In the United States, according to studies from organizations like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the best way to reduce the risk of injury and death for children is to make sure car seats are properly installed and used.
Unfortunately, 46% of car seats are misused, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding car seat safety and common mistakes.
Statistics show that motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death among children ages 3 to 14 in the U.S.
There were 794 children aged 12 and under who died in the U.S. in 2017 as occupants in motor vehicle crashes, and of those 37% weren’t restrained.
Even for children who are in car seats and are properly restrained, anywhere from 72% to 84% of restraints are misused, yet 96% of parents think their car seats are installed properly. When you compare a car seat being properly used versus one not being properly used, improper use is correlated with a three-and-a-half times greater likelihood of your child sustaining a serious injury if there is a crash.
The following is a guide to car seat safety, and also an overview of some of the most common mistakes parents make when securing their children in a vehicle.
Car Seats Reduce the Risk of Fatal Injury
Before going into the specifics of car seat mistakes, all parents should know that the use of car seats can reduce the risk of a deadly injury for infants under a year old by 71%. They can reduce the risk of a deadly injury 54% for toddlers between the ages of one and four.
For a child between the ages of 4 and 8, they are 45% less likely to be injured in they’re in a booster seat instead of a seat belt, and the NHTSA recommends all children under the age of 12 are restrained in the backseat instead of in the front seat.
The AAP tells parents they should keep their babies in rear-facing seats until they’re two or until they reach the height or weight limits for the seat.
The most commonly misused seats are forward-facing car seats, and the most frequently seen mistake in their use was an installation that was too loose.
Car Seat Mistake #1: A Loose Seat
As was touched on, one of the biggest mistakes often seen with car seats is that the straps that attach to the vehicle aren’t tight enough.
You can check for this by doing what’s referred to as the inch test. Basically, with the inch test, after you install a car seat, tug at the bottom base where the seat meets the seat of your vehicle. You shouldn’t be able to move it more than an inch either front to back or side to side when you do this.
If a car seat is too loosely installed in a vehicle and you are in a crash, the child could crash into the back of the front seat, which could lead to a serious head or facial injury.
Go over your car seat instruction manual as well as the owner’s manual for your car. You should use either a locked seatbelt or a LATCH system to secure car seats, and if you use a seatbelt, you should tighten it as much as you possibly can before you lock it—and don’t forget to lock it because parents often do.
Sometimes parents will also think it’s better to use both the LATCH system and the seat belt to install a car seat, but more isn’t always better, and in this case, it can be worse. Use one or the other when you’re installing a seat.
Mistake #2: Loose Harness
The second most common mistake seen with car seats is that the harness is too loose. When you put your child in their seat, if you can pinch the harness straps between your fingers, then it’s too loose.
If the harness is too loose, a child can become dislodged during a crash and in the worst-case scenario, be ejected from the vehicle.
The fix for this problem is easy—tighten the harness and make sure there’s no slack in the straps when your child is in their seat.
Mistake #3: Puffy Jackets
Winter is coming, and that means bundling our kids up. However, those puffy jackets and layers can be a risk in terms of car seat safety.
When your child is wearing a lot of layers and is in their car seat, it makes more slack in the harness straps of their car seat. It’s better to take off the layers, then strap your child in and cover them with blankets if necessary.
Mistake #4: Wrong Angle
Is your rear-facing car seat installed at the wrong angle? You want to make sure the seat is at the right angle, so it prevents your child’s head from flopping forward. You should read the instruction manual to determine what angle is right for the seat, and rear-facing seats have built-in angle indicators to help with this.
If your child is in a rear-facing seat that’s leaning too far forward then it can cause the baby’s head to fall forward and cut off their breathing.
Mistake #5: Chest Clip is at The Wrong Location
When your child is in their seat, the chest clip of the harness should be centered on their chest and even with their armpits. That ensures that the straps are in the right place. If the clip is at the wrong place, then it means the straps might slide off your child’s shoulders, which could cause the child to be ejected from the car during a crash.
You should check the clip location every time you put your child in the car because they can move around frequently.
Car seats can be tricky, but by knowing common mistakes, you can hopefully avoid them and keep your child as safe as possible when they’re in the car with you.