Car Seat Safety:

Using Car Seats Safely to Protect Your Child

Proper use of a child car seat can save your child’s life and possibly prevent traumatic injuries. But car seats will only work if you know how to use them correctly.

Dr. Maria T. Camacho, Pediatric Critical Care Specialist with the Matt & Patty Gorges Children’s Center at Valley Baptist Medical Center–Harlingen, has seen first hand the devastating injuries that infants and young children can suffer when not properly restrained in a child safety seat while riding in a vehicle.

“Using a car seat correctly can help prevent injuries from an accident,” Dr. Camacho says. “It is very important for people to use the right type of car seat for the age and weight of their child. But even if you have the correct car seat, it won’t work if it’s not set up properly.”

Following are some tips from Dr. Camacho and the American Academy of Pediatrics on what you can do to make your child safer in your vehicle.

Which is the “best” car safety seat?

• No one car safety seat is “safest” or “best.” The “best” car safety seat is one that fits your child’s size and weight, can be installed correctly in your car, and that you will use every time you drive.

• Price does not always make a difference. Higher prices can mean added features that may or may not make the care safety seat easier to use.

• When you find a car safety seat you like, try it out! Put you child in the car safety seat and adjust the harnesses and buckles. Make sure it fits in your car.

• Keep in mind that displays or illustrations of car safety seats in stores do not always show them being used correctly.

Basics of Car Safety Seat Use

• Always use a car safety seat, starting with your baby’s first ride home from the hospital, and always use your own seat belt. Help your child form a lifelong habit of buckling up.

• Read the car safety seat manufacturer’s instructions and always keep them with the car safety seat.

• Read your vehicle owner’s manual for important information on how to install the car safety seat correctly in your vehicle.

• The safest place for all children to ride is in the back seat.

• Never place a child in a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has an active passenger airbag.

• The harness system holds your child in the car safety seat and the seat belt or Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system holds the car safety seat in the car. Attach both snugly to protect your child.

For more information on car seat safety, please visit the American Academy of Pediatrics’ web site by clicking here.

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