I became interested in child passenger safety when my first son was born. As most parents do, we selected a child restraint (mostly on its appearance), read the manual, and installed it before the baby was born. We did our best to keep him properly restrained in every vehicle and on every trip. It wasn't until he outgrew his infant seat and we purchased a convertible (both rear- and forward-facing) seat that we realized we might need help. Sure enough, when I took the car to the local police station where they have Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians, our seat was installed wrong! We kept the harness straps snug on the baby, but the seat wasn't nearly tight enough in the car. Looking back, even in his infant days we were making mistakes - despite our efforts to do it all right and keep our baby safe.
Because the world of cars and child restraints is so complicated, the best thing a parent can do is consult a Certified Technician to get hands-on instruction on installing and using the seat. Websites such as SeatCheck.org can help you find a local technician. There are also some good videos available to help those who can't get to an inspection station right away.- a loose installation
- loose harness straps
- chest clip at the wrong position
- harness straps in the wrong slot position
- using after-market products
- using the wrong seat for the child's age or size
And, speaking of videos, this an excellent one that I think every parent should see. It includes real crash-test footage of both forward-facing seats and rear-facing seats. Convertible seats these days can be used rear-facing until the child is 30-35 pounds, depending on the seat. Here, you can see just why we recommend using them rear-facing as long as possible.
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