Where to get baby car seat installed

It is located on the rear of the child car seat and has a hook. The hook is designed to attach the strap to the tether anchor in the vehicle as provided by the vehicle manufacturer. Secure the tether only to the anchor point s provided. These points are set by the manufacturer. If your vehicle does not have a tether anchor in place, contact a dealer to have one installed. Use the harness slots to position the straps correctly. Always allow the manufacturer's instructions and read your vehicle owner's manual for correct child car seat installation and use.

Whether your child is in child car seat, or a seatbelt, never dress the child in bulky items such as snowsuits or sports equipment. These bulky items can prevent the harness straps or seatbelt from being tightened properly. To be effective, the seatbelt or harness straps must be snuggly fit to the body. Use a seatbelt for every trip and teach your child to wear a seatbelt by always wearing one yourself! If you are having trouble installing a child car seat and need more information, contact your local public health unit.

To find a public health unit:. To learn more about child car seat safety or car seat recalls, check online with Transport Canada or call them at Install a child car seat.

Rear-facing child car seats Forward facing child car seats Booster seats Seatbelts Child car seat installation help Multimedia Rear-facing child car seats. Parents are more likely to use the top tether when the tether anchor is easy to find, found the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

This is often the case in sedans, which typically have tether anchors on the rear shelf behind the backseat. As we explain in "Making Sense of LATCH" on the next page, in minivans and SUVs the top tether anchor could be on the floor, on the middle or lower seat back, in the cargo area, or on the ceiling.

In fact, it's not unusual for a parent to attach the tether to the wrong hardware, such as a cargo hook, Jermakian says. In a forward-facing seat, the harness straps must be threaded through the slots that are at or above the shoulders.

Choose the right booster for your child. High-back boosters provide more side-impact protection for smaller kids and help position kids better, especially if they fall asleep in the car.

They're also a better choice in vehicles that have no head restraints, such as a pickup truck with bench seats, says Ryan. Older kids prefer backless boosters, which are less obvious, and that's fine.

But use a high-back seat for as long as you can. Secure the booster seat in your vehicle. Says Dr. Hoffman, "A booster without a child sitting in it can become a projectile in a crash. Without those connectors, you should instead buckle the booster in, even when your child's not using it. Both seat belt components — the shoulder and lap belts — must be in the proper location at the moment of a crash to protect effectively. The shoulder belt needs to travel across the collarbone and breastbone never tucked under the arm or behind the back , while the lap belt needs to lie on the lower part of the pelvis, and not on the soft part of the belly.

Don't move your child out of a booster too soon. Meanwhile, some may have long legs while others have a long torso, so the seat belt is not going to fit them both the same. Still confused? Parents Magazine. By Stephanie Wood. Comments 1. Sort by: Newest. Newest Oldest. Load More Comments. Close this dialog window Add a comment.

BTW we highly recommend you protect your twins starting now with a Tummy Shield. I need your advice, please! I have a 14 months old and a 4 and a half years old in a c3 picasso. This is VERY dangerous. When it is necessary to put a child in the front it must be a forward-facing child, preferably one in a 5-point harness car seat or RideSafer vest with tether so that they are unable to put themselves in danger of being injured by the airbag when it deploys in a crash.

A rear-facing seat is, by default, always in the deployment zone of the airbag. You should ideally keep the youngest rear facing until they are at least 2 years old. You may need a convertible seat that goes rear and forward facing.

Secondly, I understand that space can be a problem with 3. We first started using the RideSafer as parents 6 years ago when our 3rd child was born. To address your challenge without purchasing any additional equipment , I would put one of the children who is in a 5-point forward facing seat, up front and the other 2 in the back. If you decide you want all 3 in the back you can consider a RideSafer vest.

It is certified for children starting at 3 years old. Would it be better to install my carseat Evenflo Pivot with Sensorsafe behind the passenger or the driver? My husband is rather tall and has to push his seat back further than I do and when we ride together he always drives. The difference between the drivers side rear seat and the passenger side rear seat is minimal only a percentage point or two and it tends to switch from year to year ; one is not considered safer than the other.

We do recommend the passenger side if you ever street park; that way you are on the sidewalk putting your child in the car rather than standing in the street. In your situation, we would recommend installing the seat behind the passenger. Installing the infant seat without the base needs to pass the same crash tests as installing it with the base so it should be just as safe. You can test if it fits properly with the base to make the base or no base decision.

