CHOOSE A SEAT HOW TO INSTALL COMMON ERRORS FREQUENT QUESTIONS THE LAW RESOURCES
Common Errors
Spanish Hmong Somali

You may have heard that 80 percent of child car seats are installed incorrectly. This sounds alarming, but in fact, the most common errors are simple ones that can be easily corrected:

Problem: Turning a child from a rear-facing restraint to a forward-facing restraint too soon.
Solution: Keep children in a rear-facing car safety seat until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat's manufacturer (The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping children rear-facing until 2 years old if possible.)

Problem: The harness straps are too loose.
Solution: Tighten harness straps so they are snug against the child.

Problem: The retainer clip on the chest harness is too low.
Solution: Slide the clip to the baby's or child's armpit level.

Problem: The child car seat is too loose.
Solution: The seat should not move more than an inch from side-to-side or front-to-back. If it does, have another person push down firmly on the child car seat while you tighten the vehicle belt, or kneel on the seat yourself while you tighten the belt. If the seat is in a forward-facing position, adding the top tether strap will help secure it.

Problem: The child is in the wrong seat for their size.
Solution: Don’t rush your child into a bigger car seat or seat belt. Follow your car seat instruction manual or seat label for your seat's weight and height limits.

Protect children from traffic injuries. You can do it!

Content provided by the Minnesota Safety Council, AAA Clubs of Minnesota, Safe Kids Minnesota and the
Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Office of Traffic Safety.