Here at Creative Child Magazine, we often get reader questions regarding the products parents choose for their children. So, we partnered up with Allana Pinkerton, Certified Child Passenger Safety Instructor, parents and caregivers to get the answers to questions regarding carseat safety and installation guidelines.
Read more for questions you may need answered too!
Question 1: Do you recommend parents have their car seats professionally installed by a trained technician or take a class on the proper way to install a safety seat? If so, where can someone go to have it installed or to take a class?
While car seats have become much easier to install over the years, having your work checked by a certified technician is always a great idea. Typically the inspection is free because most certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST’s) are volunteers, work at local hospitals or work for other government entities. Donations are always appreciated if it is a non-profit agency!
If you are paying for a car seat check, be sure the CPST’s certification is up to date. Any skilled and experienced CPST will ask you for your vehicle and car seat manual. They will educate you on all aspects of your car seat and the installation. It should not be an installation service. Certification classes are often open to the public. There are no guarantees that you will become a CPST just by taking the course. There are written quizzes, skill tests and a car seat check that has to be passed. You can locate a class or a CPST at cert.safekids.org.
Question 2: What are the height, weight and age requirements to sit in a vehicle with a seat belt only? What are the height, weight and age requirements to turn a child’s car seat from rear facing to front facing?
In order for a child to fit properly in the adult seat belt they must be approximately 4’9” and 80 lbs. This can vary, depending on the depth and width of the vehicle seat. Have them take the 5-Step test to gauge whether they are ready. Check out the test here at carseatblog.com/3966/the-5-step-test.
Maturity is also a factor to consider. Children under 13 years old are safer in the back seat.
Children are also safer riding rear-facing so we always recommend keeping kids rear-facing to the full weight or height limit of their car seat. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping kids rear-facing until at least two years of age.
Question 3: What is the biggest mistake you see with improper seat installation or use, to make it unsafe for a child? How should it be corrected?
The scary thing is when we see one mistake there are usually three or four mistakes. The biggest concern is a car seat that is installed too loosely. Check your vehicle manual so you can be sure to know how your seat belt locks for a seat belt installation. If you’re using the LATCH anchors make sure and adjust the lower strap tight per the instructions in your car seat manual.
Car seats should move less than one inch side-to-side and back-to-front when checked at the belt path. Most car seats do not allow the LATCH anchors and seat belt to be used simultaneously. wearing a coat can the straps be loosened?
A proper fitting harness is a lot like a race car driver’s harness. The straps go over the child’s shoulders, over each leg and then the buckle goes between their legs. A harness should fit snug and comfortable on a child where you cannot pinch the webbing at the collar bone. The harness does not need to fit super tight on a child.
Use harness pads and buckle pads that are approved for use with the car seat. Bulky winter coats can give a false sense of a correctly tightened harness so always remove them before harnessing your child. Use blankets over the harness, or put their coats on backwards after they’re harnessed to keep them warm.
Question 5: When should children start and stop using a booster seat?
Ideally, we want children to ride in a 5-point harness for as long as possible. Children’s pelvic bones are not fully developed until between ages 4-6, so the lap belt may not stay down low on the hips even in a belt positioning booster seat. If the seat belt rides up on the soft abdomen it can cause deadly harm to a child in a crash. Again, maturity is a factor to consider. You might have a child who is eight and developed enough, but they might not stay seated properly in a seat belt. Your child can stop using a booster once they pass the 5 Step test mentioned previously.
Question 6: Which seat is the safest and why; behind the driver seat, the middle seat or behind the passenger seat?
All car seats have to meet the same standards. A safe seat is the one that is installed properly, the one the fits your child properly and the one you will use correctly every ride. Some seats do come with extra safety features that could benefit a child during a crash.
The vehicle’s back seat is the safest place for a car seat. Yes, the middle seems to be better because it does put your child further from an intruding car, but what do you do when you have more than one child?
One study by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia shows there are just about equal crashes on each side of the car. The study also shows kids further from the crash sustained injuries. The best thing to do is to install the seat correctly no matter which side works best for your family. Use the seat properly every ride.
Question 7: Do car seats expire? If so, why? Where do you look for an expiration date?
Over time materials can corrode, break down and weaken. There are also technological advancements all the time in car seat safety so we want parents to take advantage of it. After all, we are all quick to buy the latest and greatest in cell phones, computers and TVs. It only makes sense to buy the latest and greatest products that protect our children in the most dangerous thing we do every day – driving on the road.
Question 8: What are the Inch Test and The Pinch Test referring to when it comes to car seat installation?
The Inch Test refers to the installation of the car seat. It should move less than one inch side-to-side and front-to-back when checked at the belt path. It’s not necessary to grab the seat at different points because the only place that is usually secured with a seat belt or LATCH strap is at the belt path. This is the true test.
The Pinch Test refers to the harness. As mentioned before, the harness should fit snug and comfortable where you cannot pinch the webbing at the collar bone. Checking at the chest clip or tummy will give you a false sense that harness is not tight and you’ll keep pulling the harness tighter and your child will be very uncomfortable. Also be sure the chest clip is at arm pit level.
Question 9: At what age/weight is it recommended for children to face front in the car seat?
If we look at the statistics from Sweden, you’ll see a huge difference in crash injury and death rates among children. They rarely have any. It’s because children stay rear-facing up to four and five years old. Rear-facing protects the head, neck and spinal cord. These are the most vulnerable areas on an infant and young child’s body and the hardest to repair and heal.
Question 10: What are important safety features that Diono car seats and booster seats have that other brands may not?
Our convertible line is unique in that it is made up of a fully integrated steel frame. Steel is the most robust material for absorbing crash energy. Our seats are also lined on all sides with energy absorbing EPS foam. If you peel back the covers on most car seats, you’ll find comfort foam or just plastic. Very few seats are entirely lined with EPS foam. We even have it under the child’s tailbone.
Our convertibles accommodate a child rear-facing much longer than other seats because of the deep seat pan, higher harness slots and high weight capacities. It also sits low in the vehicle which is convenient, but the lower the child is sitting, the lower the center of gravity which decreases forward movement and reduces G-forces on the child’s body.
Our Monterey booster seat has a reinforced bar around the torso, EPS foam throughout the seat and a more robust seat pan. It’s also one of the most accommodating booster seats for big kids because it expands in height and width to fit them up to 120 lbs. and 63” tall.
