When it comes to the safety of your newborn during car travel, as a parent that is always our top most priority. The most important part of this is the correct installation of an infant car seat. Improper installation can greatly reduce the effectiveness of a car seat in keeping your child safe, so it is important for you to use excellent guidelines.
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But there’s something for insurance: a complete guide to installing your infant car seat, and the peace of mind you’ll take with every strap.
Knowing Why Proper Installation is Important
But first of all, we must go through what makes an infant car seat installation very important before you can get into the steps of how to install one. Safety experts estimate that an exasperating percentage of car seats are installed improperly, thus limiting their efficacy during a crash in protecting your child. The forces of a crash can be massive, and an intact safety car seat is intended to diffuse so much force before it reaches your child that their likelihood of harm in such situations becomes significantly reduced. Having the car seat properly installed means that it maintains its functionality so as to offer your baby all of the protection they need.
Choosing the Correct Vehicular Location
The first part of installing an infant child seat is selecting the safest location in your car. Because it is the safest place for your child, safety experts recommended that you have a car seat in the back. The back middle seat is generally considered the best, as it places you farthest from any impact point in a collision. But if you do not have that suitably or anchor spot then either side backseat also works.
Do not install the car seat in the front passenger seat, as airbags can be deadly for infants. Airbags are very dangerous for a rear-facing car seat — the force of an airbag deploying can cause great bodily injury. Hence, choosing the back seat is always a wise bet.
Complete Guide: How to Install the Base of an Infant Car Seat
After you have decided on the perfect place, here is how to properly install your infant car seat:
- **Read the Manuals:** Start by thoroughly reading both your vehicle’s owner manual and car seat user manual. These manuals provide essential information that is particular to your car seat and vehicle, such as the correct method for securing a seat belt or using LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) in place of said seatbelt.
- Position the Car Seat- Put the infant car seat in a position of choice, ensuring it is rear-facing. Car seat should have a reclined position to support your baby’s head and neck preventing it from falling forward. Either an adjustable base or a built-in recline/angle indicator included on most car seats will help you to get the correct level. Before we can move on to the next step, it is important that the seat be level and stable.
- **The LATCH system**: The most common way to secure a car seat is two lower anchors and a top tether which attach directly onto your car frame. Make use of the LATCH system by connecting dovetails on the base of a car seat to less end-linked vehicle seats Tighten the upper straps so there is no slack, and verify that when the car seat base lodged like this it does not move more than 1″ either left-to -or right-side or backwards.
- **Securing the Car Seat with a Seat Belt**: If your car does not have a LATCH system, or if you prefer to use the seat belt rethread through designated paths in the base of the infant carrier. Put the threaded seat belt and tighten in order not to lose it. For car seats with a built-in lock-off, simply follow the user-friendly instructions to ensure that your seat belt is seated correctly in place. Pull in the seat belt to remove slack and re-check to see how much movement there is from side-to-side of the car base with the car falls installed.
- Recline angle: Double-check the recline angle when you have installed it correctly by double securing your car seat. The seat should be tilted back enough so your baby’s head does not fall forward. There should be a level indicator on the car seats to help you aline with angle of reclining. Make sure the car seat is positioned properly by adjusting the base as needed.
- **Shake Test: ** Once you have the car seat installed, at the base give it a firm shake. If you can move the car seat more than an inch in any direction, check again. Retest by bearing down with even more force on your upper torso, if there is additional movement re-tighten the straps or seat belt.
- **Adding the Infant Carrier:** If you have a car seat that has an infant detachable carrier, we want to just attach it and listen for our click. Accordingly,ensure that the carrier is latched by gently tugging on it.
#### Additional Safety Tips
Aside from the actual installation steps, you should have your child safety seat checked for a secure fit by a professional and consider these other tips that will help keep your car seat at its best in terms of protection:
- ***Installation Check: ***The car seat can get loose over a period of time due to daily wear and tear. Inspection and re-tightening straps or seat belts on a regular basis.
- **After-market Products are a No-Go**: While you might think that using some extra padding or accessories can keep your child safer, ski writing in this one avoids aftermarket products which have not been permitted by the car seat manufacturers. These items can interfere with the car seat safety mechanisms.
- * Check on the Way Your Baby is Positioned in the Seat: Always make your baby sits with proper position inside a car seat; harness straps fit snugly and have their chest clip resting at armpit level. The harness should be snug enough that you are unable to pinch any unnecessary slack in the straps.
- **Professional Installation**: If you are unsure of the installation, contact a certified child passenger safety technician. If they are not confident with their installation, parents can seek a car seat inspection by local community representatives.
#### Conclusion
Probably the most important step in protecting your baby when traveling by car is ensuring that you have fitted an infant child seat correctly. As long as you shop around for the perfect location and follow manufacturers advice whilst heeding reasonable practices, your car seat should afford its highest level of protection. More than that, regular checks accompanied by the compliance of safety tips will make your child more secure when he is on the road. The folks at U.S. News took the lead on this point: as they remind us, a properly installed car seat can mean all the difference in an emergency and help you rest (hopefully) easily with your small fry buckled up safely by your side.
In conclusion, the only way to ensure optimum safety with infant car seats is strict installation and maintenance. Doing so helps you to worry less about baby safety, and allow the joys of parenthood take over.
