How to Properly Fit an Infant in a Car Seat

Motor vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of accidental death of children in Arkansas. Yet, 90% of car seats are used incorrectly! Correctly used child restraint systems are 71% effective in preventing fatalities for infants​. The goal of these instructions is to educate parents and caregivers on the proper fitting of an infant in a car seat and ultimately keep infants safer while traveling.

Other resources for infant and child passenger safety include National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) (https://www.nhtsa.gov/), American Academy of Pediatrics​, SAFE KIDS Worldwide ​(https://ucsg.safekids.org/)

Read the manufacturer's guide book for your specific car seat. Each manufacturer's guidelines may be slightly different. Ensure that your infant meets the height and weight requirements for their car seat. After reading the guide book, familiarize yourself with the parts of your car seat (see the photo above on the left of labeled car seats parts for reference).

*If you do not have the manufacturer's guide book, each car seat should have labels with the height and weight information (see the photos above on the right for reference).

Place the infant in the car seat. Ensure there is no other items under the infant or anywhere in the car seat that did not come with the car seat at the time of purchase. After placing the infant in the seat, visualize the harness straps. The straps should be coming from a harness slot that is at or below the infant's shoulders.

If the harness straps are coming from above the infants shoulders, they will need to be lowered to the next lowest harness slot (see attached document for additional instructions on adjusting the harness straps).

*In the winter, do not place an infant in the car seat with a big, puffy jacket or outfit on. This can alter your ability to tighten the straps properly.

Buckle the chest clip together. Adjust the chest clip so that it is positioned on the infant's breastbone - approximately level with their armpits.

Buckle the bottom buckle that is located in between the infants legs. Ensure that there is not any slack/excess harness strap around the infant's hips.

Pull the harness adjuster strap (circled in red in the photo above) to remove any excess slack from the harness straps. The straps should be tight enough, but you should still be able to fit one finger under the straps around the infant's shoulders.

Try to pinch the harness straps (as shown in the photo above on the left). If you can pinch up the harness straps at all, then they are too loose. Tighten the straps again using the harness adjuster until you can no longer pinch the fabric on the harness straps.

The photo above illustrates the proper fitting of an infant in a car seat.

Remember the key fitting points:

1. Harness straps at or below the infant's shoulders
2. Buckle the chest clip at armpit level
3. Ensure the harness straps are not too loose by performing a pinch test

Decide which method of installation that you prefer to use - seatbelt vs lower anchors. Refer to the manufacturer's guide book & car seat labels for assistance with installation. Locate the seatbelt or lower anchors within each car that the car seat will be installed in (circled in red in the photo above).

**You DO NOT need to use BOTH the seatbelt & anchors, it is either one or the other. Also, there is not one method that is safer than the other. The safest option is the the one that can be done correctly each and every time.

Infant car seats should ALWAYS be placed rear facing in the back seat of the vehicle. Refer to the manufacturer's guidelines for installation with or without a base. Install the car seat using your preferred method of installation.

*The photo above shows installation without a base.

Each car seat should have some type of recline indicator on the side. (Most often they are either a line or a level.) Adjust the car seat so that the line is level with the ground.

Test the movement of the car seat once it is installed. The car seat should not move more than one inch side-to-side or front-to-back at the belt path or anchor points (depending on the chosen method of installation).

Once all these steps are completed, the infant should be properly fitted into the car seat and ready for transport!