Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Get Started

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

  • Housecall
  • Alzheimer's caregiving
  • Living with cancer

Car seat safety: Avoid 10 common mistakes

Car seat safety isn't child's play. Understand 10 common mistakes parents often make when installing and using car safety seats.

By Mayo Clinic staff

Car seat safety is crucial for protecting your child during travel, but knowing how to safely install a car seat and buckle up your child as he or she grows can be difficult. Check out 10 common mistakes parents often make when it comes to car seat safety — and how to avoid them.

1. Getting a used car seat without researching its history

If you're considering a used car seat for your child, make sure the car seat:

  • Comes with instructions and a label showing the manufacture date and model number
  • Hasn't been recalled
  • Isn't more than six years old
  • Has no visible cracks or missing parts
  • Has never been in a moderate or severe crash

If you don't know the car seat's history, don't use it.

2. Placing the car seat in the wrong spot

The safest place for your child's car seat is the back seat, away from active air bags. If the air bag inflates, it could hit the back of a rear-facing car seat — right where your child's head is — and cause a serious or fatal injury. Vehicles with no back seat aren't a good choice for traveling with children.

While side air bags improve safety for adults in side-impact crashes, placing a car seat next to a door with a side air bag may not be appropriate. Read your car seat manual for guidance on placing a car seat next to a side air bag. If you're only placing one car seat in the back seat, place it in the center of the seat rather than next to a door.

3. Using the car seat as a replacement crib

A car seat is designed to protect your child during travel. It's not for use as a replacement crib in your home. A 2009 study showed that sitting upright in a car seat may compress a newborn's chest and lead to lower levels of oxygen. Although it's essential to buckle your child into a car seat during travel, don't let your child sleep or relax in the car seat for long periods of time out of the car. Airway obstruction — even when it's mild — can impair a child's development.

4. Incorrectly buckling up your child

It can be hard at first to properly buckle a child in a car seat. Before you install the seat, read the manufacturer's instructions and the section on safety seats in the vehicle's owner's manual. Make sure the seat is tightly secured — allowing no more than one inch of movement from side to side or front to back — and facing the correct direction. Give yourself extra time before every trip to secure your child in the seat correctly.

If you're using an infant-only seat or a convertible seat in the rear-facing position — a common choice for newborns — keep these tips in mind:

  • Use the harness slots described in the car seat's instruction manual, usually those at or below the infant's shoulders.
  • Thread the straps through the shell and pad.
  • Place the harness or chest clip even with your child's armpits — not the abdomen or neck. Make sure the straps and harness lie flat against your baby's chest and over his or her hips with no slack.

Position the car seat's carrying handle according to the manufacturer's instructions. Don't hang anything from the handle.

5. Improperly trying to keep your child upright

Recline the car seat according to the manufacturer's instructions so that your newborn's head doesn't flop forward. Many seats include angle indicators or adjusters. You can also place a tightly rolled towel or newspaper under the seat's front edge to achieve the right angle.

If your baby slouches down or to the side of the car seat, place padding around — never under or behind — him or her. Don't use any additional products unless they came with the car seat or from the manufacturer.

Next page
(1 of 2)
References
  1. Car safety seats: A guide for families 2009. American Academy of Pediatrics. http://www.aap.org/family/Carseatguide.htm. Accessed May 21, 2009.
  2. Munns SK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. June 23, 2009.
  3. Car safety for you and your baby. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/bp018.cfm. Accessed July 24, 2009.
  4. Infant car seats. March of Dimes. http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/30590_30599.asp. Accessed Aug. 11, 2009.
  5. Child passenger safety: A parent's primer. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Accessed Aug. 25, 2009.
  6. Kallan MJ, et al. Seating patterns and corresponding risk of injury among 0- to 3-year-old children in child safety seats. Pediatrics. 2008;121:e1342.
  7. American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Injury and Poison Prevention. Selecting and using the most appropriate car safety seats for growing children: Guidelines for counseling parents. Pediatrics. 2002;109:550.
  8. Cerar LK, et al. A comparison of respiratory patterns in healthy term infants placed in car safety seats and beds. Pediatrics. 2009;124:e396.
  9. Bass JL, et al. The effect of chronic or intermittent hypoxia on cognition in childhood: A review of the evidence. Pediatrics. 2004:114;805.

MY00824

Sept. 12, 2009

© 1998-2009 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "EmbodyHealth," "Reliable tools for healthier lives," "Enhance your life," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

Print Share Reprints

Text Size: smaller largerlarger