly. After you get the harness snug enough, push the plastic retainer clip, or harness clip, or chest clip, it may be named any of those things, until it's at armpit level. This means it will be high enough to help position the shoulder straps properly on the child's body, but not too high, so that the child's neck will not fall on the clip, should the child fall asleep. You want to adjust the angle of the rear-facing safety seat so the child's head lies back naturally and the back of the child's head is faced towards the front of the vehicle, not so flat that the top of the head is faced toward the front of the vehicle.
How can I secure my baby in a rear-facing seat?
Another feature of many infant-only seats is that they snap in and out of a separate base. If you are going to use that type of seat, be sure you hear it click into position and you test it to make sure it's in there tightly. Also, read the instructions to find out where the handle belongs while the seat is being used in the vehicle. For some, it can only be lying back, behind the child's head or down toward the floor of the vehicle, but on some models, it may be fully upright. There are even some models on which it must be upright. How do you know? You must read the instructions for the particular safety seat. It is very important. Safety seats are tested in a thirty mile an hour crash test in the way that they are designed to be used. If you choose to modify, you have now potentially detracted from the safety of your child, and that is not something you want to do.
The first thing is, we're concerned about a crash that comes from the front. We always worry about that because those are the most common and serious collisions. Since in a collision, everything moves toward the point of impact, you're not thrown away from crashes, you move toward them. So, in a frontal crash, everyone goes toward the front. If you understand how a safety seat works, you can see that a rear-facing seat is going to cushion the entire body against the whole shell of the seat. Therefore, that's the safest way to ride. If you're in a forward facing seat, and you've got that top tether attached (which helps to hold the child's head and back farther back from the point of impact) that's another safe way to ride. When you're in a booster seat, you're going to move into the shoulder lap belt. You'll probably move perhaps a little farther than if you're in a tethered seat, although boosters are tested, but you might have a little more looseness in the safety belt than what we would recommend. Also, with a booster seat, there is less around the child to absorb crash forces, particularly because a lot of impacts are not directly frontal or directly from the side. Again, if you think about a side impact, the child in the rear facing seat is more enclosed, and the seat will turn a little bit toward the side. You have more protection. So, it has been shown that riding rear-faced in a car is the best way to ride.
When can my baby use a rear-facing safety seat?
For the average baby, rear-facing in a semi-reclined position in an infant-only or convertible rear-facing safety seat, is the proper way to travel. Most safety seats for infants only are designed to be used up to 20 to 22 pounds but there are some that are designed to be used to 30 pounds. So, you must read the instructions for the product that you are choosing and using before you know how long to use it rear-facing. A rear-facing infant-only seat may never be used to face the front; it is not designed for that, and that is a dangerous choice.
What is a "convertible child safety seat"?
The second kind of rear facing seat is a convertible child safety seat that can be used rear facing and forward facing. Today in the United States, all convertible child safety seats are designed to be used to at least 3 pounds, rear facing. We want people to think about keeping their children in rear facing child safety seats for at least 18 to 24 months. But of course, if you have a convertible child safety seat, use the child safety seat rear facing as long as the child is under the poundage.
When should I move my baby to a convertible seat?
There's one other feature of safety seats that you want to look at when you're deciding whether a child can still stay in that rear-facing safety seat or move to a convertible seat. It is an error that is particularly made with infant only safety seats. Sometimes a child is under the expected weight, but the childs' head is too close to the top of the plastic of the seat. We recommend that there is at least an inch between the top of the plastic of the safety seat when it's in the rear-facing position, and the top of the child's head. The reason for this is when a safety seat is in a frontal collision, it's allowed to rotate, forward and down. If the baby's head is to close to the top of the safety seat, as the seat rotates, the childs' head may emerge from the top of the seat which we don't want to happen. One of the beauties of the rear-facing seat is that the childs' head, which is the most important part of the childs' body, is fully enclosed and is supported during the whole crash. So with infant only seats, you want to be particularly careful about that, because that's a common way that a child outgrows that product. Then they should go onto a convertible seat in the rear-facing position and use it until the child reaches the weight, or the childs' head is within an inch of the top of the plastic of the rear-facing seat.
