Can an Infant Car Seat Be Placed in Front Seat?
As children outgrow their car seats for infants, they can be moved into convertible or all-in-one seats. These car seats are available in both forward-facing and rear-facing models however, they must meet certain weight and age requirements.
Car seats should not be placed in front of a vehicle seat with airbags, since the force of the deployed air bag can be lethal for infants and children.
1. The 1.5 Inch Rule
The answer to this question is no. The reason is simple: If an accident occurs, the child’s head could be struck by an airbag when in the front seat. The result is that the airbag could injure or kill the baby.
Infant car seats are designed to be rear-facing. The seat’s back rests against the back of the vehicle seat in a crash, providing the most effective protection for your baby.
A rear-facing car seat protects your child’s head and neck more effectively than a front-facing one that offers only the most basic protection. The headrest prevents your child from slipping off the shoulder straps during an accident. The harness holds the chest clip above the shoulders.
It is important to keep in mind that there are ZERO instances of children in car seats that face forwards breaking their legs when they strike the rear of the front seat. This occurs when a child’s feet rise and become trapped against the rear of the seat, which puts enormous pressure on the bones of the leg. This is not something you should put your child at risk of.
There are numerous programs in the United States that offer infant car seats at a discounted price or for free for parents who meet the requirements. This is a great opportunity to ensure your child is placed in an appropriate car seat before they grow out of it and can be used in a safe way for many years.
Most new infant car seats come with a base that they click into and out of, making them much more user-friendly than older models. This feature is especially useful for families with young children, as you can keep the car seat installed and ready to use even when changing vehicles.
Find the center of the car seat and measure it with a tape. Many things, such as the blade of a house key or the length of earbuds with wireless technology are around 1.5 inches long and can be used to determine this space. After that, you should check the car seat’s instructions and the owner’s manual of your vehicle to determine if you can adjust the angle of the car seat to remove this space.
2. Harness Position
Preemies and newborns frequently are prone to fall into a risky chin-to-chest position in infant car seats, bouncy seats, strollers, swings and other children’s equipment. In the event of a collision, they can be injured or crushed by the chest clip. To avoid this, check that the shoulder straps start slightly below and come up to the shoulders of your child and make sure you tighten the straps. The straps should be tight enough to pinch excess fabric to each other. This is known as the Pinch Test. Winter coats and other heavy outer layers can hinder the Pinch Test, so remove them prior to putting your child into their seat.
The chest clip is designed to protect against a fall, but it can compress the neck of the child if it’s too low or if they are not tight enough. It’s also crucial that the chest clip not in the neck opening of the collar – the buckle should be at the armpit level.
In the event of a crash, rear-facing infants can slide up the seat and the harness straps need to be able to hold the child’s neck and head. This is why it’s very important that the straps be placed over the shoulders. If the straps are too low, they can slide through the opening on the neck of the infant or over their ears. If they’re too loose, they may touch the face of the child.
Make sure the shoulder straps are that are above or below your child’s shoulders and that they fit comfortably. Newborns may require an infant insert (often provided with the car seat), to raise their shoulders until they can reach the slot. Some infant car seats include angle indicators or adjustors to assist you in this. You can also check the instructions that come in your seat.
3. Rear-Facing Only
While some parents might be tempted to flip their infant car seat around to face forward because of their child’s legs being too short in the rear-facing position, there is really no reason why you should. Rear-facing is safer than forward-facing because the baby’s neck and spine are supported in the event of an accident. Forward-facing children can suffer serious injuries due to the fact that their bodies are thrown against the vehicle.
Many infant car seats also have an angle indicator built in to ensure that the seat is correctly installed. Also, you must ensure that your child’s head is flat against the seat, and that the harness straps are positioned over their shoulders, not under their arms or bent. You can pinch a small amount of material at their shoulders to ensure whether the harness is secure enough. It is also important to examine the strap around the crotch to make sure it is level with the armpits, rather than at the waist. You should also read the manual of your infant car seat so that you know how to use it correctly.
Most manufacturers recommend that children ride rear-facing in their car seats until they are at least 1 year old or until they reach the weight and height limit of their particular car seat. Some states have laws that require infants to remain rear-facing until two years old.
If you own a car with only one rear seat, place the Infant Car Seat In Front Seat car seat in the middle so that you can easily see your child through your rearview mirror without needing to lean over. Installing the car seat on your driver’s side will also make it easier to get your child into and out of the seat.
If your vehicle has two rear seats the best infant carrier car seat car seat can be installed on either side so long as it’s not in the airbag’s direction on the passenger’s side. If you have to choose between installing an infant car seat on the left or right side of your vehicle, you can install it on the driver’s side.
4. Booster Seats
Children who have outgrown their infant car seats due to weight and height will need a booster until the seat belt is fitted properly. This can only be done when the child is at least 4’9″ tall and has reached the top rated baby car seats of the headrest.
Booster seats can assist in positioning the lap belt and shoulder correctly. Booster seats also help reduce how far the neck of a child moves during a collision, reducing the chance of injury. Head movement is the most common cause of motor vehicle accidents, which are the leading killers of children ages 4-8.
If a booster is used improperly the lap part of the belt may slide up to the abdomen of a child and cause major injuries in a crash. This can be avoided by using a booster that has lap belt guides to prevent the lap belt from sliding over arm rests or sliding on a child’s stomach.
A lot of boosters have handles that are small, armrests or guide slots to place the lap belt low and flat on a child’s top legs. This will ensure that the lapbelt begins and stays on the hipbones of a child’s strength, rather than moving upwards into their abdominal area in the event of the event of a crash.
Some booster seats come with an automatic seatbelt lock mechanism that locks the seatbelt in place when a child is sitting in them. This will help to keep the lap belt from moving upwards and over the child’s abdomen. This can also help keep the seat belt from being pulled over a child’s face, which could lead to airway obstruction and hypoxia, as also neck strain.