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Car Seat Safety: How to Choose, Install, and Know When to Switch Car Seats · Stacked Intent: Your Guide to Authentic, Intentional Living

• 1:13
  SPEAKER_01: What are our breathways for?
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So today we are going to be talking about something a little bit different, but I just went through this wonderful training, and as part of the UGA extension, we get to offer some education on how to keep your child safe when you are transporting them in a vehicle.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: So today we will talk about how to select the right car seat.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: We will determine when to switch your car your child's car seat, and then we'll identify some resources for manufacturing information and recalls.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_01: How do you choose the right car seat for your child?
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it is a little difficult, but first off, you need to understand the hard facts and why certain car seats are designed for certain ages and stages.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: But truthfully, car seats and boosters provide protection for infants and children in a crash, yet car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: So even though we know that car seats are designed to protect children, car crashes are still the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: So that means that some people either don't have this information or they're not following it.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: Road injuries are also the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71%.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's not just having a car seat, but it's using it correctly.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: More than half of car seats are not used or not installed correctly.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: 325 children under five were saved by car seats in one year.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: 42% of children were killed in car crashes in 2020 were unrestrained.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: So unrestrained meaning that they weren't in a car seat or buckled at all?
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: So unrestrained, yes, correct.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: So unrestrained.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll talk about correctly restraining and then also um being unrestrained.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: So they were not in a not in a seat buckle or not in a car seat.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: So of the deaths or of the car crashes in 2020, 42% of children that were killed were because they were unrestrained.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that's not necessarily a fun way to start this off, but it is the truth and it is the hard facts.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um so from that we'll transition to talking about there are four different types of restraints.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: So there's a restraint meaning um like your car seat.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: There's a rear-facing car seat, which this is the best seat for a young child to use.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: It has a harness, and in a crash, the this restraint, a rear-facing car seat, is designed to cradle and move with your child to reduce the stress to the child's fragile neck and spinal cord.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: So you think about like a newborn or a young child who's still developing the muscles around their spine and in their neck too.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: And their head is so fragile and sensitive at this point of their life that a car seat that's designed to cradle and move with them in a crash is going to be better protective.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: Then we have a forward-facing car seat.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: This one has a harness and it has a tether, which is a strap that attaches either to the back of the seat to a different place in your car, but this tether is a cord that helps to limit your child's forward movement during a crash.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: And this is going to look differently depending on the manufacturer of your car seat and then also the vehicle that you are putting it in.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: So we'll talk about that later.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Then you have a booster seat.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_00: This seat raises and positions a child so the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt fits properly over the stronger points of a child's body, which are the hips and across the chest.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: Then lastly, there's a seatbelt.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: And when they do wear a seatbelt, it should lie across the upper thighs and be snug across the shoulder and the chest to restrain the child safely in a crash.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: It should not rest on the stomach area or across the neck or the face.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: So picking the right car seat depends on age, weight, and what's best for your car situation and what's best for your child.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And it's also going to be something that you can use correctly and use it every time.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: So there are lots of different choices on the market, um, price ranging from$40,$50 all the way up to$500,$600, which that blew my mind.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: But it depends on all the bells and whistles.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: So you don't necessarily have to have that, but it's got to be something that you are going to be able to that's going to fit your child at this stage of their life.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and it's going to be something that fits also in your vehicle, and it can be something that can be used every single time.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: So always refer to your specific car seat manufacturer's instruction for the height and the weight limits, but then also read the vehicle owner's manual on how to install install the car seat if you're using a seatbelt or low lower anchors and a tether, if it's available.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that when I talk about the importance of reading the manufacturer's instructions, you can also refer to the the actual vehicle manual.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: So we had an instance where um somebody had a car seat installed and they were using the lower anchors, and we were talking about their child, child's not there, but we were talking about the child, and the child was actually right at the age weight, I mean, or the weight limit for where it was no longer safe to use the lower anchors.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we read that on the car seat manufacturer or on the manufacturer's label on the car seat, and it said um that could they could only sit using the lower anchors up to 65 pounds, and after that point they needed to use the seatbelt.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So he didn't know, had no idea.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: So after we discussed that, he started using the seatbelt versus using the lower anchors because those lower anchors were only tested for safety up to 65 pounds.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: So it's important to use and read the manufacturer's labels and instructions.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: To maximize safety, keep your child in the car seat for as long as possible, as long as the child will fit within the manufacturer's height and weight requirements, and keep your child in the back seat at least through age 12.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: So you can't have a toddler riding in the front seat?
