Car seats for babies, a must-have in today’s world of motor vehicle travel, can unfortunately be a source of confusion for parents. In a 2016 study, the nonprofit Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that only 42% of the 340 child passenger safety technicians surveyed felt very confident that parents and caregivers could properly install and use a car seat. Still, the designers and manufacturers of these essential safety devices laboriously test and fabricate them to help ensure the well-being of the next generation. And we want to help you get it right.
Myth 1: My Child is Uncomfortable Rear-Facing
- Many parents think that their child won’t be comfortable with their legs bunched up against their body in a rear-facing car seat. But that is not the case, even for an older child. The truth is, children are far more flexible than adults are and can assume a number of different positions to sit comfortably, no matter what the orientation of the car seat. Even with their rear end in a “leg run” position, where their knees are pulled toward their chest and their feet are touching their bottom, children can sit quite comfortably. And this position—yes, even “leg run”—extends beyond facing the rear of the vehicle and becomes a very boisterous game of or with the car seat.
Myth 2: It’s Okay to Use a Hand-Me-Down Car Seat
No, old car seats are not safe to use for a second child. Car seats are designed to keep children much safer than most other products, but the car seat itself wears from being in process, parking lots, and in people’s homes. A child spends a lot of time strapped in their car seat and sometimes even sleeps in the seat, so the car seat must house a child for hours being not only comfortable but also extremely safe. Handing down a seat compromises that. Hand-me-down seats can have frayed straps, cracks in the plastic, and can even have been in an accident that caused internal structural damage to the seat in a way that no longer makes it safe.
Myth 3: The Middle Seat is Always the Safest
There is a myth that says the middle seat is always the safest place in a car. More specifically, it is often believed that a car seat should be installed in the middle seat. This is not accurate. The only reason the middle seat is sometimes referred to as the “safest spot” has to do with numbers, not actual crash dynamics. The most common crash scenario is a frontal impact, followed by a side-impact, then a rear impact. When you install a car seat in the middle, it’s more protected in that aforementioned side-impact scenario—when you install it on one of the side seats, the argument goes, you are taking away some of that extra protection you could have had by installing it in the middle.
Myth 4: Car Seats Don’t Expire
There is a mistaken belief that some parents have, which is that car seats can be used indefinitely. They think that as long as they are not damaged in a crash, car seats are good to go. Car seat materials degrade over time, though, just like any other safety material, and for that reason, car seats actually do have expiration dates.
Myth 5: It’s Safe to Use After-Market Products with Car Seats
- Fact: Parents often attach head supports or strap covers to make their children more comfortable in car seats.
- Myth: These products are safe to use with a car seat because they work just like the car seat manufacturer’s approved accessories.
- Fact: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studied head supports, strap covers, and other car seat accessories that manufacturers did not approve. Through that study, the NHTSA and the car seat manufacturers found that many of these kinds of products can be downright dangerous.
Myth 6: Once My Child Reaches the Minimum Weight, They Can Switch to a Booster
A lot of times, parents think that when their child is “big enough” to sit in a booster seat, it’s time to make the move. But really, making the move to a booster seat should not be determined by weight alone—your child should reach a certain height as well. Only then should you transition to a booster seat. And by the way, the whole conversation about booster seats can be a moot point if the car the parent is driving or the child is riding in is not safe.
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Conclusion
It is essential to distinguish car seat fallacies from the reality of the matter to guarantee your child’s safety when you’re on the road. You need this kind of clarity to make good decisions about which infant car seat to buy, how to install it correctly, and for those times when you might need to use the seat in the house or someplace else for a temporary or nonpregnant person—when are you doing it right or wrong? Consequently, you and your child benefit when you understand the common errors that many people fall into when using car seats and then figure out the most effective ways to avoid these kinds of mistakes on your part.
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