Putting baby into the car seat properly is very important to prevent injuries during a crash. The most important step is to read the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the proper use of your car seat.

The baby should be unwrapped from all blankets before placing him into the car seat. Blankets can be placed over the baby once he is secured in the car seat to keep him warm. Thick clothing such as coats and snow suits should not be worn when in a car seat. Thick clothing can compress and cause internal injuries in a crash.

It is important to get the harness straps on snugly. You should be able to get only one finger under the harness strap at the baby’s collar bone. You may need to loosen the harness to remove the baby from the car seat and tighten the harness every time you put baby into the car seat. If the harness does not fit snugly, your baby can suffer internal injuries in a crash.

You should avoid placing extra padding into the car seat behind the baby. You car seat should only have padding that came with it. Any extra padding may compress in a crash and cause your baby avoidable injury in a crash. This means those cute little car seat head roll inserts that you can buy should not be added to the car seat. Instead, roll up receiving blankets and place them on each side of the baby’s head to provide support.

The harness retainer clip should be placed at armpit level on the baby. This is a very important part of the car seat because it prevents partial ejection. Read your instructions for more details on the harness retainer clip.

The information on this page does not cover every aspect of pacing baby into the car seat. It is important to have a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician check your car seat to check that you baby is in the car seat properly.

How Long Should Baby Ride Rear-facing?

Newborns and infants should ride rear facing for as long as possible. The safest choice is to let your baby ride rear facing until he reaches the rear facing weight and/or height limit on the rear facing convertible car seat.

The weight limit for most convertible car seats is 30 pounds and a few are even 35 pounds. This means your baby may be 18 months old or more before riding forward facing. Each car seat is different, so refer to the instruction manual for their maximum weight and height requirements.

Your baby may outgrow the infant car seat somewhere between the age of 6 months to one year. Pay attention to the height and weight limit of the seat. Once your infant has exceeded the limit then it is time to get a rear facing convertible seat.

Infants ride rear facing to protect their head, neck and spinal cord. Turning your child around to face forward too early means that your child is likely to suffer from a spinal cord injury, paralysis, and even death in a crash.

Have a car seat technician help you with installation when you get a new car seat. This will insure that you are using the seat properly.

Putting Toddler Into the Car Seat

The harness straps on forward facing car seats should be at or above your child’s shoulders. Read the instructions to make sure that the harness straps are in the correct slots.

The harness straps should be snug and flat, not loose or twisted. Your child will suffer less injuries in a crash if the harness straps are snug. You should not be able to pinch the harness straps with your fingers. If you can pinch the harness, the straps should be tightened.

The harness chest clip should be positioned at the armpit level across the child’s chest.

Read the manufacturer’s instructions and contact a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician to make sure that you have properly secured your child in the car seat