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In Florida, infants and children must ride in a child safety seat from the start. In fact, hospitals will not allow babies to go home unless they are strapped into an child safety seat. Yet, an alarming number of parents don't actually strap their kids into safety seats. Others install the seat incorrectly, ironically rendering this important safety device a worse hazard to their child than if they didn't have it in the car at all. The solution: read the car seat's instructions and follow them to the letter. Local health departments and hospitals often offer information and safety checks on child safety seats.
 Use a rear-facing child safety seat until your baby weighs at least 20 pounds and reaches age one.
Avoid used child safety seats - they may have hairline cracks from a previous accident that could weaken the seat in another crash.
Airbags and child safety seats don't mix. A recent study showed that infants could be seriously injured or killed by the fill force of an airbag if their rear- facing infant car seat is placed on the front seat of the car. The best solution: put those seats in the back seat if your car has airbag.
Using an appropriate car seat correctly makes a big difference. Even the safest seat may not protect your child in a crash if it is incorrectly installed or used improperly. Take a moment to check and be sure. These recommendations are provided by American Academy of Pediatrics.
An infant in a rear-facing seat should never be placed in the front seat of a vehicle that has a passenger air bag. The safest place for all children to ride is in the back seat. If an older child must ride in the front seat, move the vehicle seat as far back from the air bag as possible and buckle the child properly.
Infants should ride facing the back of the car until they have reached at least one year of age AND weigh at least 20 pounds.
A child who weighs more than 20 pounds AND is older than one year of age may face forward.
Has your child grown too tall for the convertible or forward-facing seat or has your child reached 40 pounds? Use a belt-positioning booster seat to help protect your child until he is big enough to use a seat belt properly. A belt-positioning booster seat is used with a lap and shoulder belt. Shield booster, used only with lap belts, are not safe for children more than 40 pounds. Children under 40 pounds should use a convertible or forward-facing seat. Child boosters should only be used without the shield with a lap/shoulder belt.
Not all car seats fit in all vehicles. When the car seat is installed, be sure it does not move side-to-side or toward the front of the car. Be sure to read the section on car seats in the owner's manual for your car.
Route the seat belt through the correct path (check the instructions to make sure). Kneel in the seat to press it down and pull the belt tight. A convertible seat has two different belt paths, one for infants and toddlers. Check the owner's manual for your car to see if you need to use a locking clip or a tether to keep the safety seat secure.
The shoulder straps of the car seat go in the lowest slots for infants riding backward, and in the highest slots for children facing forward.
The chest clip should be placed at armpit level to keep the harness straps on the shoulders. Harnesses should fit snugly against your child's body. Check the instructions on how to adjust the straps.
Follow them and keep them with the car seat. You will need them as your child gets bigger. Be sure to send in the registration card that comes with the car seat. It will be important in case your car seat is recalled.
Call the Auto Safety Hotline for a list of recalled seats that need repair.
Be sure to make any necessary repairs to your car seat.
If so, it may have been weakened and should not be used, even if it looks all right.
Call the car seat manufacturer if you have any questions about the safety
of your seat.
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