How do I secure my infant in a rear-facing child safety seat?
Once you get the rear-facing safety seat at the proper angle, which for a newborn is halfway back and for an older child is more upright, you put the child in buttocks-first so that the baby's back is carefully lined up along the back of the rear-facing safety seat. That not only makes the child safer, but also makes the child more comfortable. Next, you want to make sure that the rear-facing safety seat straps are in slots that are at shoulder level or below shoulder level for the rear-facing position. The reason for that is, when that rear-facing safety seat tilts in a crash, the harness straps keep the baby's body lower in the safety seat and prevents the child's head from shooting out of the top of the rear-facing safety seat, particularly if it rotates quite a bit down, which it's allowed to do. Once you have the straps in the correct slots, you put the straps on the child's body and make sure that they're snug. You adjust the harness, and then attempt to pinch the fabric of the harness between your fingers, just as if you were trying on a skirt or a pair of trousers to see if the waist fits you properly. Take a pinch. If you can pinch fabric between your fingers, you need to snug the harness more tightly. After you get the harness snug enough, push the plastic retainer clip, or harness clip, or chest clip, it may be named any of those things, until it's at armpit level. This means it will be high enough to help position the shoulder straps properly on the child's body, but not too high, so that the child's neck will not fall on the clip, should the child fall asleep. You want to adjust the angle of the rear-facing safety seat so the child's head lies back naturally and the back of the child's head is faced towards the front of the vehicle, not so flat that the top of the head is faced toward the front of the vehicle.
How can I secure my baby in a rear-facing seat?
Another feature of many infant-only seats is that they snap in and out of a separate base. If you are going to use that type of seat, be sure you hear it click into position and you test it to make sure it's in there tightly. Also, read the instructions to find out where the handle belongs while the seat is being used in the vehicle. For some, it can only be lying back, behind the child's head or down toward the floor of the vehicle, but on some models, it may be fully upright. There are even some models on which it must be upright. How do you know? You must read the instructions for the particular safety seat. It is very important. Safety seats are tested in a thirty mile an hour crash test in the way that they are designed to be used. If you choose to modify, you have now potentially detracted from the safety of your child, and that is not something you want to do.
Forward-Facing Child Safety Seats
At what age can my child use a forward-facing child safety seat?
Many parents will see materials that state that when a child is a year old and weighs twenty pounds, it's “time” to turn them forward. That was true when we didn't have any safety seats that went beyond twenty to twenty-two pounds rear-facing. Today all convertible safety seats are certified for use to at least thirty pounds rear facing. We do not recommend turning the child forward until you have used a convertible seat as long as possible; have as an estimate at least 18 to 24 months. Many children can stay in a safety seat rear facing much longer than that, and do that if you can because you are increasing your child's protection in that case of both frontal and side impacts, and these are the crashes in which children are hurt or killed. In these crashes, children have over seventy percent of their injuries to the head and neck, and we are still not very good at fixing brain damage. So, give your child the best break and use the safety seat rear-facing as long as possible.
How do I secure my child in a forward-facing child safety seat?
After you have the forward-facing safety seat tightly in the car so that it doesn't move more than an inch to the sides or front of the vehicle, place the child in comfortably. By the way, at a certain point you should let the child climb in because you want the child to feel "this is my special space and I know how to manage it". Yet you should always check what they're doing. Make sure they're sitting back and that the safety harness on the forward-facing safety seat is at or above shoulder level, not ear level. If you find that your child can't have the safety harness at, or just a little bit above, the shoulders, maybe that child still needs to be rear-facing. Once you have the harness in the proper slots, you snug the harness by pulling on the attachment. This is important: if you chose a forward-facing safety seat where you can't reach the harness adjuster when the safety seat is in there tightly, you're going to make errors and your child will not be safe. So be sure when you select the forward-facing safety seat that you can reach the adjustment for the harness easily when it's in tightly forward-facing or, if it's a convertible, in both directions. Once you have the harness on the child properly you do a pinch test. Just as if you're trying on a pair of trousers or a skirt and you wanted to see if the waist of the trousers or skirt fit you properly, take your fingers and try to pinch the fabric of the harness between your fingers. If you can pinch fabric, it's not snug enough so snug it more. Then push the retainer clip up to armpit level. Particularly, we recommend that when you're getting used to how much to snug it, you keep the retainer clip down while you're adjusting the harness so you don't run it up into the child's neck and then become worried about hurting the child with a part of the harness. But always push it to armpit level, so it's not too high and not too low. It helps to remind you to position the harness in the centers of the shoulders, not out on the tops of the arms and never down on the arms. You want to make sure that the hip straps are low on the child's hips, not up on the abdomen. With a forward-facing seat with a harness, you also want to make sure that, whether you're using the LATCH attachments or the safety belt system to hold the forward-facing safety seat in, you do attach that top tether strap. That reduces how far forward your child's head will go in a crash, and again, your child's head is the most important part of the body. You want to protect the child from brain damage.
