Are you using your infant car seat correctly?

Infant care seats are tricky but there are some tips that can help you to make sure your baby is safe and secure while riding in the car.

• Your rear-facing infant seat (all child car seats and boosters for that matter) should be in the back seat.
• The harness straps on a rear-facing seat should be at, or just below your baby's shoulders.
• The harness chest clip should be correctly positioned at your baby’s mid-chest or armpit level.

• Harness straps should be snug and straight.
• You should never position a rear-facing infant seat in the path of a frontal or side airbag.
• Make sure that straps are never twisted up; they should lay smooth and flat.
• Even during the winter your baby should never be dressed in a big fat snuggly outfit and then put in her infant seat. Extra bulky clothing will reduce how well the harness and straps work.

These tips are just the beginning. If using your infant car seat sounds overwhelming, believe me you're not alone. Choosing, installing, and correctly fastening your baby into her infant seat is a large set of tasks. There is help. Many more tips like these are available at The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. They have an entire book online called Are You Using It Right; a wonderful (and free) resource for parents. The book provides step by step illustrated instructions for infant seat installation and proper baby positioning. If you still have questions look into free child seat safety inspections. You can go to an inspection in your area and knowledgeable inspectors will make sure your infant seat is installed correctly and that your baby is positioned and buckled correctly.