Also he is out growing his car seat what is a good car seat to move him to w a five point harness.. Hi Amy, Yes it is safe to have him in the center rear seat as long as you can get a good install in that location. Without more information I cannot point you to the right next car seat. When selecting your car seat , it needs to fit your child, fit your car and be easy for you to install correctly. We recommend checking some out of the store and trying them in your car. I have a Chevy surburban with bucket seat.

Baby two is on the way. Should I put them in a bucket seat or all the way in the back? Not sure what to do in this situation. Hi Melanie, Do you mean you have two side bucket seats in the Suburban with no middle seat? I recommend you take your car and car seats to a local child passenger safety technician.

Hello, I need a car seat that has a very short base front to back to fit the center rear seat of my Ram Quad Cab. It is a difficult vehicle to fit rear facing car seats due to limited space behind the driver and passenger seats.

So the middle of the rear seat is the ideal position. However, the middle of the seat has a shorter depth than either side.

What is the car seat shown in the picture you have in this article at the top? Hi Randy, The car seat pictured is a Britax seat. This particular one was an older model and is expired. Good luck! Im hoping you can help.

We have a Seat Alhambra, 7 seater. Where would be safest to place all the kids? The 5 and 3 year olds are in cybex solution mfix seats. My 1 year old is in a cybex sirona. All these are isofix. The newborn will be in a maxicosi cabriofix, not isofix. We live in the UK. If I put a child in the third row, will he be safe from rear impacts and side impacts?

And will I somehow have to secure all the stuff in the boot? I need to fit a double buggy in there. Ultimately, I would like to know the safest position for all kids in the car.

Thank you. The statistics show a front impact crash is the most common type of crash. Placing a child in the third row would be better than in the front seat.

Can you fit the double buggy in the boot with the third row seats available? If not does just part of the third row fold down and will the buggy fit in that section? Can you strap the buggy down so it does not become a projectile during a crash a concern now as well? These are just some additional questions you will need to take into consideration. Are there child passenger safety techs in the UK with whom you can visit with all 4 seats to find a proper seating arrangement that will work for all of your needs?

I need help on what to do. My daughter is currently in the middle of the back seat, rear facing. She does not NEED to be rear facing, she is tall and heavy enough to be forward facing — here are my options:.

I can put it back down but then the straps are significantly below her shoulders, not at her or slightly below her shoulder. Then leave the car seat in the middle.

I can forward face her in the middle of the back seat. I can rear-face her on the side and have the correct strap at or below her shoulder. I can leave her rear-facing in the middle, with her seat touching my seat and the shoulder straps in the correct position. I want to do whatever is safest. I how do I find out what is safest? I am so confused with all the information out there. Please, please help me. Hi Elizabeth, There are many unknown variables in your situation that we cannot give you a proper suggestion.

For instance, what kind of car do you have, what kind of car seat do you have, how tall are you and how much room is there? It would really be better to take your vehicle and car seat to a visit a car seat tech in person to help you best determine what is most appropriate for your needs. I would love to read more about this and was wondering what data you read that supports this statement? I do have access to academic papers, which is the level of source I am seeking on this subject; any good articles or publications you would refer me to to?

Sometimes statistics show a slight preference to one side, then the next year there is a slight preference to the other side. This is a visual that has floated around for a few years. I have a 2 year old who is about pounds. I currently have him in the center seat rear facing. Given the two options of turning him to forward facing and leaving him in the center or keeping him rear facing and moving him to the rear passenger side, which would be recommended as safest?

In Europe, all infant and child seats are tested in both head-on and rear-end collisions. Ironically, the US, where distracted driving is much more rampant than in Europe because, you know, staring at my cell phone while driving is considered a personal liberty, still only requires head-on crash testing for child seats. I would kindly appreciate if you put a reference to this study on your blog post.

There is some great information here, but I feel that this specific information is not prevelant:. Thank you for sharing this resource. It is also relevant for this article about kids sitting in the front seat. Hi I have Pathfinder, so it has a 3rd row. I have a month old that is front facing but baby 2 is on the way and my husband has 3 older children 2 in boosters.

Is it safe at all to put the month old in the 3rd row with one of the older kids. Just trying to figure out the best way to arrange everyone. Yes, it is fine to put a forward-facing car seat in the third row. Fitting in a car load of kids can be a bit of a puzzle.

You can visit a local CPS Technician to walk you through the various options and determine what is best for your family and car. I have a Hyundai sonata with a 12 year old 10 year old a 4 year old and another on the way what is the best way to seat them. I do recommend taking your car and kids to meet with a local Child Passenger Safety technician. Follow the link on this page to find one near you. That depends. What kind of crash are you planning on getting in?