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: No, no one under the age of 13 should be sitting in the front seat.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: So next part of this is how do we determine when it's time to switch my seat for a kid?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: So if you start with a rear facing car seat, which there are a couple of different versions of a rear-facing car seat.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: So you can have a rear facing only, which typically comes with like a base, and then it may come with um the actual carrier, which may have a handle where you can just pop it off and take a baby wherever you go, and then you put it on the base whenever you get back in the car.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be a rear facing only.
• 8:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um or you can have something that is a convertible, so it may convert from rear to forward facing, but your child from birth up to a year should be in a rear-facing car seat.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: So under age one should always ride in rear facing.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um you can have an infant-only seat, which again that's the one that's typically going to come with that base and the the carrier.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: They can only be used in the rear facing position, or there's a convertible option or an all-in-one car seat, which would typically have a higher height and weight limit for the rear facing position, which will allow you to keep your child rear facing for longer for a longer period of time.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, from one to three years, the recommendation is to keep your child rear facing for as long as possible, which is the best way to keep him or her safe.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: Your child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Once they have outgrown the rear-facing car seat, then they're ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness and a tether.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: So that is a rear facing.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: So it is not just taking a car seat and putting a baby in it.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: When you've had when you've ever well, you've had children ride in your vehicle before.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: Have they been in rear facing or forward-facing?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Or did you know what the category of the car seat even was?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um most the ones that have been in my car, it's more the convertible, and it was their rear facing and it became their forward facing.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And those are oftentimes more economical because you can start them off with rear facing, and then as they grow, the car seat basically grows with it.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: So you can turn it around to forward facing and you don't have to buy a whole new car seat.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but then we have our forward-facing car seats, and these are going to be for up to up to seven years of age.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we've already talked about keeping your child rear facing for as long as possible.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: You want to follow the manufacturer's recommendations for when the height, weight, or age requirements to switch them to forward, but then from four to seven years, so technically before three years, um, if you wanted to change them to forward facing, you could, but follow the recommendation, and we really want you to stay in rear facing for as long as possible up to that age limit or weight limit and kind of max that out before you turn them forward facing.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So when they're in a forward-facing car seat with a harness, use the tether as well until he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Once they've outgrown that forward-facing seat between four to seven years, then they can travel to a booster seat, but still in the back.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: So for booster seats, the recommendation is for ages 8 to 12, but really it's to until a car seat can or a seat belt can be safely positioned across their body.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: But a booster seat helps to boost their body up until they can fit in the seatbelt properly.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: So the lat belt should fit snugly across the upper thighs, not on their stomach.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: The shoulder belt should lie snugly across their shoulder and their chest and not across the neck or the face.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Again, still riding in the back seat because it is safer for them there.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: Which booster seats are pretty minimalistic and they're pretty easy to move around, but they have like a kind of a belt guide where the seat belt will loop up under it and then it'll guide the lap belt to where it's across their upper thighs and where it's not on their stomach.
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: Why do you think we would not want it to be across their stomach?
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: What's in there?
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's not where it's designed to be, and it goes across our organs and lungs and right causes it when you're in an accident, it would cause lots of damage if it's not in the correct proper place.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: And a lot of people are tempted to move, move too quickly from rear facing to forward-facing, or even forward-facing to a booster seat.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and and a lot of these like all-in-one car seats, what you'll do is you'll just take the five-point harness out if you're going from a forward-facing to a booster.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: And the booster is designed to be used with the seatbelt.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So they no longer use that harness.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, now they're using the seatbelt as the form of restraint, but the booster basically just helps to boost them up so that way their body is correctly positioned where they can have that lat belt across their thighs, and then the shoulder belt is going to rest over their shoulder and across their chest.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: Does do car seats have recalls or do they expire?
