Common car seat questions answered

A recent news headline broke my heart: “Toddler riding on mom’s lap killed by airbag after pickup hits utility pole near Dallas Love Field.” Reading this headline after recently having a discussion with my brother about his decision to turn my not quite one-year-old nephew forward-facing led me to Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Julie Smith R.N. to clear up some common car seat misconceptions. My questions are in bold, followed by Julie’s responses.

My brother just recently turned his 11-month-old son forward facing because “he weighs 22 lbs?” What is the current recommendation on when an infant or child can face forward in the car?
The latest recommendation is as follows: keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. It’s the best way to keep him safe and protects from head, neck and spine injuries. Keep the infant/child rear-facing to the maximum height or weight limits on the seat, which should be at least age 2. 

How exactly do I install the car seat?

Virginia and her husband

For first time mom Virginia Gonzalez the day when she’ll get to meet her baby boy is almost here.

After taking classes to prepare her for delivery and to learn infant CPR, Gonzalez decided she wanted a bit of extra hands-on training installing the car seat. “I was worried about not doing it correctly based on the video,” said Gonzalez, a nurse at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford. “It’s hard enough just trying to figure out how to work with the stroller and car seat. It’s hard to know if you have it correct.”

So she enlisted the help of Julie Smith, R.N. MS, Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor at Texas Health HEB. Smith said that most car seats are not installed correctly, which can be a danger to the baby in the event of a crash.