Can I secure my child safety seat to my side-facing jump seat?
You can never use a safety seat properly in a side-facing seat. In many pickup trucks, especially the small ones, the back seat is actually a pair of side-facing jump seats. We don't recommend side-facing seats for anyone. Safety seats are not tested except on a forward-facing vehicle seat, so they're never legally used on a side-facing seat or a rear-facing seat.
Can I secure my child safety seat to my front-facing jump seats?
If the pickup truck has front-facing jump seats, then the question is, "does the safety seat fit there?" We recommend that at least 8% of the base of the safety seat be supported by the vehicle seat, and, in some pickup trucks, the designers have put little tables or almost like beverage holders that are designed to take part of the weight of the safety seat. And they will tell you in the owner's manual, "put this down before you put the safety seat in." The next question is, "does the safety seat fit there?" We're not concerned with a rear-facing safety seat touching the back of the front seat. However, if you have a newborn, you may not be able to get that 45-degree angle to allow the child's head to lie back naturally. Sometimes you can make the safety seat fit properly if it's an infant carseat that can be used with or without the detachable base. Remove the base, make sure that the handle is either allowed to be fully up or fully down in the driving position, and you may find that you can get the space so that the seat will fit in there. When the child's older and can sit more upright then you may not have the same kinds of problems, even though the seat is rear-facing. We also find in some of the smaller pickup trucks that children in forward-facing seats have a problem because their legs are so jammed up against the front seat that they're literally uncomfortable. And an uncomfortable child is not a happy passenger. So you want to check for that as well. Tethering a forward-facing seat in a pickup truck is especially important. Some of the data show that children who are forward-facing in the back of a small pickup truck have a much higher rate of injury because many people do not tether them and some of the older pickup trucks don't have tether anchors and people have not put them in. So those are the kinds of factors to think about.
Many parents will see materials that state that when a child is a year old and weighs twenty pounds, it's “time” to turn them forward. That was true when we didn't have any safety seats that went beyond twenty to twenty-two pounds rear-facing. Today all convertible safety seats are certified for use to at least thirty pounds rear facing. We do not recommend turning the child forward until you have used a convertible seat as long as possible; have as an estimate at least 18 to 24 months. Many children can stay in a safety seat rear facing much longer than that, and do that if you can because you are increasing your child's protection in that case of both frontal and side impacts, and these are the crashes in which children are hurt or killed. In these crashes, children have over seventy percent of their injuries to the head and neck, and we are still not very good at fixing brain damage. So, give your child the best break and use the safety seat rear-facing as long as possible.
How do I secure my child in a forward-facing child safety seat?