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we think about typically with recalls and expiration dates when it comes to food, but expiration dates and recalls are also applicable to our car seats.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So the first point in car seat safety is to know your car seat's history.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: You may not know the history of your car seat, especially if it was a gift or if it was a handy down or if it was purchased like off a Facebook marketplace or from a garage sale.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: But it's important to know the history of your car seat and if it's been involved in any accidents because of manufacturer testing.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the car seat manufacturer can't guarantee that the seat will still function safely after it has already been involved in an accident.
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_01: So what are you supposed to do if one's been in an accident?
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if it one's been in an accident, if somebody's trying to give it to you and you know that that is the case, do not accept it.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: And and again, we the car seat manufacturer, they can't guarantee that it is still going to function the way that it is supposed to.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: So they either have to be disposed of, and when they are disposed of, you can take them to a certified technician, or you can take them to like if your local sheriff's department or police department, um, or sometimes even the department of public health, they may do like a car seat recycling program.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but really you don't want to just toss it on the dumpster out back because if you do, then um somebody else could come along and they may not have known that this car seat was thrown away for a specific reason.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: It may look perfectly safe to them.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_00: But if you dispose of a car seat, the harnesses and the restraints need to be removed and disposed of separately than the shell itself.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: But that's knowing about the car seat's history.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Again, some people have the best of intentions and and they don't want to purchase another car seat, especially if it looks like everything's totally fine.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: But if it has been involved in an accident, there's no way to guarantee that it is still designed for safety.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: So does the kid have to be in the car seat in the accident to still have affected the car seat?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: So even if the the vehicle was in a crash itself, there's no telling what could have happened to the seatbelt itself or it could have damaged the car seat in the forward motion.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: So even if it's been in an accident and the car seat was in the vehicle, it's really um you and you can always, if you have questions about it, just contact the manufacturer and they'll tell you, you know, yes, we've we've crash tested it with without a child in there and it withstood the the crash testing, or they could tell you we can't recommend that.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_00: And if they say we can't recommend that, then that means that they cannot guarantee you that that car seat is still at its peak functionality.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: So it might be a best practice that you do need to while you're budgeting for the new car because your car was in an accident, go ahead and add that new car seat in as well.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, we would rather be safe than sorry.
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but also talking about recalls, so car seats can be recalled for various reasons, including parts that have been easily found to break, or they can come loose and they can pose as a choking hazard for children.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um I saw a recall about it, it was the chest clip.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: So when the chest clip was recalled, it was because the there's something wrong with the plastic that was in the chest clip, and they were it was breaking too easily.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: So it was it was too brittle and it was causing um potential injury.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: So you think about like a plastic piece breaking, and that it could puncture, um, puncture your lungs, or it can cause physical damage.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: So to know if your car seat is involved in a recall, you have to identify the manufacturer name, the model name, and the date of manufacturer, and then you can look at a recall list on the National Highway Traffic Safety website, which we call NITSA, NHTSA.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can also register your car seat online or by mail to be included in notifications about recalls associated with your seat.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_01: Which that in a busy life, if you're having a new kid and multiple kids, that seems like a really important thing to do because then open your mail is hey, look, your car seat has a recall, and you're not having to go check on a website and remember to hey you said I've seen my car seat has a recall.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: Especially when you buy a car seat um new, it may have a card in there that says, you know, send this off for registering your car seat, or it may tell you to do it online.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: So if you do that, you register, you're already added to um communications about car seats.
