car seat safety tips for parents from BayCare Kids

Take a SAFE Seat: Car Seat Safety Tips for our Tiniest Passengers

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Among the bottle warmers, sleep technology and adorable crib bedding that you might be putting on your baby registry, there is one thing that is so important that you cannot go home from the hospital without it: your baby’s car seat.

In terms of safety, comfort and peace of mind, it may be the most important purchase you make for baby, and yet it is an item that most parents don’t give enough thought to using correctly.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1-13. Choosing the right car seat and installing it properly are a crucial first step in your parenting journey.

“Research shows that seven out of 10 car seats are not installed correctly,” says Gina Baez, Senior Wellness and Safety Specialist at BayCare Kids Safety and Wellness Center and Safe Kids Greater Tampa Coordinator. “Even the best car seat can’t protect your child if it’s not used properly. To ensure your child’s safety, we encourage parents and caregivers to schedule a free car seat inspection with a Safe Kids certified child passenger technician through BayCare Kids Wellness and Safety Center.”

Here are some tips from Safekids.org (check their website for a full installation guide with videos and diagrams):

CHOOSING  a Car Seat

  • Based on the age, weight and height of your child, determine whether you need a rear-facing car seat, a forward facing car seat or a booster.
    • Children should remain in a rear-facing car seat at least until the age of two, ideally until they reach the maximum height or weight limit specified by the car seat manufacturer.
    • Children over 2 can sit in a forward-facing seat with a harness and top tether.
    • Children who have outgrown the height and weight limits of the forward-facing seat can use a booster seat until they can use an adult car seat, generally between 8 and 12 years.
  • To check if a child is ready for an adult seat belt, make sure their knees bend at the edge of the seat when their back and bottom are against the vehicle seat back and that their feet touch the floor. The vehicle lap belt must fit snugly across the hips or upper thighs and the shoulder belt should go across the shoulder and chest, not the face or the neck.

BUYING a Car Seat

  • Buy a car seat that already has all the features that you want, such as soft covers for the straps. Adding your own bits and pieces ad hoc after the fact can affect the safety of the seat.
  • Read the label or specs to ensure that the seat can accommodate your child’s size.
  • Register your seat so that you can be updated with any safety concerns or recalls by the manufacturer.
  • Never purchase a used car seat. You do not know whether it has been in an accident or if its safety has been compromised in some way.

INSTALLING a Car Seat

  • The back seat is always the safest place for a child.
  • Attach the car seat to the car either by threading the seatbelt through the appropriate slots in the seat or by using the lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH) system. Forward-facing seats should use the top latch also. Read the labels to see which method is best for your child based on their weight.
  • When installed, at the belt path, try and wiggle the seat forward to backward and side to side. It should move no more than one inch each way.

📍Safe Kids Greater Tampa Coalition, led by St. Jospeh's Children's Hospital, provides one-on-one car seat inspections and car seat education classes to our community. Visit HERE for more information, or HERE for information about car seat installation classes. (Please note that the classes do have income requirements.)

ENSURING the Right Fit

  • Make sure your child is secured within the car seat with a properly fitted five-point harness system. Straps should go over both shoulders and hips and be secured at the crotch.
  • Onrear-facing car seats, the shoulder straps should come through the car seat slots at or just BELOW your child’s shoulders. On forward-facing seats, the shoulder straps should be at or just ABOVE the shoulders.
  • After tightening the harness, pinch it at the shoulder; your fingers should slide off the webbing. If you are able to pinch the webbing between your fingers, the harness is loose.

Common Mistakes Parents Make:

  • Not switching the retractor with the lap and shoulder belt
  • Using the lower anchors in the upside-down position
  • Incorrect use of lower anchor and seat belt
  • Adding products to the car seat that did not come with the car seat
  • Turning children around to forward-facing too soon (child should be rear-facing until at least 2 years of age)
  • Shoulder harnesses are too low, too high or not snug enough
  • Retainer clip is too low or too high
  • Seats move more than one inch
  • Moving kids out of booster seats too early (before they max out the height or weight limit of that booster seat)
  • Not realizing that different states or countries have different child restraint laws

READ MORE from BayCare Kids on Safety & Wellness:

*Presented by BayCare | Originally published in the September 2025 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine.