car seat safety tips for parents from BayCare Kids

Car Seat 101

By Last Updated

Avoid counterfeits, do your research, and read about how to choose and install a car seat

Everyone loves a bargain, but your child’s car seat is not the place to look for one.

Gina Baez, BayCare Kids Wellness and Safety Specialist, says that her team has lately noticed a proliferation of counterfeit car seats. While these may appear fine and offer the temptation of a lower sticker price, counterfeit car seats should be avoided at all costs, says Baez.

“Be wary of unfamiliar websites, third‑party sellers or deals that seem too good to be true,” Baez says.

Common sources of counterfeit car seats include TikTok, Temu, Shein, third-party sellers on Amazon and third-party Walmart sellers.

How can you tell if you bought a counterfeit seat? One clue is the seller, but Baez shares these other tipoffs:

  • Counterfeits often have missing, misprinted or incorrect labels with poor grammar or misspellings.
  • They are often missing essential safety features. For example, counterfeits may have only a 3‑point harness, narrow straps or no chest clip.
  • Legitimate seats include instruction manuals, registration cards, serial numbers, QR code and clear expiration dates. Counterfeits often don’t.

Spend your time researching a legitimate car seat. Purchasing one from a legitimate seller is the first step to safe travels for your little one. Read on for more tips from Baez about how to choose, install and maintain your car seats.

CHOOSING Your Seat

“Children should not ride in the front seat until at least age 13,” Baez says. “Vehicle safety systems — especially airbags — are designed to protect adult‑sized bodies, not younger, smaller passengers. Allowing a child to sit in the front seat too early increases the risk of serious injury in a crash.”

While children 13 and older are generally large enough for front‑seat airbag protection to work as intended, younger kids are safest when they are properly restrained in the back seat.

Baez shares these tips on how to choose the appropriate seat for your child:

  • Until at least age 2, children should ride in a rear-facing car seat. Keep them rear-facing until they reach the maximum height or weight limit allowed by their specific seat.
  • When they outgrow the rear-facing seat, transition them to a forward-facing car seat and keep them here with a 5-point harness until they reach the seat’s height or weight limit. Make sure to always use the top tether! “This is a very common oversight,” Baez says. “The top tether significantly reduces the car seat’s forward motion during a crash.”
  • After outgrowing their forward-facing harnessed seat, children should remain in a booster seat until they reach 59 inches tall.

INSTALLING Your Seat

Baez says that a whopping 70% of car seats are not used correctly. Here are her tips and tricks for making sure yours doesn’t fall in that number:

  • Do the “Inch Test.”  After installing the car seat, tug firmly at the base where the seat belt or lower anchors pass through. A properly installed seat should not move more than one inch side-to-side or front-to-back.
  • Do the “Pinch Test.” Make sure the harness is snug enough to properly protect your child in a crash. At your child’s shoulder, you should not be able to pinch any excess webbing. Ensure the chest clip is buckled and positioned at armpit level.
  • Use either the vehicle’s seat belt or the lower anchors to install your car seat. Do not use both — this is another common mistake and is not allowed for most seats.

If you’re still struggling, or you just want a professional to check your work, make an appointment for an inspection with a Certified Car Seat Technician at the BayCare Kids Wellness and Safety Center by visiting BayCare.org/Events.

Other Car Seat Safety Tips

  • Check your seat’s labels to make sure it is appropriate for your child’s current height and weight.
  • Car seats have expiration dates. Discard the seat properly once it expires, and don’t buy an expired seat.
  • Know your car seat’s history. If a car seat has been in a crash, it must be replaced.
  • Register your car seat so you can be notified of any safety recalls.
  • Give your child only soft toys in the car, as hard objects can become dangerous projectiles during a crash.
  • Never leave your child alone in a vehicle. Always check the back seat before exiting the car.

READ MORE from BayCare Kids on Safety & Wellness:

*Presented by BayCare | Originally published in the September 2025 issue of Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine and updated in the April 2026 issue.