How To Install Baby Car Seat Front Facing
Once your child outgrows the rear-facing position , it’s time to spin the child seat around to the forward-facing position.
Always progress your child based on their size, rather than age when moving between car seat stages. Every child grows at different rates and its much more important to do what is right for your individual child than progress to the next stage just because they pass a certain age.
Shant also showed us the correct and safe way to mount the same 0-4 seat in the front-facing position. How to install a booster seat is much the same process.
1. Place the child seat in the car with the back up against your car seat’s backrest, with the base and stabiliser bar folded back within the child seat.
2. Take out the long top-tether strap from the top of the child seat and pull out the strap to its maximum length.
3. If your car has adjustable headrests, lift the headrest up and thread the tether strap over the backrest, ensuring it takes the most direct path to the tether point. This is usually located on the back of the seat and click the tether point in. Some cars have this top tether point on the parcel shelf or ceiling, but check your owner’s manual if in doubt. You’ll hear it click into place once its in properly, but give it a yank to be sure.
6. Tighten the ISOFIX straps until you see a green line pop up on each indicator. Use your body weight to push the seat into place and make sure it is as tight as possible.
Further Reading Recommendations About Chicco And Infant Car Seat Safety
We used several authoritative sources to write this guide on infant car seat installation. We recommend that you read them if you want to learn more about car seat safety in general. These are also great resources if you want to understand a particular aspect of child safety or want to stay up-to-date with the latest research.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Child Passenger Safety Board have excellent in-depth resources on car safety for children. We recommend you start there:
Britax, a car seat manufacturer, has a good article about the LATCH system: britax.com. And heres the article from Consumer Report mentioned in our introduction.
If you want to explore car safety even further, we recommend the following resources that were used when writing this article:
How To Install Car Seat Bases
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Installing Your Child In The Infant Car Seat
Now that your infant car seat is securely installed, its time to bring your baby in. This should be the easy part, but we know from experience that it wont always be. If your child is nervous or crying, it might be hard to securely tighten the strap around their chest.
Before you begin, check your car seat manual for the height and weight limits. Most infant car seats are for children who weigh between 4 and 30 lbs with a height below 30 inches .
In general, youll want the top of your babys head to be at least 1 inch below the top of the seat back.
Important to know
For premature infants, you must consult a doctor before using an infant car seat to make sure that your model is appropriate. Some car seats come with an extra cushion for small or premature babies that you can remove at a later stage.Beware that a premature infant may have difficulty breathing or have other medical problems when placed in a seated position.
Installing The Car Seat Base With A Seat Belt
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How To Install A Car Seat
Among the many daunting challenges for parents of young children is learning how to install a car seat for your infant or toddler and being confident that you’ve done it correctly.
If you’re a parent, you might fret over this task, but there’s no reason to go it alone. Help is available in many forms child car-seat inspection stations and certified child-passenger safety technicians abound. The AAA Car Seat Guide has a wealth of car-seat safety resources, and the organization hosts installation clinics in many cities. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration offers detailed instructions at safercar.gov.
Installing a car seat can be complicated, but videos and expert help can make it easier.
Courtesy of NHTSA, here are the basics, including videos, on how to install seats for an infant or an older child. These apply whether you are using the seat-belt system or the system known as LATCH that is installed in most newer vehicles. You can find more videos at the Parents Central section of safercar.gov.
Remember, the first and most important step in installing any car seat should always be a careful reading of the manufacturer’s instructions and owner’s manual. But these directions and videos should make the process much clearer, and you can always seek extra help from a technician or a veteran parent.
Ways To Install A Car Seat Wikihow
Drivers rely on car seats to keep babies safe, but some experts report that only 15% of car seats are properly installed. To install one, first recognize if you have a rear facing seat or a front facing one. Then, look at its parts to see if it is held in place by the vehicles seat belt, anchor belts attached to the car seat itself, or both.
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For Convertible Seats Specifically:
- To tighten the seat belt or latch belt, go behind the car seat, between the car seat and the front seat. Use your stomach to push the car seat into the back of the car and sway from side to side as you pull the seat belt or latch belt tight. You will have to lean over onto the car seat. Note how Alisa is leaning over onto the car seat and pushing it with her belly as she pulls the lower latch straps tight. Also note that the vehicle seat is very reclined. She will move the vehicle seat upright after she has installed the car seat.
- If you dont fit behind your rear-facing convertible seat or if you dont want to use your belly to push the car seat into the vehicle seat, you can stand or kneel beside the car seat and push down with one hand on the seat and pull the latch strap with the other hand. Sway the car seat as you do this. Then switch to the other side and repeat. You may have to switch a few times before you get the car seat completely tight.
Is It Tight Enough
Whether installing the base or the car seat alone, always check to make sure its tight enough. Pull the foot of the seat back and forth, and from side to side. It should not move more than 1 in any direction. If it does, you need to tighten it more.
Note: There will be a lot of play in the unsecured head end of the seat thats okay.
Newsflash: Babies Should be Rear-Facing for a Long Time!
Generally speaking, babies have heavy heads and relatively weak necks with soft bones. In a frontal collision, a forward-facing babys neck may stretch and rupture the spinal cord. At about a year of age, their bones start to harden and babies gradually become less vulnerable.
Moms get all bent out of shape about having a rear-facing baby. Look, I get it: its much harder to see whats going on back there and try to comfort baby when shes freaking out. But suck it up its waaaaay safer.