After you have the forward-facing safety seat tightly in the car so that it doesn't move more than an inch to the sides or front of the vehicle, place the child in comfortably. By the way, at a certain point you should let the child climb in because you want the child to feel "this is my special space and I know how to manage it". Yet you should always check what they're doing. Make sure they're sitting back and that the safety harness on the forward-facing safety seat is at or above shoulder level, not ear level. If you find that your child can't have the safety harness at, or just a little bit above, the shoulders, maybe that child still needs to be rear-facing. Once you have the harness in the proper slots, you snug the harness by pulling on the attachment. This is important: if you chose a forward-facing safety seat where you can't reach the harness adjuster when the safety seat is in there tightly, you're going to make errors and your child will not be safe. So be sure when you select the forward-facing safety seat that you can reach the adjustment for the harness easily when it's in tightly forward-facing or, if it's a convertible, in both directions. Once you have the harness on the child properly you do a pinch test. Just as if you're trying on a pair of trousers or a skirt and you wanted to see if the waist of the trousers or skirt fit you properly, take your fingers and try to pinch the fabric of the harness between your fingers. If you can pinch fabric, it's not snug enough so snug it more. Then push the retainer clip up to armpit level. Particularly, we recommend that when you're getting used to how much to snug it, you keep the retainer clip down while you're adjusting the harness so you don't run it up into the child's neck and then become worried about hurting the child with a part of the harness. But always push it to armpit level, so it's not too high and not too low. It helps to remind you to position the harness in the centers of the shoulders, not out on the tops of the arms and never down on the arms. You want to make sure that the hip straps are low on the child's hips, not up on the abdomen. With a forward-facing seat with a harness, you also want to make sure that, whether you're using the LATCH attachments or the safety belt system to hold the forward-facing safety seat in, you do attach that top tether strap. That reduces how far forward your child's head will go in a crash, and again, your child's head is the most important part of the body. You want to protect the child from brain damage.
Can I secure my child safety seat to my side-facing jump seat?
You can never use a safety seat properly in a side-facing seat. In many pickup trucks, especially the small ones, the back seat is actually a pair of side-facing jump seats. We don't recommend side-facing seats for anyone. Safety seats are not tested except on a forward-facing vehicle seat, so they're never legally used on a side-facing seat or a rear-facing seat.
Can I secure my child safety seat to my front-facing jump seats?
If the pickup truck has front-facing jump seats, then the question is, "does the safety seat fit there?" We recommend that at least 8% of the base of the safety seat be supported by the vehicle seat, and, in some pickup trucks, the designers have put little tables or almost like beverage holders that are designed to take part of the weight of the safety seat. And they will tell you in the owner's manual, "put this down before you put the safety seat in." The next question is, "does the safety seat fit there?" We're not concerned with a rear-facing safety seat touching the back of the front seat. However, if you have a newborn, you may not be able to get that 45-degree angle to allow the child's head to lie back naturally. Sometimes you can make the safety seat fit properly if it's an infant carseat that can be used with or without the detachable base. Remove the base, make sure that the handle is either allowed to be fully up or fully down in the driving position, and you may find that you can get the space so that the seat will fit in there. When the child's older and can sit more upright then you may not have the same kinds of problems, even though the seat is rear-facing. We also find in some of the smaller pickup trucks that children in forward-facing seats have a problem because their legs are so jammed up against the front seat that they're literally uncomfortable. And an uncomfortable child is not a happy passenger. So you want to check for that as well. Tethering a forward-facing seat in a pickup truck is especially important. Some of the data show that children who are forward-facing in the back of a small pickup truck have a much higher rate of injury because many people do not tether them and some of the older pickup trucks don't have tether anchors and people have not put them in. So those are the kinds of factors to think about.
Car Booster Seats
What is a "car booster seat"?
A safety booster seat is a product that's crash-tested and designed to position a child properly in the shoulder-lap belt. It's really meant for children who are at least four years of age, although sometimes a tall, thin three-year old will have to use a car booster seat because a parent doesn't have a safety seat with high enough strap slots. But primarily, a car booster seat is for a child who's at least four and does not fit properly in the shoulder-lap belt in the vehicle. A booster seat allows the parent to place the shoulder and lap belt on the proper places on the child's body.
What are the different styles of booster seats available?
