Child Restraint FAQ

Installing a car seat can be a daunting task. Be sure to read your car seat manual as well as your vehicle’s owner’s manual before you get started. If you have difficulties and need assistance, please contact the Safety Restraint Coalition at 425-828-8975 or 1-800-BUCKL-UP or a local car seat expert in your community.

• What type of car seat is right for my child?
• When is my child ready for a lap and shoulder belt?
• Am I using the correct seat position?
• Am I using the correct type of vehicle seat belt to secure my child restraint?
• Do I need to use a locking clip?
• Is the vehicle seat belt routed correctly?
• Is the child restraint harness threaded correctly?
• Is the child restraint harness tightened properly?
• Is the harness clip used properly?
• How do I use a tether?
• How do I find out about about recalls?

What type of car seat is right for my child?

There are three types of car seats: rear-facing-only restraints for infants; convertible child restraints; and booster seats.

Rear-Facing-Only Infant Restraints

• Must always be used so that the child faces the rear of the vehicle.
• Usually for infants from 5 pounds to 20 pounds. (See manaul for weight limits.)
• Infants must remain rear-facing until they are at least one year old and 20 pounds.
• An infant's head should not extend beyond the top of the restraint's backrest.
• If an infant reaches the height and weight limit of an infant-only restraint, you must begin using a convertible child restraint that is designed for rear-facing use.
• Parents of low birth weight infants -- less than five pounds -- must consult their pediatrician to help determine the correct type of child restraint for their baby.

Convertible Child Restraints

• Most convertible seats are designed for rear-facing use with infants 5 pounds to 30 pounds and for forward-facing use with toddlers 20 pounds to 40 pounds
• Always check the manufacturer's instructions for the weight limits of your child restraint, as they vary from seat to seat.
• Convertible child restraints are available with three types of harness systems: 5-point harness, 3-point harness/overhead shield, and 3-point harness/T-shield.

Booster Seats

• Never use a belt-positioning booster with a lap-only belt.
• Never use a locking clip with any belt-positioning booster.
• Most belt-positioning booster seats are designed for children between 30 pounds and 80 pounds.
• Booster seats are designed to position the lap belt over the child's thighs, not their abdomen, and the shoulderbelt across the strongest parts of their chest, not touching their neck.

When is my child ready for just the lap and shoulder belt?

When you can honestly answer "yes" to these questions, questions, it's time to graduate to lap and shoulder belts:

1. Does the child sit with hips all the way back against the vehicle seat?
2. Do the child's knees bend comfortably at the edge of the vehicle seat?
3. Is the lap belt on the top part of the thighs?
4. Is the shoulder belt centered on the shoulder and chest?
5. Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, your child needs a booster seat to ride safely in the car.

Am I using the correct seat position?

Crash statistics indicate children are safest when properly restrained in the rear seat. If available, the center rear seat is generally safest.

If the front seat is the only seating position available, push the vehicle seat as far away from the dashboard as possible before installing the child restraint. Never install a rear-facing infant in front of an airbag.

Am I using the correct type of vehicle seat belt to secure my child restraint?

• The child restraint should be installed tight enough that it should not move more than one inch (25mm) side-to-side at the belt path.
• Some types of seat belts are not compatible with child restraints and others require the use of a locking clip.
• Check with your owner's manual to find out what kind of seat belt system your vehicle has: Automatic Seat Belts
• Automatic or passive seat belt systems move along the vehicle frame when the door is opened. Child restraints cannot be used with an automatic seat belt system, as the seat belt will not hold a child restraint.
• Door-mounted Seat Belts
  • Door mounted seat belts are attached to the vehicle's door instead of the vehcile's frame.
  • Child restraints cannot be used with this type of seat belt system.
• Lap Belts
  • Lap belts that only lock during a sudden stop or crash (Emergency Locking Retractor - ELRs) cannot be used with child restraint. The lap belt will not stay in position, thus possibly allowing the child restraint to shift.
  • Manually adjusted lap belts and/or lap belts that automatically lock and stay locked (Automatic Locking Retractors - ALRs) can be used to secure a child restraint. These seat belts can be tightly fastened around a child restraint.
• Lap & Shoulder Belt Combinations
  • Lap and shoulder belts with free sliding latch plates that only lock during a sudden stop or crash (ELRs) can be used with infant and convertible child restraints so long as a locking clip is used.
  • Some lap and shoulder belts have a latch plate that can be locked into place. This type requires no additional hardware.
  • Lap and shoulder belt combinations that lock and stay locked (ALRs) can be used to secure a child restraint.
  • Some vehicles have lap and shoulder belts that can be easily switched from ELR to ALR. Consult your vehicle owners manual

Do I need to use a locking clip?

Many vehicles have lap/shoulder belts with a free-sliding latch plate, which allows the adult to sit comfortably while restrained in the vehicle. To tightly secure a child restraint with this system, you must use a locking clip to hold the latch plate in place. This allows you to pull the lap belt tight around the child restraint and to maintain the tension.

Keep the locking clip stored with the restraint at all times, even if your vehicle does not require it. You may need it when using the child restraint in a different vehicle. Never use a locking clip with a belt-positioning booster. Consult your child restraint instructions for installation methods.

Is the vehicle seat belt routed correctly?

Follow the child restraint instructions for threading the vehicle seat belt. No other route is acceptable. Threading the seat belt incorrectly could result in injury.

Is the child restraint harness threaded correctly?

• Rear-facing infants: The shoulder harness must come through the back of the seat even with, or below, the child's shoulders.
• Forward-facing toddlers: The shoulder harness must come through the back of the seat, in a reinforced slot, at or above the child's shoulders. Review your child restraint instructions to determine which slots are reinforced.
• The harness straps should lie flat across the child's body without twists, turns or wrinkles.

Is the child restraint harness tightened properly?

When the harness is adjusted properly, you can get no more than two fingers between the shoulder harness and the child's collarbone.

Is the harness clip used properly?

The harness retainer clip is used on most child restraints to help keep the harness straps properly positioned. The harness clip should be positioned at armpit level.

How do I use a tether?

• The tether strap provides an extra anchor and is designed to further secure the child restraint, helping to reduce your child's forward head motion in the event of a crash.
• If your child restraint was purchased before 1999, you can purchase tether kits by contacting the manufacturer.
• Only use top tethers made by the manufacturer of your child restraint.
• Automobile manufacturers are required to install tether anchorages in vehicles made after September 1999. Owners of many older vehicles, especially those built after 1989, can obtain a low-cost or free tether anchorage kit from their dealer. Check your owners manual for details or contact your vehicle manufacturer.
• Consult your vehicle owner's manual to locate your vehicle's tether anchor points.
• The top tether strap works by providing an extra anchor point at the top of your convertible car seat when used in the forward-facing position. Top tether straps can also be used with high-back boosters when the harness restraint is in use.
• The top tether strap fastens to the back of the child restraint and is anchored to the rear window deck of a car, the floor of a van, station wagon or hatch-back - or in some cases, the ceilings of certain models of sport utility vehicles and station wagons.

How do I find out about recalls?

• Registration of your child restraint will insure that you are automatically notified in the event of a recall.
• To obtain recall information on child restraints, call the manufacturer or one of these sources:
• U.S. Government Auto Safety Hotline
  1-800-424-9393
• NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
  1-888-327-4236
• CSPC (Consumer Product Safety Commission)
  1-800-638-2772

Additional child passenger safety information, including a list of car seat recalls.

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