We always knew that infants should face the rear and recently the AAP has released their new recommendationsThe AAP recommends children remain in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat.
Parents, youre the guy!!!
Am I telling you not to trust anyone but yourself when it comes to properly installing a car seat in your car, a taxi, or an airplane? Precisely! Be a stickler about it. Get to know that instruction manual and call the manufacturer with any questions. Manufacturers are shockingly helpful.
Get it Checked
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How To Install A Car Seat Using A Seat Belt
While the LATCH system was invented to limit the hassle of car seat installation, you may not always be able to use LATCH with your car seat or vehicle. This may be the case if:
- You drive an older model car without lower anchors.
- Youre installing the car seat in the middle of the back seat.
- Your child exceeds the recommended weight limit for the LATCH system.
- Your car doesnt have enough lower anchors for all of your car seats.
If you meet any of these above scenarios, dont sweat it: Baby can still enjoy a perfectly safe ride. In fact, seat belts can handle higher forces than the lower anchors, according to Alli Taylor, a child passenger safety technician in Northern Virginia. And when it comes down to it, installing a car seat using a seat belt is pretty simple. Use this step-by-step guide:
Step 1: Stow or securely fasten any LATCH attachments, since they wont be used. Most car seats provide space for this.
Step 2: Check your vehicles seat belt to find out where it locksit will either be at the retractor or the latch plate . If your seat belt doesnt lock, youll need to purchase a locking clip.
Step 3: Position the car seat flat on the vehicles seat, then thread the seat belt through the appropriate belt path .
Step 4: Buckle the seat belt and press down or kneel on the car seat to compress the seat cushion as much as possible.
Step 5: Check that the seat belt has locked properly and that the angle of the car seat is within the proper range .
How To Install A Child Safety Seat
Featured Resource
Car accidents are stressful at best, and tragic at worst. Although they are the leading cause of death for young children, using the proper car seats correctly means this doesnt have to be the case.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, child and infant car seats significantly reduce the risks of fatal injury in infants and toddlers in the event of a crash.
Keep reading to see how you can both choose and install the best car seat for your child, and take a look at our traffic safety laws page for more information on state-specific laws.
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Installing A Front Facing Car Seat
How To Install Baby Car Seat Rear Facing
A rear-facing child seat configuration should be used for about the first 12 months of your child’s life.
Australian baby car seat installation laws stipulate that you keep your child facing rearward for the first six months, but you should leave them rear facing for as long as they physically fit – its safer when theyre rear facing.
This size seat is an alternative to a baby capsule and is suitable for a newborn. It’s a completely personal choice as to which you buy. Once they’re big enough, you’ll turn them around to face the front until they’re four-years-old. Ready for installation?
1. You’ll more than likely be able to discard the top-tether anchor point attachment that comes with the child seat. It looks like a big bolt. Unless your car is more than around 15 years old, your car is likely to have built in anchor points so you wont need it.
2. Choose which side of the car you’ll put the seat on. Your safest option is the passenger side but if you’ve got more than one child or are fitting an additional car seat that advice is moot anyway.
3. Set the base at the rear of the child seat to the correct angle for your child. There’s likely to be decals on the side to guide you.
4. Pull out the stabiliser bar from the front of the child seat , and set the child seat into position in the car, with the stabiliser bar firmly up against your car seat’s backrest.
- You’ll find the ISOFIX straps either side of the seat.
- ISOFIX logos will guide you to the ISOFIX mount locations.
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Installation Using A Seat Belt And Tether
How To Find Latch In Your Vehicle
When you’re looking for the LATCH system in your car, your first stop should be the vehicle owner’s manual. If you can’t find the physical copy, don’t worryyou can almost always find it online for free. Next, take a look at the back seat of your vehicle. Bring the owner’s manual with you and use it as a guide. The document doesn’t just make your search easierit will also help you avoid making incorrect assumptions.
The lower anchors are usually marked by little circles or tags with a LATCH symbol. If you only see two pairs of circles , keep looking. In some cars, the lower anchors are well-hidden under a flap or deep in the vehicle seat. If there are three sets of LATCH markings, that means there’s a set of lower anchors specifically for the center seat.
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Meg Collinseditor In Chief
Meg Beilsmith Collins started Lucies List in 2010 after learning everything about babies the hard way she is now the Editor in Chief. Shes an Industrial Engineer from Georgia Tech and a former CPST who now lives near Clearwater, FL with her husband Rich and daughters Lucie and Alice. She enjoys 90s music, MomFit, camping and anything on the water.
How To Make Sure Your Car Seat Is Installed Properly
According to a 2014 report by the AAP, fewer than 10 percent of new parents install or use car seats correctly, with most strapping the harness or the car seat too loosely. So its always a good idea to get someone to double-check your handiwork.
Try any one of these options:
- Check with your local police or fire station, baby store or car dealership. Most will do a safety check for you for free.
- Find a car seat inspection station near you through the NHTSA directory or call 866-SEAT-CHECK.
- Keep in mind that only a certified car seat safety technician is likely to be up-to-date on all the latest recommendations, so for peace of mind search for one in your area through the National Child Passenger Safety Certification Program.
From the What to Expect editorial team and Heidi Murkoff, author of What to Expect When You’re Expecting. What to Expect follows strict reporting guidelines and uses only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and highly respected health organizations. Learn how we keep our content accurate and up-to-date by reading our medical review and editorial policy.
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