4 Common Car Seat Mistakes (2024)

FAQs

4 Common Car Seat Mistakes? ›

Car seat test

You will be asked to bring in your baby's car seat, which he will sit in for 90 to 120 minutes or the length of the car ride home, whichever is longer. During the test, the nurse will monitor your baby's heart rate, breathing and oxygen level.

Car seat test

You will be asked to bring in your baby's car seat, which he will sit in for 90 to 120 minutes or the length of the car ride home, whichever is longer. During the test, the nurse will monitor your baby's heart rate, breathing and oxygen level.

According to the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, or NHTSA, while 90% of parents feel they've got their car seat installed correctly, a majority are using it wrong. Data show 40% buckle too loosely, 34% have their chest clip in the wrong position and about 30% install with twisted harness clips.

If your car seat DOES allow for it, your best options are a thin towel (that has not been folded) or a thin receiving blanket. But best practice seems to be to always and only follow the instructions in your car seat manual, and to make sure that your ultimate goal is a safe backseat, not a pristine one.

Other seats require you adjust both separately. In general, you want the headrest to be positioned so that it is just above where they harness is coming out of the seat.

The Challenge: For at least 90 minutes, your baby will be secured in his/her car seat with a heart and breathing monitor and pulse oximeter. The baby will pass the test if (s)he remains stable without any problems with his/her breathing, heart rate, or oxygen level.

Common mistakes include routing the seat belt through the wrong belt path, failing to use a top tether for a forward-facing car seat, installing a rear-facing infant seat in the front passenger seat, and using both the seat belt and the lower anchors at the same time.

Aftermarket potty liners or car seat protectors are not approved for use in car seats. They're not safe! Though it seems like a good idea to protect your car seat, bench seat, or bucket seat from wear and tear from an accident, they're not crash-tested and can be downright dangerous in a crash.

You can add a blanket over the top of the harness straps or put your child's winter coat on backwards (over the buckled harness straps) after they are buckled up. Some parents prefer products such as poncho-style coats or jackets that zip down the sides so the back can flip forward over the harness.

Why can't you put a jacket on a baby in a car seat? ›

In the event of an impact where your child is pushed out of the seat and into the harness, the forces are so strong that the air in the coat is released. This results in your child having too much space for movement, as the harness is not tight enough to hold them back securely.

Both rear-facing and forward-facing car seats can be safely installed behind the driver or passenger seat. Convenience: Placing the car seat behind the passenger seat might make it easier for the driver to interact with the child, especially if they need to check on or soothe the child during the journey.

You don't want to put anything between your car seat and the vehicle seat that's going to interfere with the effectiveness of the child car seat. And seat protector mats could do that unless they already have been crash-tested with specific products.

Your baby is getting too big for his rear-facing child safety seat when his head nears the top of the seat. There should be at least one inch between the top of your child's head and the top of the rear-facing child safety seat.

Car seats are placed in a buggy that simulates the appropriate angle of the car seat base. Failure criteria include (1) apnea >20 seconds, (2) bradycardia <80 beats per minute for >10 seconds, and (3) desaturation <90% for >10 seconds.

In total, 80 (26%) infants failed their initial car seat test (95% CI 21% to 31%). The majority (n=33 [41%]) of these failed because of desaturations (≥2) of <88% for ≥10 s. Twenty-six had desaturations <80% (33% of failures) and two (3%) infants failed for heart rate <80 beats/min.

The test can show if your baby has breathing problems while in a car seat. It can identify certain car seat safeguards that your baby may need. These may include special padding, head supports or limits on travel time. We do the test in the nursery at least 1 to 2 days before your baby is discharged from the hospital.

The Car Seat Test, also known as the Infant Car Seat Challenge or Angle Tolerance Test, is an important screening to make sure that a baby can safely sit in their car seat without having any dangerous problems with their breathing, heart rate, or oxygen.