Child Safety - Choosing and Using Child Car Seats

There are different car seats for each stage of your child's development and weight. You should read packaging carefully and ensure that your child car seat is installed properly to manufacturer specifications before you take your child on a trip short or long.

The proper use of car seats reduces the chance of your child being hurt or killed in a collision. Children up to 13 years of age should ride in the back of your car, it lessens their chance of injury.

Newborns and infants need to be in a rear facing infant safety seat. The seat should be rear facing and resting at a 45 degree angle. When a seatbelt or safety strap is routed through the car seat, there should be no more than 1 inch of movement. If necessary, you can use a rolled up towel to ensure the proper angle of the infant safety seat. You shouldn't be able to put more than one finger in between the harness straps in the area of your child's collarbone. The chest clip needs to be flat against the chest at armpit level. When your child is over 20 pounds, they are read for the next stage of car seat.

Once your child is at least 20 pounds, they can start using a forward facing child safety seat. If there is a tether strap, make sure you anchor it properly according to manufacturer specifications. This will prevent the seat from moving forward too much in the case of a collision. The shoulder straps of the car seat should be at your child's shoulder level and snug so that you can only fit one finger width in between the strap and your child's body. A lap and shoulder belt combination must be used with a booster seat. It is important that your child's head is supported by the top of the booster seat and the should strap must be positioned across your child's shoulder and the middle of the chest.

Always use the correct child safety seat for your child's height and weight and follow the manufacturer's instructions for the correct installation and usage.

Be very wary of purchasing a pre owned child safety seat. There is an expiry date on car seats - about 7 - 10 years because the plastic used to manufacture the car seat has a life span. Once it has been exposed to a certain amount of sunlight, it starts to breakdown and can weaken. You don't want your seat failing if you have a collision.




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