Safety booster seats come in three styles. The first is a kind that has no back at all; it simply positions the child in the shoulder lap belt. The good thing about that is that if you have a vehicle seat with a high back or a head rest, the child sits well back against that and has the safety belt properly positioned. The second type of safety booster has a high back. That seat may come just as a booster with a rigid back, or even a pliable back, but the back is permanently attached to the base. It may be part of a combination seat where the safety harness is used up to a certain number of pounds (usually forty pounds), and then that harness is removed and the seat converts into a booster seat. The third style of booster seat is one that has a removable back; you have the back to use when you want. If your child is going on a play date and can't take the whole seat, or if you're travelling on an aeroplane and you want to make sure that the base of the booster doesn't get lost in baggage, you can take the base onto the plane in a carry-on and pack the back in your luggage so you have the choice of whether you use the back or not. Clearly, we think the third type is the most flexible for parental use.
What type of car booster seat should I buy?
The type of booster seat that you will choose has to do with your child, your vehicle, and your lifestyle. If your child is young a booster seat with a back helps because the child can rest his-or-her head against the sides, and sometimes that actually helps keep the child properly positioned. But if you have high back vehicle seats, you may find that a booster seat with just a base works just fine for your child. We recommend in general, that people lock the shoulder lap belt onto the child so that it is in the proper position. Most booster seats also have what's called a comfort clip, or an attachment to adjust the angle of the shoulder belt. Be sure that you always keep the shoulder belt between the neck and the top of the arm. If the comfort clip leads to pulling the shoulder belt into the wrong position, do not use it. The other factor is: what do you do? Do you travel a lot with your child so that you need to have a booster seat where the back comes off; so you can take the base of the booster seat with you so it doesn't get lost, or can you send it with your child in a backpack for play dates. People live different kinds of lives. There are also booster seats that fold in half so you can carry them comfortably, but you have the back always with you. We have a wide range of products. There's a new booster seat that comes with a full five point harness; it can only be used where you can tether it, because it's more like a harness. It's very flexible. It's very light. It converts into a booster with a shoulder lap belt at sixty pounds. So, there are a wide range of products, and you should choose the one that is best for your child, your vehicle, and your lifestyle.
At what age can my child use a car booster seat?
Safety booster seats are really meant to be used by children who have fully outgrown a safety seat with a full harness, so if you choose one that has a harness that goes to, for example, sixty or eighty pounds, you would then use the booster seat later if the child still did not fit into the safety belt properly. For most people, booster seats are used at about age four if the child weighs over forty pounds. That weight is related to the other products that they might be using and their level of certification for the harness system; not because a weight has anything to do with needing to use a booster seat. The fit of the belt is the issue, and the age of a child. We do not recommend using a booster for a child who is under three. There are some three- to four-year-olds who move into booster seats because, although they're under forty pounds, the strap slots in their seat with a full harness are now below their shoulders. They've outgrown that product, and the parent has not been able to (or has not chosen to) find a seat with a harness that is higher than their shoulder level. So, then for the three- to four-year-olds it is a kind of grey area; a parental choice area, as to whether to use a booster seat or not.
How do I properly secure my child into a car booster seat?
Put the booster seat in the location in the vehicle that has a shoulder lap belt, preferably in the center of the backseat, if you have a shoulder lap belt there. Place the child on the booster seat, and secure the shoulder and lap belt around the child properly. The shoulder belt should be resting between the child's neck and the top of the arm. The lap belt should be on the tops of the thighs. The child's head should be fully supported. As children get older, eventually, as long as the child's head is supported up to about the tips of the ears, that will be sufficient protection. You'll want the safety belt snug to the child's body. We recommend that if you have the kind of safety belt that you can lock on the child by pulling the shoulder belt from the top all the way out and then letting it go back so it holds the child in place. That's particularly a good idea for children who are just coming out of the seat with a full snug harness, which they've never had to think about, and are now beginning to have to manage the shoulder lap belt themselves.
Will my shoulder lap belt hurt my child while he is in his booster seat?
Most parents are worried about the shoulder belt rubbing against the child's neck when they are in their booster seat. Actually the part of the belt that hurts the child when in their booster seat is not the shoulder belt, but the lap belt. Children don't have the hip bones fully developed until they're 10 years of age. It's hard for them to keep the lap belt down low on their thighs when in the booster seat. What the booster seat does is put the child at a different angle in relation to the lap belt so that it is on the tops of the thighs. So that's the way you want to put them in a booster seat.
