Can an Infant Car Seat Be Placed in Front Seat?
When children outgrow their infant car seats, they can change to convertible or all-in-one car seats. These car seats are available in forward-facing and rear-facing models, but they must meet certain weight and age requirements.
Car seats should not be placed in front of a vehicle seat with airbags, since the force of the airbag could be fatal for children and babies.
1. The 1.5 Inch Rule
The answer to this question is no. The reason is simple: If there is a crash the child’s head could be hit by an airbag if in the front seat. The airbag can cause injury or even kill a child.
Infant car seats are designed to be rearward-facing. In a crash the back of the seat will rest against the rear of your car seat. This is the best car seat newborn security for the infant car seat in front seat.
In addition, the rear-facing car seat protects the neck and head of your child more than a forward-facing car seat, which provides only minimal neck and head protection. The headrest also stops the child from falling off the shoulder straps during the event of a crash and the harness will keep the chest clip above the shoulders of your child.
It’s important to remember that there are ZERO instances of children in car seats that face forwards breaking their legs when they strike the back of the front vehicle seat. This happens when children’s feet fly upwards and are sucked into the back of the seat and put a great deal of pressure into the leg bones. There is no reason to put your child at risk of this.
There are a variety of programs in the United States that offer infant best car seat newborn seats at a reduced price or at no cost to parents who qualify. This is a great opportunity to ensure your child is in a safe seat before they grow out of it and use it in a safe way for many years.
The majority of the newer best infant seat car seats have an adjustable base that they can click into and out of, making them much more user-friendly than older models. This feature is particularly useful for families with small children as it allows you to keep the car seat on and ready to go, even if you change vehicles.
Before you buckle your child in check if the back of the car seat will be in contact with the vehicle seat’s back by finding the middle of the seat and measuring it using a tape to determine. This space can be tested with many items, including the blade of a key or the length of the wireless earbuds. After that, you should check the car seat’s instructions and the owner’s manual of your vehicle to determine whether you can adjust the angle of the car seat to remove the space.
2. Harness Position
Preemies and newborns frequently fall into a dangerous chin-to-chest posture in infant car seats, bouncy seats strollers, swings and other children’s equipment. In a crash, they may be injured by the chest clip or crushed by the straps on the harness that are loose or have not been placed over their shoulders. Make sure that the straps are set slightly below the shoulders of the child and then come up over their shoulders. Make sure they are tight to prevent this. The straps should be tight enough to hold the excess fabric to each other. This is known as the Pinch Test. Overly bulky outer layers such as winter coats can hinder this, so be sure to remove them before placing your child in their seat.
The chest clip is designed for a crash, however it can compress the neck of a child if it’s too low or are too loose. The chest clip should not be in the neck opening. Instead it should be placed at the armpit level.
In the event of a crash who are facing rearwards will slide down the seat. The harness straps should be capable of supporting the head and neck of the child. This is why it’s important that the straps be placed over the shoulders. If the straps are placed too low, they can slide through the neck opening of the baby car seat or over their ears. If they’re too loose, they could touch the face of the child.
Make sure that the straps for your child’s shoulders are properly fitted and positioned in the slots above or around the child’s shoulders. Newborns may require an infant insert (often included in the car seat), to lift their shoulders until they reach this slot. Some infant car seats come with angle indicators or adjustors that can assist you in this. You may also want to check the instructions provided with your seat.
3. Rear-Facing Only
Parents may be enticed by the fact that their child’s legs are becoming shorter in the seat facing rearwards, however there is no reason to do this. Rear-facing is more secure than forward-facing because the baby’s neck and spine are protected in the event of an accident. Forward-facing children’s bodies are thrown backward against the vehicle and could cause serious injury.
A majority of infant car seats have an angle indicator built-in to help you ensure the seat is properly installed. It is also important to make sure your child’s head is flat against the seat and the harness straps are placed over their shoulders, not under their arms or bent. You should be able to squeeze a tiny bit of fabric at their shoulders to ensure that the harness is tight enough. Examine the crotch strap to make sure it is at the same level as the armpits and not at the waist. You should also review the manual of your infant car seat so that you know how to use it correctly.
Most manufacturers suggest that children ride rear-facing until they’re at the age of one or until they reach the weight and height limits. Certain states have laws that require infants to be rear-facing for at minimum two years.
If you own a car with just one back seat, you can install the infant car seat in the middle of the vehicle so you can easily see your child’s reflection in your rearview mirror without having to lean back. Installing the car seat on the driver’s side will also make it easier to get your child in and out of the seat.
If you have a vehicle with two back seats, you can put the infant car seat on either side as long as it isn’t behind the passenger side airbag. If you have to choose between installing an infant car seat on the left or the right side of your vehicle, install it on the driver’s side.
4. Booster Seats
Children who have outgrown their infant car seats due to their weight and height will require an additional booster until the car’s seat belt is fitted properly. This can only happen when they are at a minimum of 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 aid in positioning the shoulder belt and lap properly. They can also reduce the distance the child’s head moves during the crash, which lowers the risk of injury. Head movement is the most common cause of motor vehicle crashes, which are the leading fatality for children between the ages of 4 and 8.
If a booster isn’t used correctly the lap belt could be able to slide over the abdomen of a child and cause serious injuries in the event of an accident. This can be avoided by using a belt guide on the booster that prevents the lap belt from sliding onto a child’s stomach or climbing over armrests.
Many boosters are equipped with small handles, armrests, or guide slots that allow you to position the lap belt in a low and flat position across a child’s upper thighs. This ensures that the lapbelt starts and stays on the strong hipbones of the child instead of moving up into their soft abdomen area during an accident.
Some booster seats have a seatbelt locking mechanism that keeps the seatbelt in place when a child is sitting in them. This will help to prevent the lapbelt from moving up and over the child’s abdomen. This can to stop the seat belt from being pulled up over a child’s face. This can lead to hypoxia and airway obstruction, as well as neck strain.