Can an Infant Car Seat Be Placed in Front Seat?
When children have outgrown their cheap infant car seats car seats, they can change to convertible or all-in-one car seats. These car seats can be used rear-facing or forward-facing, but they must to meet certain age and weight requirements.
Car seats should never be placed in front of a vehicle seat equipped with airbags, as the force of the air bag can be lethal for children and babies.
1. The 1.5 Inch Rule
Many parents ask whether the infant car seat could be placed on top of the driver’s seat. The answer is always no. The reason is quite simple: If a crash occurs the child’s head may be hit by an airbag while in the front seat. The result is that the airbag could injure or kill the baby.
This is the reason why infant car seats are designed to be rear-facing only. The seat’s back rests against the back of the vehicle seat in the event of a collision, ensuring the best car seats for newborns uk protection for your infant.
A rear-facing car seat safeguards your child’s neck and head better than a front-facing seat that only offers minimal protection. The headrest keeps your child from slipping out of the shoulder straps during an accident. The harness keeps the chest clip up above the shoulders.
It’s important to remember that there are ZERO documented cases of kids in forward-facing car seats breaking their legs when they strike the rear of the front seat. This happens when children’s feet rise and trap them against the back of the seat, which puts tremendous pressure into the leg bones. This is not something you want to put your child at risk of.
There are a variety of programs in the US that offer infant car seats at a discount or at no cost for parents who meet the requirements. This is a great way to get your child into a secure car seat before they get out of it and can be used in a safe way for many years.
The base of many newer infant car seat models is designed to be removed and put back in, making them much easier to use. This feature is especially useful for families with young children, as it allows you to keep the seat in place and ready for use even if you change vehicles.
Before you take your child’s seat make sure that the back of the car seat will touch the vehicle seat’s back by measuring the center of the seat and measuring it using a tape measure. Many items, such as the blade of a house key, or the length of earbuds that are wireless are approximately 1.5 inches long and can be used to test for this space. Check the instructions for the car seat as well as the owner’s manual for your vehicle to see whether the angle can be adjusted to eliminate the space.
2. Harness Position
In infant car seats as well as swings, bouncers strollers, and other equipment for children, infants and preemies may be in a dangerous position with their chests and chins touching. In the event of a crash, they could be injured by the chest clip or crushed by the straps on the harness that are loose or not placed over their shoulders. To prevent this from happening, make sure that the shoulder straps start slightly below and come upwards over the shoulders of the child and be sure to tighten them. The straps should be tight enough to allow you to pinch any fabric that isn’t tight enough – this is called the Pinch Test. Winter coats and other bulky outer layers can hinder the Pinch Test, so remove them before you buckle your child in their seat.
The chest clip is designed to break in a crash, but it may be compressed on the throat of a child when it’s too low or when the chest straps aren’t tight enough. The chest clip should not be placed in the neck opening. Instead, it should be at the armpit level.
In the event of a crash rear-facing infants are likely to slide off the seat, and the harness straps must be able to hold the neck and head of the child. It is essential to put the straps over the shoulders. If the straps fall too low, they may slide through the opening on the neck of the infant or over their ears. If they’re too loose, they can touch the face of the child.
Make sure that the straps for your child’s shoulders are securely fitted and in the slots above or around the shoulders of your child. Newborns may require an infant insert (often provided with the car seat), to raise their shoulders so they reach this slot. Some infant car seats have built-in angle indicators or adjustors that aid in this process and you should always read the instructions that came with your seat.
3. Rear-Facing Only
While some parents might be tempted to turn their infant car seat to face forward because of their child’s legs being too short in the rear-facing position, there’s really no reason why you should. Rear-facing is more secure than forward-facing, as the child’s spine and neck are protected in the event of an accident. Forward-facing children can suffer serious injuries as their bodies are thrown against the vehicle.
Additionally, many infant car seat in front seat car seats come with a built-in angle indicator so you can make sure that the seat is properly installed. Also, you must make sure your child’s head is flat against the seat and that the harness straps are placed over their shoulders, not beneath their arms or bent. To check if the harness is too tight, you should be able hold a small amount material on your child’s shoulder. It is also essential to check the crotch buckle strap to be sure it is in line with the armpits, rather than at the waist. You should also read the instruction manual for your infant car seat to ensure that you know how to use it correctly.
Most manufacturers recommend that kids ride rear-facing until they’re at least one year old or until they reach the weight and height limits. Certain states have laws that require infants to remain rear-facing until two years old.
If you own a car that has only one back seat, install the infant car seat in the middle so that you can easily see your child’s reflection in your rearview mirror without having to lean over. Installing the car seat on your driver’s side also makes it easier to get your child into and out of the seat.
If you own a car with two rear seats, you can put the infant car seat on either side so long as it isn’t directly in front of the passenger side air bag. However, if you have to decide between installing the infant car seat on the right or left side of the vehicle, put it on the driver’s side.
4. Booster Seats
All children who outgrow their car seat for infants by weight and height must use a booster seat until the vehicle seat belt is properly fitted. This is only possible when they are at a minimum of 4 feet 9 inches tall and have reached the top of their headrest (check the guidelines of the manufacturer of your seat for exact measurements).
Booster seats can help position the lap belt and shoulder properly. They also decrease the distance that a child’s head moves during an accident, which reduces the chance of injury. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death of kids ages 4-8, and head movement is the main cause.
If a booster isn’t used correctly, the lap portion can travel infant car seat over a child’s abdomen and cause serious injuries in an accident. This can be avoided by using a belt guide on the booster to stop the lap belt from sliding up onto the stomach of a child or climbing over armrests.
Many boosters are equipped with small handles, armrests or guide slots that aid to place the lap belt in a low and flat position over a child’s upper thighs. This ensures that the lapbelt starts and stays on the strong hipbones of the child, rather than moving upwards into their abdominal region during a crash.
Some booster seats come with a seatbelt locking mechanism that secures the seatbelt when a child is seated in them. This can keep the lap belt from moving upwards and over the child’s abdomen. This can also help prevent the seat belt from being pulled across the face of a child, which could lead to airway obstruction and hypoxia, as and neck strain.