How can I prevent my child from falling out of his booster seat?
If your child starts to fall out of the booster seat when they are sleeping, you particularly want to lock the belt on them, or you may need to take other steps, such as some of the booster seats with backs have better support than others. Sometimes there are other techniques that one can use to help the child sit up straight in their booster seat. If there is a slight recline in the vehicle seat that's all right but in the vehicle every passenger and driver should be sitting up straight so the force of the crash is taken evenly on the shoulder and the lower body. Reclining in the car is not good for anyone.
How can my child travel safely if he refuses a car booster seat?
A child who refuses to sit in a safety booster seat, yet needs a safety booster seat, should just not be going in the car. The other alternative to a safety booster seat might be to obtain a travel vest. There are several styles of travel vest, or even a seat with the harness system that goes beyond the childs poundage. But one way or another, the child can only sit in the if car properly restrained, and in many states that's the law. In some states that's even the law for every occupant.
At what age can a child travel in a vehicle without a car booster seat?
Of course every state has a different law concerning this, but the purpose of traveling in a booster seat is to fit the safety belt, with the shoulder-lap belt in the vehicle sitting comfortably on the child's body. Therefore this is a two variable problem. In other words, one variable is the child, but the other variable is the car. So the only way to know if a child has grown out of their booster seat is to use the five-step test. Have the child sit in the vehicle with his or her back firmly against the vehicle seat back. While sitting that way, the child must also be able to bend his or her knees over the front of the vehicle seat. The shoulder belt must rest comfortably between the neck and the top of the arm. The lap belt must fit on the tops of the thighs, not up on the abdomen. And the child must be able to sit in that position for the entire trip, regardless of how long it is.
A safety booster seat is a product that's crash-tested and designed to position a child properly in the shoulder-lap belt. It's really meant for children who are at least four years of age, although sometimes a tall, thin three-year old will have to use a car booster seat because a parent doesn't have a safety seat with high enough strap slots. But primarily, a car booster seat is for a child who's at least four and does not fit properly in the shoulder-lap belt in the vehicle. A booster seat allows the parent to place the shoulder and lap belt on the proper places on the child's body.
What are the different styles of booster seats available?
Safety booster seats come in three styles. The first is a kind that has no back at all; it simply positions the child in the shoulder lap belt. The good thing about that is that if you have a vehicle seat with a high back or a head rest, the child sits well back against that and has the safety belt properly positioned. The second type of safety booster has a high back. That seat may come just as a booster with a rigid back, or even a pliable back, but the back is permanently attached to the base. It may be part of a combination seat where the safety harness is used up to a certain number of pounds (usually forty pounds), and then that harness is removed and the seat converts into a booster seat. The third style of booster seat is one that has a removable back; you have the back to use when you want. If your child is going on a play date and can't take the whole seat, or if you're travelling on an aeroplane and you want to make sure that the base of the booster doesn't get lost in baggage, you can take the base onto the plane in a carry-on and pack the back in your luggage so you have the choice of whether you use the back or not. Clearly, we think the third type is the most flexible for parental use.
What type of car booster seat should I buy?
The type of booster seat that you will choose has to do with your child, your vehicle, and your lifestyle. If your child is young a booster seat with a back helps because the child can rest his-or-her head against the sides, and sometimes that actually helps keep the child properly positioned. But if you have high back vehicle seats, you may find that a booster seat with just a base works just fine for your child. We recommend in general, that people lock the shoulder lap belt onto the child so that it is in the proper position. Most booster seats also have what's called a comfort clip, or an attachment to adjust the angle of the shoulder belt. Be sure that you always keep the shoulder belt between the neck and the top of the arm. If the comfort clip leads to pulling the shoulder belt into the wrong position, do not use it. The other factor is: what do you do? Do you travel a lot with your child so that you need to have a booster seat where the back comes off; so you can take the base of the booster seat with you so it doesn't get lost, or can you send it with your child in a backpack for play dates. People live different kinds of lives. There are also booster seats that fold in half so you can carry them comfortably, but you have the back always with you. We have a wide range of products. There's a new booster seat that comes with a full five point harness; it can only be used where you can tether it, because it's more like a harness. It's very flexible. It's very light. It converts into a booster with a shoulder lap belt at sixty pounds. So, there are a wide range of products, and you should choose the one that is best for your child, your vehicle, and your lifestyle.
