Let's Talk Car Seats: What Every Parent Should Know

DISCLAIMER: I am not a certified car seat specialist and have no official training in car seats. All of my education and knowledge has come from "checking" car seats for almost 10 years as a registered nurse working with postpartum patients and their new baby, and having 3 children of my own. I referred a ton to Instagram and followed numerous car seat specialists to make sure I was safely buckling my babies in.

If you guys are anything like me, then when you found out you were pregnant, you began looking at car seats almost immediately (or even before you were pregnant..... guilty 😬). I literally had a spreadsheet comparing so many different car seats; safety features, which one went with which stroller, weight limits, height limits, fancy features, you name it. It drove my husband nuts. But I wanted to make sure that the car seat I picked was going to be best for me, and my baby.

Funny story, the car seat and stroller I ended up going with, was not the car seat I had originally picked out... But in my defense, the one I ended up choosing came out AFTER I made my list.

Maybe you aren't like me, and you just picked one on a whim. I wish I could do that... but I am a planner. I have never been able to just do things on a whim. So as soon as that car seat arrived, I had it out and was playing with the straps, and the handle and the base and all of the features. I NEEDED to make sure that I knew everything about that car seat. I even practiced buckling my stuffed teddy bear in it...

I honestly just assumed that everybody did this, and was shocked to see that when I was discharging new parents home with their baby and was doing a "car seat check", that a lot of parents had zero clue how their car seat actually worked, or how to buckle that baby in properly!

So I thought back to my prenatal appointments.... I don't remember a single time that my provider asked me if I knew how to buckle a baby into a car seat, or if I knew how to use one in general. Now mind you, that's not exactly their place to teach that, but someone should!

So I guess that leaves me... Which is perfectly fine, because I want all of you guys to feel confident buckling that baby up and all of your little baby's to be super safe in their car seat.

Types of Car Seats

There are SO MANY different car seats on the market today and it can be quite overwhelming trying to pick one. Every single car seat has different features and qualities that make it unique to its brand. The important thing to remember is that every car seat has to meet a certain level of safety standards in order to actually be sold in stores. So no matter what car seat you buy, it will be safe for your baby..... AS LONG AS YOU USE IT PROPERLY.

Car seats come with a manual when they are purchased brand new that will explain absolutely everything you need to know about that car seat; weight limit, height limit, installing the base (for infant car seats), adjusting the straps.... everything. The tough thing is the manual is long, and quite boring (in my opinion). Should you read your car seat manual? Yes, 100%. I read mine, but there was still parts that were confusing, and watching videos and seeing pictures definitely helped me to feel more confident with using my car seat.

Parts of the Car Seat

Before I get into actually buckling baby into the car seat, let's go over the different parts. Now for this blog, all the pictures I'm going to use will be of an Infant Car Seat, specifically the Evenflo LiteMax Gold. If you prefer to use a Convertible Car Seat for your baby, that is totally ok. Some of the features will be similar. The biggest thing is to make sure that if you plan to use a convertible car seat from birth, make sure that the one you use is actually suitable for newborns and start at a lower weight (5/6 lbs).

Majority of infant car seats start at a weight limit of minimum 4lbs. So they should all fit a new teeny tiny baby, but always double check your manual. Below, you will see a picture with all the different parts labelled in this particular car seat:

1. No-rethread harness adjuster

2. Headrest

3. Shoulder straps

4. Chest clip

5. Hip straps

6. Crotch buckle

7. Harness release button and tightening strap

*The no-rethread harness adjuster will not exist on all car seats. This particular car seat has a "no-rethread harness" which

I'll talk about in a minute.

*The chest clip in this photo is in the WRONG spot. We'll also get into that in a minute.

The photo to the left is a picture of the back of the car seat where you would adjust the straps on the car seat. In a rear facing infant car seat, the straps must be AT or JUST BELOW shoulder height on baby. This is where you would adjust those straps if you did not have a no rethread harness.

To do so, you would unhook the metal clip in the photo from both the straps at the top. You would then pull them through the front and re-insert them back through the proper height strap slot and reattach to the metal piece at the back.

If you have a no-rethread harness, you simply use the button on the top of the headrest of the car seat to slide them up and down. Each one has their own pros and cons. I wouldn't by any means say that one is better than the other.

The "fancier" car seats tend to have a no rethread harness, however they can be more difficult to tighten the straps and make the car seat slightly heavier. The rethread harness may take a little more time to adjust, but the straps are easier to tighten and the car seat may be slightly lighter.