• 18:46
  SPEAKER_00: So if a recall does come out involving your specific car seat, um the manufacturer can let you know.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but there are also things to consider as far as expiration.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, yes, car seats do expire, and the expiration date is the last day that the manufacturer can guarantee the function and safety of the car seat.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_00: So if you think about materials and their breakdown over time, these car seat manufacturers do testing on the materials that they use, and they can guarantee up until a certain point that these materials are going to function the way that they're supposed to after the expiration date, there is no guarantee.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: So you can find the expiration date on the manufacturer's label on the underside or on the side where all the labels are of the car seat, or it may be embossed into the shell.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: If that is the case, sometimes they're it's kind of hard to see, they're kind of hard to locate, and it's going to vary from brand to brand and manufacturer to manufacturer, but it is important to identify the expiration date, keep note of it, and make sure that if your car seat is expired, that you replace it again before disposing of your expired car seat.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: Go ahead and cut and remove the harness straps to make sure that it cannot be used for somebody else.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good way to look at it.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: So why is it important to if you have an expired one?
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Do you does that sometimes change from maybe one child to an ex?
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_01: Can it expire in a time frame that you have multiple children?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Um the best recommendation I can give is to go ahead and when you check it out on like when you get a new car seat, go ahead and look at the expiration date, put it in your calendar.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: It says like a month in advance, get new car seat.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um, because if that happens, oftentimes we're going to use the same car seat if we have multiple children within a family, or if I know that a friend or someone is having a child, um, and I'm like, oh, I don't need this car seat anymore, and I give it to somebody else.
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: That expiration date can slip up in between when I give it from one child to another or from one person to another.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it's important to keep up with that expiration date and to know when a new car seat needs to be purchased.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: So that is some very important information for knowing how to safely uh ride in somebody's car or car seats for children from that birth to that 12, 13 years old.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: So if somebody had no idea how to make sure their car seat was installed correctly, what's what is that resource for them to be able to find out if their car seats in is correctly or not?
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: So they have that cushion of knowing before they go to the hospital for the first time.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they can locate a local child passenger safety technician, which is what I am now.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but you can look these, look up all of your technicians on the NHTSA, which is the National Highway Traffic Safety website, and you can find your local.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Technicians, or you can look at the Safe Kids Worldwide website and find a local technician near you.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: And a technician is somebody that has gone through an actual certification or training where they can install, but it's not just about the install because we're not just trying to put a car seat in your car and then send you on your way.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: We want to make sure that it's an educational opportunity.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I may do the install, but I'm going to uninstall it and make sure that you can put it back in yourself.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: So because you're going to be the one that's moving this car seat from vehicle to vehicle, and you're going to be the one that has to do this at an at a later date.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: So when we do an install, um, we say that as we're really allowing you to do that.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I may show you, walk you through it, but I'm also gonna observe and make sure that you can comfortably do it.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um but we also do car seat safety checks too.
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're not sure if your car seat is installed properly, um that's something that we can do as well to check to make sure that it is, you know, again, rather be safe than sorry.
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 23:09
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'll put those links in the show notes so that people can go find their local person that can help them do these safety checks.
• 23:17
  SPEAKER_01: And I've watched them several times, and they are a very cool thing to do.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_01: So we talked about looking at the right car seats.
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got four different types of car seats that it is important to find the right car seat for your child, determining when is the time to switch your child, so being aware of their weight, their size, and what's recommended in that seat.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: And then lastly, looking at some of your resources, manufactured information, it's an important one, knowing what the recalls are, that one's important as well.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: So, what would be the call to action for a safe ride for your children that you would give out there, Ashley?
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I would encourage you if you have a car seat or if you know someone with one, go ahead and locate the manufacturer's information and make sure that you know the expiration date.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, again, manufacturer's information can be found either on the underside of the car seat shell or it may be located on the side where the labels are.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: But just make sure that you can pinpoint where they are and find what the expiration date is.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: You may be surprised one of your car seats that you have in your vehicle may already be expired.
• 24:30
  SPEAKER_01: So that's important to know, and it's important like anything else to keep your children safe.
• 24:36
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you, Ashley, for sharing with us what a safe ride and how that looks important.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: So if you've got questions, we would be happy to answer those.
• 24:46
  SPEAKER_01: You can send me a DM at Sack and Tit and I'll pass them along to Ashley.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you guys for joining us on this episode of Sack and Tit.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: That brings us to the end of this episode of Sack and Turtle.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_01: Head on over on the right and subscribe to another episode.