Here’s an alarming statistic: nearly 95% of new parents make one or more errors when it comes to car seat safety. Thankfully, experts, including the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP), often release guidelines to help overwhelmed parents keep their baby safe while riding in a vehicle.
If you haven’t got around to checking those recommendations, here’s a guide to help you get started.
From types of baby car seats to essential gear like car seat covers to expert safety tips, we’ve rounded up the latest information for ensuring a smooth car ride for your baby.
Table of Contents
What is a Baby Car Seat Cover and Why is it important for baby safety?
A car seat ranks high on every parent-to-be’s checklist, and for good reason. When installed correctly, a car seat not only keeps your baby comfortable but also prevents injuries and fatalities. Plus, you can’t bring your newborn home without it.
In other words, a car seat does for babies and children what seat belts do for adults: keep them restrained and safe during crashes. And while we’re on the topic of car seats, let’s not forget about baby car seat covers!
It’s an essential gear to keep your baby protected from external elements when you’re out and about.
Made from pure organic cotton and measuring a generous 44 x 30 inches, our muslin car seat canopy shields your baby bub from sun, heat, winds, and nosy strangers. The best part? It fits most infant car seat models and is incredibly versatile thanks to the easily attachable handle sleeve - use it as a car seat cover, stroller cover, changing mat, or nursing blanket - this baby gear will never disappoint.
Types of Car Seats for Newborns and Infants
From the first ride home from the hospital until they’re at least 2 years old, your baby should remain in a rear-facing position during car rides.
In fact, AAP recommends keeping babies in rear-facing car seats till they outgrow the weight or height limits specified by the car seat manufacturer. Even if you notice your baby’s feet touching the back of your car seat, don’t switch to forward facing till they max out the weight and height limits.
Babies are flexible and always manage to slip into a comfy position while riding rear-facing.
There are three types of rear-facing seats:
1. Rear-facing only seats:
These seats are ideal for infants in the weight range of 22 to 35 pounds and measuring 26 to 35 inches in height. They’re compact, featuring handles and a base that can be left in the car.
Infant car seats are designed to be highly portable and are incredibly easy to attach and remove from the base. Some rear-facing-only seats feature anti-rebound bars to reduce rotation in the event of a crash.
2. Convertible seats:
As the name suggests, convertible car seats can be used as forward-facing seats once the baby exceeds the weight and height limits for the rear-facing position.
Unlike infant seats, convertible seats don’t feature handles or bases. Once installed, they’re designed to stay in the car.
Since they can be used forward facing, these seats come with a 5-point safety harness to secure the child at the shoulders, hips, and between the legs. The best part about these seats is their higher weight and height limits (up to 40-50 pounds) that support riding rear-facing - the safest position for a child - for longer than infant car seats.
3. All-in-one seats:
These are 3-in-1 seats designed for use in rear-facing and forward-facing positions, as well as a booster seat.
Again, like convertible seats, these don’t feature handles or separate bases and also have higher rear-facing weight and limits.
This makes all-in-one seats perfect for rear-facing rides for bigger babies and toddlers without making them feel squashed.
Extended Rear Facing: the Best Way to Ride
Until your child outgrows the height and weight limit, it’s highly recommended they travel rear-facing. It is hands down the safest position for your baby. For the longest time, AAP’s rear-facing guidelines recommended switching your baby to a front-facing position after their second birthday.
However, they no longer specify age limits. They now urge parents to keep their baby in the rear-facing position till they reach the weight and height limits specified by the car seat manufacturer.
What’s it about rear-facing that makes it the safest position for a child? When rear-facing, your child’s head, neck, and spine are well-supported, and the seat absorbs the maximum impact during a collision.
Meanwhile, in the front-facing position, your child’s harness does a good job of protecting most parts, but the risk of whiplash injury is higher.
Car Seat Safety Tips for Newborn and Infants: the Two Hour Rule and More
1. Two-hour rule
A baby is usually in a semi-upright position in a car seat. According to research, keeping them in this position for longer than two hours at a stretch can cause breathing difficulties due to the restricted flow of air to the lungs, not to mention putting a strain on their brand-new spine.
So, when traveling with newborns and babies, remember to follow the two-hour rule so they don’t stay in a scrunched position for too long.
Related Article: First Time Baby Travel Guide
2. Ensure a snug harness fit
Make sure the harness is nice and snug by placing it in slots at or below your baby’s shoulders. Once you’ve tightened the harness, try pinching the strap over their shoulders.
If you’re able to pinch it, it’s because the harness is still loose. Remember to place the chest clip at the center of the chest and correctly position it to be at the baby’s armpit level.
3. Secure the car seat tightly
This is the most crucial safety tip of all. Make sure you’ve installed the infant car seat tightly by using LATCH anchors or a locked seat belt.
Test it by attempting to move the seat side to side or front to back. If you can move it by more than an inch, it needs more tightening. Make sure the seat belt or anchor webbing goes through the correct path when installing a convertible or 3-in-1 car seat in a rear-facing position.
If you have even a sliver of doubt about correctly installing the seat, head to your local NHTSA Child Car Inspection Station.
4. Install the seat at the correct angle
Another thing to keep in mind during car seat installation is setting it to a proper angle. The angle should prevent the baby’s head from flopping forward and blocking the airway.
You can check the instruction manual to learn the correct angle for your car seat as well as the process to adjust it.
5. Read the manual carefully
We cannot stress this enough. No matter how many guides or videos you’ve checked out, don’t skip the car seat’s manufacturer’s safety instructions or the vehicle manual.
6. Place the car seat at a safe spot in the back
Studies show the safest spot to install a rear-facing car seat is the center of the backseat. However, if the middle seat is too narrow or doesn’t have lower anchors, it’s okay to install it at any spot on the rear row of the car as long as it is snug and secure.
AAP also warns against placing a rear-facing seat in the front seat, particularly one with a passenger airbag.
7. Remove the coat and blanket
Even in the thick of winter, be sure to remove the bulky layers and blankets inside the car before putting your baby in the car seat. The trouble with winter coats and puffy snowsuits is that they can compress from the force of a collision.
This can leave the harness too loose to restrain your child properly. A better option is to drape a coat or a blanket over the harness straps.
8. Use tightly rolled blankets to prevent slouching: If you’re worried about your baby slouching down in the car seat, AAP recommends using rolled-up receiving blankets to create some sort of padding.
Our organic cotton muslin swaddle blankets are soft, lightweight, and easy to roll up. Place these tightly rolled blankets on both sides of the baby. Be careful not to put them under or behind your baby.
When to Use Forward-Facing Car Seats or Booster Seats?
If you’ve been using a rear-facing infant car seat for your baby, the right time to buy a new forward-facing car seat would be once they’ve outgrown the rear-facing infant car seat’s weight or height limits.
While extended rear-facing is possible with most convertible and 3-in-1 car seats, transition your baby to forward-facing when they max out the height and weight limits specified for the rear-facing position.
And when they outgrow the front-facing seat’s limits, it’s time to switch them to a belt-positioning booster seat.
AAP recommends using the booster seat as long as the seat belt fits properly, which might stop happening once your child is about 4 feet 9 inches tall or 8-10 years old.
Even if they get too big for the booster seat, AAP urges parents to keep children below 13 years of age in the back seat.
Final Thoughts
No matter how expensive or state-of-the-art your baby’s car seat is, it cannot do the job that it’s meant to do (protect your baby) till you follow the safety tips to perfection.
We hope this guide will help you become one of the 5% parents who make no mistakes in car seat safety.