Can an Infant Car Seat Be Placed in Front Seat?
When children have outgrown their infant car seats, they can move to convertible or all-in one car seats. These car seats can be used rear or forward-facing, but they must to meet certain age and weight specifications.
cheap infant car seats should never be placed in front of a seat with airbags, since the force of the deployed air bag can be lethal for infants and children.
1. The 1.5 Inch Rule
The answer to this question is no. The reason is simple: When an accident occurs the child's head may be hit by an airbag if in the front seat. The result is that the airbag could cause injury or even death to the child.
Infant car seats are only designed to be rearward-facing. The seat's back rests against the rear of the car seat in a crash, providing the most effective protection for your baby.
A rear-facing car seats protects your child's neck and head better than a front-facing car seat that only offers little protection. The headrest prevents your child from falling out of the shoulder straps in an accident. The harness holds the chest clip above the shoulders.
It is important to keep in mind that there are ZERO documented cases of kids in car seats that face forwards breaking their legs after hitting the back of the front seat. This happens when a child's feet rise and become trapped against the back of the seat, which puts immense pressure on the leg bones. There's no reason to expose your child to the risk for this.
There are several programs in the United States that offer infant car seats at a discounted price or free to parents who qualify. This is a great way to get your child into a safe seat before they get out of it and can be used in a safe manner for a long time.
The majority of the new infant car seats have a base that they can click into and out of, which makes them much more user-friendly than older models. This feature is particularly beneficial for families with young children since you can keep the car seat in place and ready for use even if you change vehicles.
Before you buckle your child in check if the back of the car seat will touch the vehicle seat's back by locating the center of the seat and measuring it with a tape to determine. This area can be tested with many items, including the blade of a key or length of the wireless earbuds. Check the instructions for your car seat and owners' manuals for the vehicle to determine whether you can adjust the angle of the car seat to eliminate this space.
2. Harness Position
Preemies and newborns frequently get into a potentially dangerous chest-to-chin position in infant car seats, bouncy seats swings, strollers and other equipment for children. In a crash, they may be injured by the chest clip or crushed by the straps of the harness that are too loose or have not been placed over their shoulders. To avoid this, check that the shoulder straps start slightly below and come up to the shoulders of your child and ensure that you tighten the straps. The straps should be secure enough that you can squeeze any fabric that is not tight enough This is known as the Pinch Test. Winter coats and other heavy outer layers could interfere with the Pinch Test, so remove them before you buckle your child into their seat.
The chest clip is made to protect against a fall, but it could compress a neck of a child if it's too low or are loose. It's also important that the chest clip is not located in the neck opening of the collar - the buckle should be placed at armpit height.
In the event of a crash who are facing rearwards will slide up the seat. The harness straps must be able to support the head and neck of the child. This is why it's very crucial that the straps are placed over the shoulders. If the straps fall too low, they can slide through the neck opening of the infant or over their ears. If they're too loose, they could touch the face of the child.
Make sure the shoulder straps are snugly fitted and in the slots above or on the shoulders of your child. Newborns might need an infant insert (often provided with the car seat) to lift their shoulders until they reach this slot. Some infant car seats come with built-in angle indicators or adjustors that help with this and you should always read the instructions that came with the seat.
3. Rear-Facing Only
While some parents might be tempted to flip their infant car seat to face forward because of their child's legs becoming too short in the rear-facing position really no reason to do it. Rear-facing is safer than forward-facing as the infant's neck and spine are supported in the event of an accident. Forward-facing children may suffer serious injuries due to the fact that their bodies are thrown into the vehicle.
A majority of infant car seats include an angle indicator built-in to ensure that the seat is properly installed. It is also important to ensure that your child's head rests flat on the seat, and that the straps are placed over their shoulders, not under their arms. To check whether the harness is too tight, you should be able pinch a small amount of material on the shoulder of your child. It is also important to examine the crotch buckle strap to be sure it is in line with the armpits, not at the waist. You should also review the manual for your infant car seat to ensure that you know how to use it properly.
Most manufacturers recommend that children sit rear-facing in their car seats until they are at least one year old or until they reach the weight and height limits of their car seat. Certain states have laws that require infants to be rear-facing for at least two years.
Install the infant car seat on the middle seat of a vehicle with only one back seat. This allows you to view your child easily through the rearview mirror, without having to bend over. Installing the car seat on your driver's side will also make it easier to get your child into and out of the seat.
If your vehicle has two rear seats the infant car seat can be set on either side so long as it's not in front of the airbag on the passenger-side. If you have to decide whether to install the infant car seat on the left or right side of the vehicle, place it on the driver's side.
4. Booster Seats
Children who have outgrown their infant car seat due to weight and height will need a booster until the vehicle's seat belt is properly fitted. This can only happen if they are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall and have reached the top of their headrest (check the recommendations of the manufacturer of the seat for exact measurements).
Booster seats can help position the shoulder and lap belts correctly. Booster seats can also reduce the amount that a child's neck moves during collisions, reducing the chance of injury. Head movement is the main reason behind motor vehicle crashes that are the top deaths of children aged 4-8.
If a booster is not used correctly the lap belt could slide across a child's abdomen and cause serious injuries in the event of an accident. This can be avoided by using a booster with lap belt guides to prevent the lap belt from climbing over arm rests or sliding up on a child's stomach.
A lot of boosters have handles that are small and armrests or guide slots to help position the lapbelt low and flat on a child's upper legs. This will ensure that the lapbelt begins and remains on the strong hipbones of the child, rather than moving upwards into their abdominal region during the event of a crash.
Some booster seats are also equipped with a seat belt locking mechanism to keep the belt secure while the child is in it. This will help prevent the lap belt from slipping up over the abdomen of a child. This may also help prevent the seat belt from being pulled over a child's face, which could result in hypoxia and airway obstruction, as and neck strain.