At what age can my child use a car booster seat?
Safety booster seats are really meant to be used by children who have fully outgrown a safety seat with a full harness, so if you choose one that has a harness that goes to, for example, sixty or eighty pounds, you would then use the booster seat later if the child still did not fit into the safety belt properly. For most people, booster seats are used at about age four if the child weighs over forty pounds. That weight is related to the other products that they might be using and their level of certification for the harness system; not because a weight has anything to do with needing to use a booster seat. The fit of the belt is the issue, and the age of a child. We do not recommend using a booster for a child who is under three. There are some three- to four-year-olds who move into booster seats because, although they're under forty pounds, the strap slots in their seat with a full harness are now below their shoulders. They've outgrown that product, and the parent has not been able to (or has not chosen to) find a seat with a harness that is higher than their shoulder level. So, then for the three- to four-year-olds it is a kind of grey area; a parental choice area, as to whether to use a booster seat or not.
How do I properly secure my child into a car booster seat?
Put the booster seat in the location in the vehicle that has a shoulder lap belt, preferably in the center of the backseat, if you have a shoulder lap belt there. Place the child on the booster seat, and secure the shoulder and lap belt around the child properly. The shoulder belt should be resting between the child's neck and the top of the arm. The lap belt should be on the tops of the thighs. The child's head should be fully supported. As children get older, eventually, as long as the child's head is supported up to about the tips of the ears, that will be sufficient protection. You'll want the safety belt snug to the child's body. We recommend that if you have the kind of safety belt that you can lock on the child by pulling the shoulder belt from the top all the way out and then letting it go back so it holds the child in place. That's particularly a good idea for children who are just coming out of the seat with a full snug harness, which they've never had to think about, and are now beginning to have to manage the shoulder lap belt themselves.
Will my shoulder lap belt hurt my child while he is in his booster seat?
Most parents are worried about the shoulder belt rubbing against the child's neck when they are in their booster seat. Actually the part of the belt that hurts the child when in their booster seat is not the shoulder belt, but the lap belt. Children don't have the hip bones fully developed until they're 10 years of age. It's hard for them to keep the lap belt down low on their thighs when in the booster seat. What the booster seat does is put the child at a different angle in relation to the lap belt so that it is on the tops of the thighs. So that's the way you want to put them in a booster seat.
How can I prevent my child from falling out of his booster seat?
If your child starts to fall out of the booster seat when they are sleeping, you particularly want to lock the belt on them, or you may need to take other steps, such as some of the booster seats with backs have better support than others. Sometimes there are other techniques that one can use to help the child sit up straight in their booster seat. If there is a slight recline in the vehicle seat that's all right but in the vehicle every passenger and driver should be sitting up straight so the force of the crash is taken evenly on the shoulder and the lower body. Reclining in the car is not good for anyone.
How can my child travel safely if he refuses a car booster seat?
A child who refuses to sit in a safety booster seat, yet needs a safety booster seat, should just not be going in the car. The other alternative to a safety booster seat might be to obtain a travel vest. There are several styles of travel vest, or even a seat with the harness system that goes beyond the childs poundage. But one way or another, the child can only sit in the if car properly restrained, and in many states that's the law. In some states that's even the law for every occupant.
At what age can a child travel in a vehicle without a car booster seat?
Of course every state has a different law concerning this, but the purpose of traveling in a booster seat is to fit the safety belt, with the shoulder-lap belt in the vehicle sitting comfortably on the child's body. Therefore this is a two variable problem. In other words, one variable is the child, but the other variable is the car. So the only way to know if a child has grown out of their booster seat is to use the five-step test. Have the child sit in the vehicle with his or her back firmly against the vehicle seat back. While sitting that way, the child must also be able to bend his or her knees over the front of the vehicle seat. The shoulder belt must rest comfortably between the neck and the top of the arm. The lap belt must fit on the tops of the thighs, not up on the abdomen. And the child must be able to sit in that position for the entire trip, regardless of how long it is.
