Are you a parent in the Milwaukee area and have a child in a car seat?  If so, one of the most important things you can do is making an appointment for a car seat check-up.  Unfortunately, statistics show that four out of five car seats are installed incorrectly and that parents are unaware of this!  The most common problem with car seat use is not getting the seat tight enough in the vehicle.  A second problem is not having the harness tight enough or not having it in the correct location (for example: too high or too low). 

1.  When you buckle the car seat into the car, you should not be able to pull the back of the car seat forward from the top.  And, I’m saying not at all.  Most people will install a car seat and then jiggle it side to side to see if it’s tight.  That’s not the direction you should be worried about; instead it’s the forward/backward motion that you want to be concerned with.  The easiest way to ensure the tightest fit is to buckle the car seat in and then place your knee in the car seat, where you child’s bottom will go.  Now, pull the seat belt strap through the buckle as tight as you can.  After doing that, when grabbing it from the top, you shouldn’t be able to move the car seat forward at all.   

2.  Remember that the harness buckle should be at the same height as your child’s armpits; it shouldn’t be toward the neck (too high) or near the belly button (too low). 

Take the time to ensure you are doing these two things correctly, and then call to schedule your car seat check-up.  The peace of mind you will get from visiting with an expert in car seat safety is worth the small investment of time you will make.    

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