If you are using a car seat from a previous baby or you have bought a used one, make sure you are double checking the expiration date. It is found in one of two places on the car seat: Underneath on the side in the form of a sticker, like shown in the picture to the right, or imprinted into the plastic of the car seat as shown below.

1. Car seat Handle

2. Canopy

3. Handle adjuster

Double check your manual, but when installing your car seat in a vehicle in Canada, the car seat handle should be in the upward position as seen in the picture.

Now that I think we've covered all the necessary parts of the car seat itself, let's buckle your baby in!

Securing Your Baby

Proper use of your car seat is what is going to keep your baby safe when they are riding in the car. If they are not buckled in properly, the car seat is essentially useless. The car seat is their seatbelt, and it doesn't work like a seatbelt in a regular vehicle.

The seatbelt in your vehicle has an automatic locking system, where if you are braking fast, or in an accident, the seatbelt automatically locks and keeps you secured to your seat. The car seat doesn't do that. If it is not tight and secured with baby's body in the proper position, it will not keep them safe.

Key points to remember when you are buckling baby into their car seat:

• Shoulder straps on tops of shoulders, not sides

• Straps at or just below shoulder level

• Crotch buckle between legs

• Hip straps across legs with no gaps

• Chest clip at armpit level

• Straps free of kinks and twists

Now, you're going to actually put your baby in their seat, and buckle them up!

*Make sure that the straps sit at or just below shoulder height prior to buckling baby in to the car seat. If they are not at the right height, you will need to adjust them.

1. To start, you are going to make sure that all of the car seat buckles are undone and moved to the side. Place baby in the car seat, making sure the straps are at or just below shoulder height, and baby's bum is all the way to the back of the car seat with no space or obstruction in the way.

2. Gently bring the shoulder straps up and over and thread their arms through the side of the straps. Secure the chest clip.

3. Next, find the hip buckles and slide them up, and bring the crotch strap between baby's legs. Buckle the hip buckles one at a time.

Now, you're baby is NOT going to be secure in their car seat at this point. The straps are going to be very loose. But before you actually tighten the seat, you want to know which direction the straps are going to pull. They're going to go one of two ways: they will either tighten up towards the shoulder traps, or they will tighten down towards the hip straps. I believe most tighten up towards the shoulder straps, but always double check.

4. Pull any slack strap material from the hip straps up and through the clips, and slide the chest clip DOWN towards the crotch buckle to ensure that the hip straps stay tight.

5. Next, pull the harness tightening strap at the front of your car seat to tighten the straps.

6. Now, you're going to test the tightness of the straps to see if you need to tighten them more.

In the past, the way to test the tightness of car seat straps was to take two fingers and slide them between baby and the shoulder strap. If you could easily get two fingers under the strap, it was too loose. The problem with that is the inconsistency. Everyone's fingers are a different size, which meant that the test wasn't accurate.

The test we do now is referred to as "the pinch test". It's exactly as it sounds. Once you have secured baby in the car seat and tightened the straps, you are going to take your index finger and your thumb and try and pinch the straps. If you can easily grab material in your fingers and it doesn't slip out as you finish pinching, the straps are too loose. Continue gently tightening the straps until the "pinch" slides out of your fingers easily.

7. Once you have tightened the straps on baby to your liking, slide the chest clip up so that it is sitting at nipple/armpit height on baby.

Hopefully that explanation helps a little bit! I find that so many parents become so overwhelmed with the buckling portion because they are worried about "hurting" baby, or making the straps "too tight". If you follow the pinch test and make sure the straps are all in the right spot, baby will be safe and secure.

To sum it all up...

A few things to remember...

There are SOOO many "accessories" that are marketed towards new parents for car seats that actually make the seat more unsafe. Car seats are crash tested with ONLY the pieces that it comes with. Adding anything extra can increase the risk of infant asphyxiation, or make the car seat fit improperly.

Some car seats come with infant head supports and shoulder strap covers. Those are safe to use in your car seat because they were tested in that car seat. After market ones are not and can create slack between the straps and your baby. Same with blankets, like in the last picture. You should NEVER put anything fluffy underneath the straps. It prevents a tight fit, or in this case, prevents baby's arms and legs from being properly secured.

You can use blankets in baby's car seat to keep them warm, but they should ALWAYS be above the straps and snug around their legs so that it doesn't accidentally cover their head.

If you you are a visual learner, much like myself, I have created a video on how to actually buckle baby into their car seat. If you want to see it, you can head on over to my Instagram!

At the end of the day, the biggest thing to remember, is if you are ever unsure, or need some reassurance on buckling your baby in to their car seat, ASK FOR HELP. It's important that we do our part to keep these little ones safe.

Talk soon!

-Bai