Yet another report has come out relating some important car seat safety tips in observance of this week’s designation as National Child Passenger Safety Week. This time, the tips hail from an organization called Buckle Up For Life, which educates parents as to proper car seat installation techniques and provides families with safe units if they are in need. That group says that automobile collisions are the number one cause of fatalities among kids 13 and younger.
The agency explains a couple of tests that a parent can utilize in order to ensure they’re doing what they need to in terms of car seat installation. One is called The Inch Test. Basically, after the seat is installed, you pull the base of the seat near the belt to see if the unit moves in any direction. If you can get it to slide more than an inch, then the seat needs to be tightened.
With the seat installed, you next need to make sure your child is placed properly with something called The Pinch Test. Once the chest clip has been centered and the child is strapped in, see if you can pinch the straps near your child’s shoulders. Being able to pinch indicates that the straps aren’t tight enough, but if you can’t bunch the material in your thumb and forefinger, you should be good to go.