Car Safety: Infants

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KEY POINTS

• Rear facing safety seats are the only safe way for your baby to travel, even for short trips.
• Try to make sure your baby is fed and freshly diapered before traveling in the car.
• Do not have heavy or sharp objects, or loose packages in the car. They can shift and injure your baby.
• Never leave a baby alone in a parked car, even for a minute.

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Car travel should be a safe and pleasant time for you and your baby. By law, infants and children must ride in crash-tested, child restraint seats. Never ride with your child on your lap, in a portable crib or in a car bed. Make sure the car safety seat you select fits your child – a smaller child could slip out of a seat that is too large.

Safety seat laws can differ from state to state and are based on your child’s age, height and weight. Check your state laws. Read the directions that come with the safety seat to be sure you use it correctly.

About child safety seats

• Infants should ride in rear-facing car seats with a 5-point harness until they are at least 2 years of age or until they reach the maximum weight or height for the seat. This is the best way to protect your baby’s head and neck. The rear middle seat is always the safest place for your baby, even if you are the only adult in the car.
• LATCH is a way to attach child safety seats without using seat belts. LATCH has been required on most child safety seats and vehicles since 2002. A LATCH child safety seat fastens to lower anchors and a tether anchor in a LATCH-equipped vehicle. (Most rear-facing infant seats do not need a top tether strap or hook.)
• Some safety seats cannot be installed properly in some cars. Check before you buy a car seat to make sure that it will work with your vehicle. Never accept a used safety seat that is missing any parts or instructions, is more than 10 years old, or one that has been in a crash. If you do not know the history of the car safety seat, do not use it.
• Make sure the car seat is installed correctly in the car. It should not move more than 1 inch in any direction. Carefully read the instructions for how to install the safety seat correctly. Check your owner’s manual to make sure you know where to install the seat in your vehicle.
• Make sure that your baby fits snugly into the seat when you buckle him in. Check the safety seat harness and the car seat belts to make sure the fit is tight and secure. Make sure the harness straps are at or below your baby’s shoulders and that the chest clip is at armpit level.
• Register your car seat with the manufacturer as soon as you buy it. This allows the company to contact you about recalls and safety notices.
• If you aren't sure if your seat fits properly in your car, contact a children's hospital or local fire department. Many of them have a child seat loaner program and can help you find a seat that fits properly. They can also help you install it correctly. Your car insurance company may also offer a child seat loaner program. You can also contact your state highway safety program.
• Infants with special health problems or medical conditions may need other restraint systems. Talk with your healthcare provider about this.
• Support a tiny infant by placing rolled towels, diapers, or receiving blankets on both sides of the safety seat to keep the head from falling side to side. Or buy a head support.
• Limit how much time your baby spends in a car safety seat while he's not in the car. When he's in the seat at home or childcare, your baby is not able to move or explore things around him. Being able to move and interact with things around him helps your baby grow and develop.

Car Travel

In cold weather, instead of a bulky snowsuit, dress your baby in a lightweight jacket and hat and tuck a blanket around him for warmth. Never allow your sleeping baby's head to be covered with a blanket (or comforter or quilt) in bed or in a car safety seat. Pillows, blankets, and stuffed toys could cause a baby to suffocate or strangle.

• When your baby is awake and quiet, jabbering, or looking around, sing or hum songs, or talk about what you are doing or where you are going. Your baby will learn to enjoy car travel because you are fun to ride with. If your baby has a favorite blanket, place it within his reach.
• Carry 1 or 2 soft, stuffed toys that are played with only in the car. This helps decrease boredom. Your baby's attention span is very short. Don't expect him to stay occupied for more than a couple of minutes.
• As your baby gets older, ignore yelling, screaming, and begging. The instant your baby is quiet, start talking or singing to him again. Do not take your child out of the safety seat because he cries. Doing so will only teach him to keep crying until you take him out. Try to take him out only when he is quiet.
• Do not have heavy or sharp objects in the car. A sudden stop can cause them to shift and injure passengers. Try to keep all loose packages in the trunk or secured in the back of the car.
• Babies can get burns from hot seatbelts and harness buckles. Cover metal parts during hot weather.
• Put shades on the windows in the back to protect your baby from bright sun. Don’t use a hood to protect your infant from the sun because it can reduce the airflow around his head and lead to overheating.
• Make sure all doors are locked before staring the car. As your child gets older, teach him never to play with doors and locks.
• Before a long trip, be sure your baby is fed and freshly diapered. If you think your child needs feeding or a diaper change, try to stop before she starts to fuss.
• During longer trips, allow for frequent rest stops. Take your baby out of the car seat and place him on his back or tummy to relax muscles.
• If your baby is going to travel in a car with other drivers (grandparent, aunt, uncle, or baby sitter), make sure they use the safety seat, and make sure it is installed correctly.
• Park where you can remove your baby from the car on the sidewalk side away from traffic.
• Never leave a baby alone in a parked car, even for a minute.
  • Heat stroke in babies and young children can happen in a matter of minutes, even if a window is rolled down.
  • The car can start rolling if a child plays with the controls.
  • A power window can choke a child if it goes up while she is leaning out.
  • A child can get trapped in a car trunk while playing.

If your baby outgrows the child safety seat before his first birthday, use a convertible or 3-in-1 safety seat in the rear-facing position. These seats can be used 3 ways: rear-facing, forward-facing, or as a booster seat for older children. This kind of safety seat may be used longer by your child, but it is larger than an infant seat and does not have carrying handles. Children should ride in the rear seat of the car until age 13.

Read the directions that came with the seat or ask your healthcare provider when to switch to a toddler safety seat. School-aged children should ride in belt positioning booster seats until at least age 8 or until the regular seat belt fits correctly. It is against the law for a child to ride in the car without being securely buckled into a safety seat. It is against the law because it is very, very dangerous. Please do what is best for your child — use a safety seat during every car ride.

For questions about how to install and use your car seat, contact:

• SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A.
  800-745-SAFE
  http://www.carseat.org
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Safety Hotline
  888-327-4236
  https://www.nhtsa.gov