Baby Car Seats To Toddlers And 4 Popular Errors Associated With Them

There are several misconceptions involved in the use of car seats. The car seat for babies and toddlers are used in first place to help keep them safe. It is a sad fact that many parents fail to ignore the height, weight and age specifications that safety laws have placed. The installation of the seats is also faulty at times. Here we shall review some of the common seat installation mistakes and ways of correcting them.

The rule is that you should keep your baby in the rear facing seat until it reaches two years of age or the specified height/weight limits. The car seats themselves have this height and weight limit printed on their backside. The fact is that many parents are in a hurry to have their baby facing forward; in fact as soon as it reaches its first birthday the child is flipped over. This is the primary error in the use of seats that parents make. Research has shown that a rear facing seat is better in preventing injuries to head, neck and the spine of babies. This is due to the distribution of the force of collision throughout the body. The grim fact is that almost 4 to 5 babies die every single day for not following this rule.

A second common mistake is the erroneous installation of the seat as parents fail to read the accompanying seat manual. Experts say that many potential dangers and incorrect installation problems can be avoided by carefully reading the car seat manual as well as the vehicle's manual. Parents also should re-read the manual while converting the seat to front facing after the child reaches the correct weight/height limits and even while changing to the booster seat. The seat belts and harness system is also left loose while installation. The job of installing the seat should involve two people; one has to press the seat down with hands and knees and the other should ensure that it does not move more than an inch in either direction. And if it does move then you need to re-install the seat. The tether strap is also left loose and even absent in some cases. Studies show that the tether system can greatly reduce the collision on the baby's head. If your seat comes with a tether strap, you should definitely use it.

The bulky and heavy winter clothing can also render the seat belt harness system loose. So, in winters; remember to remove the coats and jackets while placing the baby in the seat. Once you have attached the seat belts after the child is in the seat, then you can wrap the blanket around it. But many innocent parents wrap the child first and then attach the seat belt.

Last, but not the least, the car seat should never be placed in the front seat of the car, next to the driver, as the air bags can cause a great deal of injury. Only a child above 12 years is allowed to ride in the front seat with a seat belt on. If a child under 12 years of age has to be placed in the front seat, then you need to move your car's seat as far back as possible and also switch off the air-bags where possible.

Any parent will need to have a good travel system instead of just a stroller; it will make this simplier and easier as well as suitable. Find out more about more details on toddler car seat. You will discover more info on choosing a great car seat to your infant on booster seat reviews.