Common Car Seat Mistakes

I got to spend some time this weekend with fellow About.com Guide Heather Corley. She is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician and a Safe Kids local chapter director. But these activities are not just professional for her, I learned as I spoke with her. She has a very personal passion for car seat safety.

One of the things we talked about was how often car seats are installed (or otherwise used) incorrectly. I know the statistics (the NHTSA says 4 out of 5 are used incorrectly) but Heather's been part of car seat safety events for quite some time and she said in all that time, she's only seen one car seat installed perfectly.

I can see why, too, when parents have one or two car seats that go back and forth between mom, dad, aunts, uncles, babysitters and grandparents. The chance of a poor install goes up every time you remove and replace the seat from your car. I know there were some times when I'd put my son's seat back in and think, "This is not going in the same way it did last time. What's the deal? What am I doing different?"

And it's not just the way you put the seat in that matters, either. The items you use with your car seat (like custom covers) and other factors can affect your seat's safety as well. Read about the most common car seat mistakes and how to avoid them or read some of the articles below to keep your car seat as safe as it can be.

More on Car Seat Safety:

• Should I Move my Toddler to a Booster Seat?
• When Should I Use the Top Tether?
• Are Custom Car Seat Covers Safe?
• Do I Have to Buy an Infant Only Car Seat for my Newborn?
• Can I Use LATCH and a Seat Belt to Install the Car Seat?
• Do Car Seats Expire?