When a child sits in their car seat, the only thing holding them in place is the seat's harness, so it is vital that that harness is correctly fitted and adjusted.
The harness should come out of the car seat's shell as close to the child's shoulders as possible. When the shoulders are between two height positions you need to choose the one just below the shoulders for rear facing and the one just above for forward facing.
In a rear facing car seat the shoulder straps should be level with, or just below the child's shoulders. This is especially important when the seat is reclined. It is the harness's job to hold the child in the seat and if the shoulder straps are too high, the child will slide up the seat's backrest in a crash which can cause head and neck injuries. Having the straps above the shoulders can be just as dangerous as the harness being too loose.
In a rear facing car seat the shoulder straps should be level with, or just below the child's shoulders. This is especially important when the seat is reclined. It is the harness's job to hold the child in the seat and if the shoulder straps are too high, the child will slide up the seat's backrest in a crash which can cause head and neck injuries. Having the straps above the shoulders can be just as dangerous as the harness being too loose.
Correct
Rear Facing Height The harness straps should be positioned snugly at or below the rear facing child’s shoulders, this will hold them down securely in a crash. |
Incorrect
Rear Facing Height If the harness is positioned above the shoulders, the rear facing child will slide upwards. |
Correct
Forward Facing Height In a forward facing car seat having the harness below the shoulders would allow the torso and the head to roll too far forward. If you are using a forward facing car seat, make sure that the shoulder straps are level with, or just above the shoulders. |
Adjusting the harness correctly
A car seat's harness will only be effective in a crash if it is tightly adjusted across the child's body. A loose harness allows movement in a crash which will cause unnecessary injuries, it enables the child to wriggle their arms out of the straps, and it can cause the child to be ejected from the seat altogether.
Get into the habit of loosening the straps before taking your child out of the seat. Not only does that make it much easier to put their arms back in next time, it also means that you will have to tighten them again correctly and can check that it isn't twisted when you put them back in.
After doing up the buckle, pull the shoulder straps up so that the straps lie flat on the child's hips. Then pull the adjuster strap at the bottom of the seat to tighten the shoulder straps. Make sure there are no twists in the harness. Don't worry about hurting your baby by 'over-tightening' the harness, this is virtually impossible. Finally pull down the chest pads, these are designed to stop the straps from sliding off the shoulders.
A car seat's harness will only be effective in a crash if it is tightly adjusted across the child's body. A loose harness allows movement in a crash which will cause unnecessary injuries, it enables the child to wriggle their arms out of the straps, and it can cause the child to be ejected from the seat altogether.
Get into the habit of loosening the straps before taking your child out of the seat. Not only does that make it much easier to put their arms back in next time, it also means that you will have to tighten them again correctly and can check that it isn't twisted when you put them back in.
After doing up the buckle, pull the shoulder straps up so that the straps lie flat on the child's hips. Then pull the adjuster strap at the bottom of the seat to tighten the shoulder straps. Make sure there are no twists in the harness. Don't worry about hurting your baby by 'over-tightening' the harness, this is virtually impossible. Finally pull down the chest pads, these are designed to stop the straps from sliding off the shoulders.
In this picture the straps are too low behind the baby's shoulders, they're twisted, too loose and falling off his shoulders.
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Here the harness has been moved to a higher
position, it is no longer twisted, it is tight and the chest pads have been pulled down. |
The harness is tight enough when you can fit no more than two fingers under the straps on the child's shoulders. There will always be a bit of a gap between the straps and the child's soft tummy, but as long as the straps are snug on the shoulders this is nothing to worry about.
Winter coats and car seats don't mix
When the weather outside is cold, you obviously want to make sure your little one is wrapped up warm. But wearing thick padded clothes like winter coats and snow suits in the car seat, will stop the harness from protecting them effectively. Over a padded winter coat it is simply impossible to adjust the straps tight enough. Even if the harness seems tight, it won't be effective in a crash. The padding in winter coats is full of air and in a crash the padding will be compressed, which means the harness won't be as tight as it seemed.
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Wearing a winter coat in the car seat also makes it easier for children to wriggle out of the straps, because there will be enough room between the straps and their chest for them to push their arms through. And it is usually quite a bit warmer in the car than it is outside, so wearing a thick coat can make the child too hot. When it is too cold to be in the car without an extra layer, you can put a blanket over your child on top of the correctly adjusted harness, or put their coat on back to front over the straps, as I have shown in the last picture..
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