Do You Use Your Car Seat Correctly?
9/12/2007
Stats Say Most Don’t, But Help is Available Nearby
I’ve learned something appalling: It is widely agreed upon that between 80 and 90 percent of people use child-safety seats incorrectly. Yikes!
When I heard this, I decided to call my local fire department and see if I could get the skinny on this embarrassing, scary stat. Truth be told, I was secretly hoping to have a tête-à-tête with a hunky fireman, imagining he would show me exactly how to install my car seat correctly, maybe even letting my son and I go for a ride on the truck. (Seriously, who doesn’t have a tiny crush on firemen? Even my husband thinks they’re super cool.)
Instead, when I showed up at the fire station I was greeted by Susan, a kick-ass mom of a 5-year-old who also happens to be my local fire district’s Director of Life Safety and Education. She confidently dished with me on this dirty little car-seat misuse secret and shared ways to spread the word so we can lower this number. Susan confirmed that the car-seat misuse rate is indeed that high; in fact, she said it’s probably nearer 90 percent than 80. She said the most common mistakes are:
1. Not tightening the harness straps enough; you shouldn’t be able to pinch any slack on the harness.
2. Not installing the seat tightly enough in the car. The rule of thumb here is that there should be about an inch of movement in the seat belt path.
Susan told me that in regard to problem No. 1, most people are just plain scared to smush their child (count me guilty here). As it turns out, your child will just as readily let you know if the straps are suffocating her as she will if she’s hungry or tired. Lesson learned: Don’t be afraid to tighten your kids up in their car seats! As for the second major issue, again, make sure things are tight.
Here’s the deal: Even if you don’t already have your own Susan-like, kick-ass car-seat guru, the information you need is right at your fingertips. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s website has a list of Fitting Stations across the country. Click on your state and you’ll get a list of all the places you can go to work directly with a ”coach” who will train you on how to install and use your child seat correctly. The best part is that many of the Fitting Stations are located in fire departments, so you too can get up close and personal with a heroic firefighter. Or you might just meet your own Susan.
Comments
Another problem I'm finding is that as car seats get bigger and more wrap around, it's getting harder to fit them in the seats properly. In my Grand Cherokee the rear headrests are not adjustable and they get in the way of my convertible seat in forward facing position. I'm just glad that they're not active head restraints. It seems like interior designers tend to forget about allowing for kid seats these days, unless you can afford a big expensive luxo-barge.
Posted by: HDC | Sep 13, 2007 10:41:05 AM
Another word to add to our vernacular here? I LOVE "luxo-barge!"
Posted by: Sara Lacey | Sep 16, 2007 8:49:41 AM
Most OEM's recommend that you remove the rear head restraints in the seating position where you install the child restraint to make them fit better - a great tip assuming they're not stationary like in a Volvo.
Posted by: Kristin Varela (Mother Proof) | Sep 16, 2007 5:06:22 PM
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This is a great tip even for more experienced parents who's kids have graduated to boosters. The Fitting Station will check to make sure your booster is not on the recall list and that you have put it together properly. Last time, the hunky fireman showed me how important it is to raise the back of my son's booster as he grows. I try to make an annual visit - and I swear it is not to tour the firemen... I mean the firehouse.
Posted by: Emily | Sep 12, 2007 11:12:22 PM