Can an Infant Car Seat Be Placed in Front Seat?

As children grow out of their car seats for infants, they can move to convertible or all-in one car seats. These car seats are available in both forward-facing and rear-facing models, but they must meet certain weight and age requirements.

Car seats should not be placed on top of a car seat with airbags, since the force of the airbag can be fatal for infants and children.

1. The 1.5 Inch Rule

Many parents wonder if the infant car seat can be placed in front of the driver's seat. The answer is always no. The reason is quite simple: If a crash occurs the child's head could be hit by an airbag while in the front seat. The result is that the airbag could injure or kill the baby.

This is the reason why infant car seats are designed to be rear-facing only. The seat's back rests against the rear of the car seat in the event of a crash, providing the most effective protection for your baby.

Additionally, a rear-facing car seat protects the neck and head of your child more than a forward-facing seat, which provides only minimal head and neck protection. The headrest prevents the child from sliding off the shoulder straps during a crash and the harness holds the chest clip above the shoulders of your child.

It is important to keep in mind that there are ZERO instances of children in car seats that face forwards breaking their legs after hitting the back of the front seat. This happens when a child's feet fly upwards and get stuck against the rear of the seat, which puts tremendous pressure on the bones of the leg. This is not something you should put your child in danger of.

There are numerous programs in the United States that provide infant car seats on sale car seats at a reduced price or for free to parents who qualify. This is a great chance to ensure that your child is in a safe car seat before they outgrow of it. It can be used for a number of years.

The majority of the modern infant car seats come with an adjustable base that they can click into and out of, making them much easier to use than older models. This feature is particularly useful for traveling with young children as it allows you to keep the car seat on and ready to go, even if you change vehicles.

Find the center of the car seat and measure with the aid of a tape. This space is a test that can be done with a variety of things, such as the blade of a key or length of earbuds wireless. Check the car seat's instructions and owners' manuals for the vehicle to determine if you can adjust the angle of the car seats newborn seat to eliminate this space.

2. Harness Position

Preemies and newborns frequently fall into a dangerous chin-to-chest posture in infant car seats, bouncy chairs, swings, strollers and other equipment for children. In a crash they can be injured by the chest clip or crushed by harness straps that are loose or not placed over their shoulders. To prevent this from happening, make sure that the straps on your shoulder start a bit lower and move up to the shoulders of your child and ensure that you tighten the straps. The straps must be tight enough to hold the excess fabric to each other. This is called the Pinch Test. Winter coats and other heavy outer layers could interfere with the Pinch Test, so be sure to remove them before you buckle your child into their seat.

The chest clip is designed to break during a crash, but it may cause a child's throat to collapse if it's too low or if the chest straps are loose. It's also important that the chest strap is not in the neck opening of the collar. the buckle should be positioned at armpit level.

During a crash, rear-facing infants are likely to slide off the seat, and the harness straps must be able to support the child's neck and head. It is essential to put the straps on the shoulders. If the straps are too high they may slide over the baby's ears or go through their neck opening, and if they're too loose, they could move towards the baby's nose.

Make sure the shoulder straps are at or above the shoulders of your child and they fit snugly. Infants may require an best infant carrier car seat insert (often included with the car seat) to lift them up so that their shoulders can reach the slot. Some Infant Car Seat In Front Seat car seats have built-in angle indicators or adjustors to aid in this process and you should always read the instructions that came with the seat.

3. Rear-Facing Only

While some parents may be tempted to flip their infant car seat around to face forward because of their child's legs becoming too short in the rear-facing position, there's really no reason why you should. Rear-facing is safer than forward-facing as the infant's neck and spine are protected in the event of an accident. Forward-facing children can suffer serious injuries because their bodies are thrown against the vehicle.

A majority of infant car seats include an angle indicator so that you can ensure the seat is correctly installed. Also, you should ensure that your child's head rests flat on the seat, and that the straps are placed over their shoulders rather than under their arms. To check if the harness is too tight, you should be able pinch a small amount of material at your child's shoulder. Examine the crotch strap to make sure it is at the same height as the armpits and not at the waist. It is also an excellent idea to go through the manual of your infant car seat to be aware of the proper method to use it with your child.

Most manufacturers recommend that children sit rear-facing in their car seats until they are at least one year old or until they reach the height and weight limit of their particular car seat. Certain states have laws that require infants to be rear-facing for a minimum of two years.

Install the infant car seat on the middle seat of a car with only one back seat. This will allow you to see your child comfortably through the rearview mirror without having to bend over. Installing the car seat on the driver's side can make it easier to get your child in and out of the seat.

If you own a car with two rear seats, you can install the infant car seat on either side as long as it's not behind the passenger side airbag. If you must decide between installing an infant car seat on the left or the right side of your vehicle, put it on the driver’s side.

4. Booster Seats

Children who have outgrown their infant car seat due to weight and height will require a booster until the vehicle's seat belt fits them properly. This can only be done when the child is at least 4'9" tall and has reached the top rated baby car seats of the headrest.

Booster seats help to position the lap and shoulder belt properly. Booster seats also help reduce how far the neck of a child moves during collisions, reducing the chance of injury. Head movement is the most common cause of motor vehicle crashes that are the top deaths of children aged 4-8.

If the booster is not used correctly the lap portion of the belt can travel up to the abdomen of a child and cause severe injuries in a crash. This can be prevented by using a booster that has lap belt guides that prevent the lap belt from sliding over arm rests or sliding onto a child's stomach.

A lot of boosters come with small handles, armrests, or guide slots that help to place the lap belt low and flat over a child's upper thighs. This will ensure that the lap belt starts and remains on the child's strong hipbones instead of slipping upwards into their abdominal area during an accident.

Some booster seats are also equipped with an automatic seat belt locking mechanism to keep the seat belt in place when the child is in it. This will help prevent the lap belt from slipping up over a child's abdomen. This can also help to keep the seat belt from being pulled across the face of a child, which could result in hypoxia and airway obstruction, as also neck strain.