Child Travel Vests
What is a "travel vest"?
An alternative to a child seat that takes up less room. It has special materials that seats do not that help distribute the child's weight evenly.
How can my child travel safely if he can slip out of his safety belt?
Another reason for using a travel vest is that there are some children that go well beyond a hundred pounds. There are children who have a hard time sitting properly in the car; they may even have some emotional or physical challenge which makes it impossible for them to travel safely in a shoulder lap belt alone. So, a travel vest is a wonderful option for families and children where there's a problem. We have some youngsters and even some young adults who really don't understand how important it is to be buckled up, and they really aren't capable of making a good decision about this. There are back-closing vests so the child can't release the vest easily, because it zips up the back, it's tethered, and it's used with the vehicle safety belt.
An alternative to a child seat that takes up less room. It has special materials that seats do not that help distribute the child's weight evenly.
How can my child travel safely if he can slip out of his safety belt?
Another reason for using a travel vest is that there are some children that go well beyond a hundred pounds. There are children who have a hard time sitting properly in the car; they may even have some emotional or physical challenge which makes it impossible for them to travel safely in a shoulder lap belt alone. So, a travel vest is a wonderful option for families and children where there's a problem. We have some youngsters and even some young adults who really don't understand how important it is to be buckled up, and they really aren't capable of making a good decision about this. There are back-closing vests so the child can't release the vest easily, because it zips up the back, it's tethered, and it's used with the vehicle safety belt.
Integrated Child Safety Seats
What are "integrated child safety seats"?
Integrated child safety seats are products that are built into the vehicle itself. About 1995, the first integrated safety seats began to appear in American vehicles. The concept is that this is a child safety seat that has used forward-facing with a full harness, but the seat itself is part of the vehicle seat. You open up the vehicle seat, and here comes a child safety seat with a full harness system. The positive about integrated child safety seats is that you have no installation, and in fact today, if you have an integrated child safety seat, that is counted as one of the locations that's the equivalent of having the lower anchor bars, because, obviously, you're not having to attach a safety seat there. Many of those integrated child safety seats had harnesses that went above 4 pounds, and again you have to read the instructions that come with the integrated child safety seat.
Are integrated child safety seats as good as safety seats bought separately?
Safety seats are as safe as the way you use them. All safety seats for sale in the United States have to meet the same crash tests and they have to be certified to meet the same federal standards. Whether they're integrated into the car or whether they're add-on safety seats. So the integrated seat may be safer, because it's attached to the vehicle and the parent does not have to install it. But on the other hand, if the parent doesn't snug up the harness properly, or doesn't use the safety seat the way it's supposed to be used, then of course you can have the same problems of misuse as an add-on safety seat.
Integrated child safety seats are products that are built into the vehicle itself. About 1995, the first integrated safety seats began to appear in American vehicles. The concept is that this is a child safety seat that has used forward-facing with a full harness, but the seat itself is part of the vehicle seat. You open up the vehicle seat, and here comes a child safety seat with a full harness system. The positive about integrated child safety seats is that you have no installation, and in fact today, if you have an integrated child safety seat, that is counted as one of the locations that's the equivalent of having the lower anchor bars, because, obviously, you're not having to attach a safety seat there. Many of those integrated child safety seats had harnesses that went above 4 pounds, and again you have to read the instructions that come with the integrated child safety seat.
Are integrated child safety seats as good as safety seats bought separately?
Safety seats are as safe as the way you use them. All safety seats for sale in the United States have to meet the same crash tests and they have to be certified to meet the same federal standards. Whether they're integrated into the car or whether they're add-on safety seats. So the integrated seat may be safer, because it's attached to the vehicle and the parent does not have to install it. But on the other hand, if the parent doesn't snug up the harness properly, or doesn't use the safety seat the way it's supposed to be used, then of course you can have the same problems of misuse as an add-on safety seat.
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