Featured conditions
Mayo Clinic offers appointments in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota and at Mayo Clinic Health System locations.
Car seat safety isn’t child’s play. Understand 9 common mistakes parents make when installing and using car seats.
Knowing how to safely buckle up your child as he or she grows can be difficult. Check out nine common mistakes parents often make when it comes to car seat safety — and how to avoid them.
If you’re considering a used car seat for your child, make sure the car seat:
If you don’t know the car seat’s history, don’t use it.
The safest place for your child’s car seat is in the back seat, away from active air bags. If the car seat is placed in the front seat and the air bag inflates, it could hit the back of a rear-facing car seat — right where the child’s head is — and cause a serious or fatal injury. An air bag could also hit and harm a child riding in a forward-facing car seat.
Vehicles that have only one row of seats, such as certain pickup trucks, should only be used if the air bag can be turned off with a key.
If you’re placing only one car seat in the back seat, install it in the center of the seat — if a good fit is possible. Placing the car seat in the center minimizes the risk of injury during a crash.
Infant-only car seat
Infant-only car seats usually have a handle for carrying and can be snapped in and out of a base that’s installed in a vehicle.
Convertible car seat
Convertible car seats can be used rear or forward facing and typically have higher rear-facing height and weight limits than do infant-only car seats.
Before you install a car seat, read the manufacturer’s instructions and the section on car seats in the vehicle’s manual. Make sure the seat is tightly secured — allowing no more than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) of movement from side to side or front to back when grasped at the bottom near the attachment points — and facing the correct direction.
If you’re using an infant-only seat or a convertible seat in the rear-facing position, keep these tips in mind:
In the rear-facing position, recline the car seat according to the manufacturer’s instructions so that your child’s head doesn’t flop forward. Babies must ride semireclined to keep their airways open. Many seats include angle indicators or adjusters to guide you. Keep in mind that as your child grows, you might need to adjust the angle. Check the manufacturer’s instructions for details.
Resist the urge to place your child’s car seat in the forward-facing position just so that you can see him or her in your rearview mirror. Riding rear facing is now recommended for as long as possible, until a child reaches the highest weight or height allowed by the car seat manufacturer. You can start with a convertible seat, which can be used rear facing and, later, forward facing and typically has a higher rear-facing weight and height limit than does an infant-only seat. Or you can switch from an infant-only seat to a convertible car seat as your baby grows.
When your child reaches the weight or height limit of the convertible seat, you can face the seat forward. When you make the switch:
Vivien Williams: Research shows that car seats save lives.
Kim Lombard: We want to keep kids rear-facing as long as possible. This should be spaced in between those.
Vivien Williams: Injury Prevention Coordinator, Kim Lombard, says the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children stay in rear-facing car seats until they reach the maximum height and weight limits for each car seat.
Kim Lombard: The previous recommendations were to keep children rear-facing up until age 2.
Vivien Williams: Kids come in different sizes, and Lombard says paying attention to the height and weight limits ensures that we’re using the car seat the way it’s designed to be used.
Kim Lombard: We need to keep them rear-facing up until they reach those max height and weight limits for their seat.
Vivien Williams: Rear-facing car seats protect a child’s head, neck and spine in a crash. Check the car seat’s owners’ manual for height and weight limits, so you know when it’s time to move to a different model. For the Mayo Clinic News Network, I’m Vivien Williams.
Bulky outerwear and blankets can prevent harness straps from snugly securing your child. Buckle the harness, and then place a coat or blanket over the harness to keep your baby warm.
Older children need booster seats to help an adult seat belt fit correctly. You can switch from a car seat to a booster seat when your child has topped the highest weight or height allowed by the car seat manufacturer. Remember, however, that your child is safest remaining in a car seat with a harness for as long as possible.
Booster seats must be used with a lap and shoulder belt — never a lap-only belt. Make sure the lap belt lies low across your child’s thighs and that the shoulder belt crosses the middle of your child’s chest and shoulder.
Most kids can safely use an adult seat belt sometime between ages 8 and 12. Here’s how you’ll know that your child is ready:
Remember, the back seat is the safest place for children younger than age 13.
If you have questions about child passenger safety laws or need help installing a car seat, participate in a local car seat clinic or inspection event. You can also check with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for help finding a car seat inspection station.
There is a problem with information submitted for this request. Review/update the information highlighted below and resubmit the form.
Sign-up to get Mayo Clinic’s trusted health content sent to your email. Receive a bonus guide on ways to manage your child’s health just for subscribing.
ErrorEmail field is required
ErrorInclude a valid email address
To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.
Our e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information.
Please try again in a couple of minutes
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission.
Check out these best-sellers and special offers on books and newsletters from Mayo Clinic Press.
Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below.
- Terms and Conditions
- Privacy Policy
- Notice of Privacy Practices
- Notice of Nondiscrimination
- Manage Cookies
A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. “Mayo,” “Mayo Clinic,” “MayoClinic.org,” “Mayo Clinic Healthy Living,” and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.