A List of Car Seat Don'ts

Every parents want their child to be always safe wherever they may be. In a car, a child is always safer in his/her own car seat. As a guideline, please see a listing of car seat don'ts that I have compiled. Please use the below list only as a guideline and always check with the manual of your own car seat for more specific detail regarding your particular brand/model. Also, consult with your local safety agency for the best and most recent information concerning child safety.

1. DO NOT place a child seat rear-facing in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger air bag unless deactivated.
This is so important! Don't risk placing your rear facing car seat in the front passenger seat of your car as serious injury and much worst can occur in case of a collision. The back seat is always the safest place for children under 12.

2. DO NOT use a child seat in a forward facing position for children less than one year of age OR weighing less than 20 pounds.
You should use a rear facing infant car seat especially for newborns. A rear facing car seat is a must especially when you take out the infant for the first time from the hospital to your home. At that very delicate moment, the baby still can't support the weight of his/her head. A rear facing car seat placed on the back seat of the car provides the best protection to your little one.

3. DO NOT modify the vehicle without advice from the vehicle manufacturer if a tether anchorage is not available.
Some older cars may not have tether anchorage and you may own one. Be very careful and consult your vehicle manufacturer before proceeding with any changes.

4. DO NOT take apart or attempt to take apart the harness. Never remove the buckle tongues from the harness. They cannot be reattached after removal. If assembled incorrectly, the child seat may not perform as intended.
Some car seats have easy to use harnesses. Some don't. Try to follow your manufacturer guidelines. As a rule, don't dissemble them as you may not be able to put them back together properly.

5. DO NOT buy a second hand car seat if you don't know its usage history.
Never buy a car seat from a previous owner you don't know. It's a no-no to use a car seat that was involved in a car crash. What is seemingly good looking on the outside might be disintegrating on the inside. You never really know if the seller is saying the truth so why take the chance just to save a few bucks.

Lastly, do not be a "know-it-all". Consult the manual and always double check the installation. If you have doubts or just to be on the safe side have your car seat checked by a car seat technician or the local police or fireman. If a car seat safety clinic is available on your area, go there as well.

Have a safe ride with the kids.

Go to a Car Seat Safety Clinic Near You

I would suggest to all parents especially first-time parents to attend and look for car seat clinics in your area. As we all know, improper installation of car seats is up there if not the number cause of serious injuries and fatalities in car crashes involving children. Just to be really sure, check out and go to a safety clinic nearby. Spring is coming and usually it's the time of the year that car seat installation clinics are held.

From Safe Kids WorldWide,

"Car seat installation clinics are successful in helping parents and caregivers properly restrain children in back seats, but more effort needs to be made to reach underserved communities. Based on data from car seat checkup events conducted in 29 states in February 2005, Safe Kids found that parents successfully changed their behavior and retained their child passenger safety knowledge six weeks after receiving hands-on instruction. At a second child safety seat checkup, 45 percent more seats were properly installed by the parents than at the first instructional event."

In Canada,

For those in the Toronto area of Canada, check out the numbers below I took from this site .

YORK REGION CHILD SEAT CLINICS
Contact York Region Health Department by phone at 1-800-361-5653 or on the web at www.region.york.on.ca

DURHAM REGION CHILD SEAT CLINICS
Contact Durham Region Health Department by phone at 1-800-841-2729 or on the web at www.region.durham.on.ca. Or contact Durham regional Police at www.drps.ca.

PEEL REGION CAR SEAT CLINICS
Call the Peel Help Line at (905) 799-7700 to find out about appointments.

For those in British Columbia,

• BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation/ICBC Child Passenger Safety Program (604) 298-5107 or 1-877-274-5551

For those in Alberta,
• Capital Health
Edmonton: (780) 408-5465; Calgary: (403) 943-5465; elsewhere: 1-866-408-5465
• Or contact your local community health centre

In the US,

Check out the NHTSA website and Safe Kids USA

Of course, this article might be dated by the time you read it and the sites or phone numbers I mentioned might not be available anymore. To look for the latest information about car seat clinics near you, it's always wise to check with your local newspapers or the police. You can also check out Google and look for local results there.