A baby car seat is only ever as secure as you make it. If it’s not installed properly, it’s not secure. Parents with new born babies and little ones below the age of 12 months know this better than anyone, particularly if they’ve got an infant carrier style car seat. While it’s great to be able to carry sleeping infants straight from car to cot, the downside is that you have to re-install the car seat every time you travel. By contrast, parents with older children can leave their car seats permanently installed. But that doesn’t mean their seats are automatically safe…
Safe journeys begin by checking straps and seatbelts. Check your child’s car seat first, then check the harness. Like we said, a baby car seat is only ever as secure as you make it. Even if the seat’s been properly fitted, something as simple as a poorly adjusted harness can undo all your good work.
Much like the adult seatbelt, the child harness is a constantly shifting variable. The car seat is static, the harness isn’t. Every time you use it, it responds a little differently (as you’ll know all to well from experiences with your own seatbelt). Any kink can impair its performance or hurt your child. Any slack can substantially impair the protection it affords.
Make sure that the harness shoulder straps sit securely, but comfortably, just above your child’s shoulders, while the lap section should sit across the pelvic region. As a check, see how many fingers you can fit between the harness and your baby’s chest. More than two? It’s too loose. Less than two? It’s too tight.
Get into the habit of adjusting the harness each and every time you travel. It won’t take long. Make it a matter of routine; make it a part of your pre-departure ritual and you’ll begin to undertake the additional safety measures as a natural part of all your other regulatory checks.
© Car Safety Seats.org.uk 2008
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