3 Common Mistakes Parents Unknowingly Make with Child Car Seats

Thousands of babies, toddlers, and children who ride in a car today will be in danger of injury, despite the fact that they are sitting in a car seat while the vehicle is in motion. This is because a disturbing number of infant and child car seats are not being used properly. A car seat is a little more complicated than just shoving it onto the seat and making sure it is secured by the car's seat belt. Unfortunately, an alarming number of parents and caregivers do not have their car seats correctly installed. Others do not have the car seat assembled correctly, and some are not using the seat appropriately. Read further to find out if you might be making any of the 3 common mistakes that parents unknowingly make with car seats that can result in serious injury or death.

First, it's critical to know for sure whether or not the car seat that your child uses is even assembled correctly. Some aspects of car seat assembly, particularly when it comes to the straps, can be particularly complicated and confusing. For example, some car seats come with an adjustable headrest that require only that that two bars, a plastic one and a metal one, in the back of the car seat be squeezed and lifted. Many families are using this car seat incorrectly because they didn't notice the sticker on the back of the seat that says the strap needs to be over the metal bar, not under it. One family had their car seat straps incorrectly assembled for five years without ever realizing it! Fortunately they never had an accident while using the car seat, but they were understandably shaken when they realized that an injury could have resulted from such a seemingly small oversight. Read your directions very carefully and double check to be absolutely certain that your child car seats are assembled exactly according to the instructions.