We always would prefer that a child have more points of contact. Safety is reduced with the reduction of points of contact. In which case the 5-point harness would be safer. But if you experience a side impact crash, we would prefer the child be in a center seat to be further from the impact. In which case the center seat would be safer. Ideally you could use a 5-point harness in the center rear seat. Sounds like something is prohibiting that placement though.

Is it the seat not fitting in the space? Would a RideSafer with a tether 4 points of contact allow the child to sit in the center seat with at least one additional point of contact? Hi I have a 3 year old baby and he is 40 lbs can I place his front facing car seat in the middle seat at the back and mine is a sedan model car. The center rear seat is considered the safest spot to put your child in the car seat as long as you can get a correct install in that seating position.

In most cars you cannot. That is OK, you can install using the seat belt in that position. If you have any trouble getting a good install, visit with a local Child Passenger Safety Technician. Can I just point out that another reason for the rear passenger side being the most common place to install is that a properly installed rear facing convertible car seat extends so far that the front seat of the vehicle must be pushed quite far forward to accommodate.

For many of us this makes driving the vehicle much less safe if not totally impossible when we are squished too close to the wheel and pedals thus the passenger seat gets pushed forward and car seat goes on the right.

This applies to center position as well as most car seats are so wide that in the center position you would have to push both front seats forward to achieve the correct recline on the car seat. I might also mention that many people ex. Grandparents, pregnant women, anyone with an injury or physical limitation can find it very difficult to reach the middle seat to either place a bucket style seat in the middle or to access the buckles on a fixed carseat.

I have a Honda Pilot. I have a four year old and an almost two year old. The two year old is in a Diono and 4 year old is in a Britax. They are both rear facing but where would you recommend putting them? I might be turning my four year old to forward facing. Hello Lindsey. If they can fit side by side and they both remain rear facing, the youngest in the center seat and older child in the passenger side outboard seat would put the more vulnerable child in the center.

One could argue that the benefits of the middle seat are really only theoretical because that seating position is furthest from any point of contact. We are expecting a second set of twins. Out first set are 4 yrs old. We have a Kia Sedona. We will be putting the 4 year olds in the third row, FF seats. The new borns in the second row captains seats RF. We would like to keep as much space between the two older girls in the third row, using the two outside seats and securing with the seat belts.

However; one anchor is in the middle. Is it safe to use a tether that is angled to the center anchor point rather than straight down. Thanks and great blog. Hello Lee. Congrats on the second set of twins! Is it the adult seat belt system that has the anchor in the middle? To serve you the best I think it would be better to talk on the phone or for you to schedule with a certified tech near you. You can send us an email at support saferide4kids to schedule a time to talk or visit SR4K.

I would suggest only searching by city and state. Hi, I have a 7 month old, 1 year old and 3 year old. One needs to go in the front as not enough room in back and middle seat is lap belt only. I know the air bag has to be off but is it better for the 3 year old forward facing, or baby rear facing to be the front seat passenger? Hi Lyndsey, It would really be best to visit with a local CPS car seat technician who can see your car and your seats and see if there is a way to configure them to all fit in the back.

You can install a car seat with a lap-only seat belt. You cannot use a booster seat with a lap-only seat belt. What year is the car and is there a tether anchor in the center seating position? Perhaps you could fit the two rear-facing car seats in the outboard seats and put the 3 year old forward facing in a RideSafer vest between the two car seats. A tether is required to be able to use the RideSafer with a lap-only seat belt.

I have a dodge ram and the middle backseat is a little bit shorter than the two side seats. Would it be safer to put the infant on the driver side and move one of the forward facing kids to the middle? Or do I install the base to the middle seat and put her there?

If you cannot get a proper install with the infant seat in the center seating position, it is certainly appropriate to put it on one of the side positions and put the forward-facing car seat in the center, assuming they will fit next to each other. The toddler seat does not fit in the middle seat. We have a graco forever and graco extend time fit and neither will work in the center seat of either vehicle we have. Yes a technician has looked. That is why our child is on the side.

It always depends on the car and car seat s among other situational factors. I have a Honda Odyssey and three kiddos — almost 6, 3. Everyone is still rear facing and sit three across in the middle row.

The 6yo will soon outgrow her rear facing seat and need to be forward facing. For safety, is there a best seat to put the forward facing carseat?