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The most important cargo you'll ever transport is your children.
It's crucial to ensure you have their car seats installed properly, safely, and securely throughout all of their different growth and developmental stages, from car seat, to booster seat, to seat belt.
With twins in tow, you've got double the seats, double the anchors, and double the lives to protect. Taking the time to thoroughly review your vehicle's safety set-up is an incredibly worthwhile investment.
While the initial set-up of any new car seat tends to be the most involved, it's a good idea to get into the habit of reviewing things periodically to make sure no adjustments are needed as your children continue to grow.
No matter how rushed or frazzled you might feel on any given day, you'll never regret taking an extra minute to slow down and ensure everyone is as safe as they can be.
Capping off Child Passenger Safety Week in Canada and the United States, National Seat Check Saturday falls on the third Saturday in September. This important day focuses on keeping child passengers of all ages safe while traveling on the road with parents and caregivers every day of the year.
Car seats save lives
Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death in Canadian children, so it stands to reason that properly using child safety seats while on the road is the number-one preventative measure in stopping injury and death in young children.
According to the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada, an organization that promotes child passenger safety through public education, advocacy, and training, "a recent roadside study found that 99 percent of kids were buckled, but that 73 percent of car seats were used or installed incorrectly, 30 percent of kids in booster seats did not meet the 40-pound weight minimum, and 52 percent of kids in seat belts did not fit safely without a booster seat."
The study also found that "a properly used seat can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent."
Two of the biggest things you can do to ensure the safety of your child passengers include making sure your twins are safely buckled into their seats every time they ride in a vehicle and verifying that their car seats meet your country's safety standards.
The right fit, every time
Be sure your little ones are in the correct type of safety seat for their height, weight, fit, and development. These specifications will be outlined for your particular make and model of car seat, so make sure to verify this as your children grow.
This is why it's imperative to always follow the installation directions and safety specifications set out in both your car seat owner manual and your vehicle owner manual. If you're ever unsure if things are set up properly, ask for assistance.
Investing in and installing a car seat properly means ensuring you have the right fit for your little ones.
There are three types of car seats:
- Rear-facing seats;
- Forward-facing seats; and
- Booster seats.
Whatever mode you must go with, rest assured that all car seats are designed to meet the same federal safety standards.
Make sure you know when it's safe to move them from rear-facing to forward-facing, from forward-facing to a booster seat, and from a booster seat to, eventually, just a seat belt. You can find tons of helpful information on car seat safety and restraints, here.
The specifications will vary across car seat models, but, in general, from birth to approximately age three, your twins will use rear-facing car seats. We really liked the Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat & Base for our twins.
Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat & Base
This is the Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat and Base. It's a rear-facing seat for infants ranging from four to 30 pounds. The click and connect bases allow you to easily remove the seats with the press of a single button.
Once your twins outgrow the rear-facing seats, they'll upgrade to forward-facing car seats, which they'll use until they're around five years old. We're currently using the Graco TrioGrow SnugLock 3-in-1 Car Seat with Anti-Rebound Bar, and we've been very impressed with them so far.
Graco TrioGrow SnugLock 3-in-1 Car Seat with Anti-Rebound Bar
This is Graco's TrioGrow SnugLock 3-in-1 Car Seat. It has an anti-rebound bar for rear-facing installation. This seat can also be installed forward-facing when your twins reach the correct height and weight thresholds.
After outgrowing the forward-facing seats, your twins will move on to a booster seat (we've heard amazing things about the Chicco KidFit ClearTex Plus 2-in-1 Belt-Positioning Booster Car Seat), until the vehicle's seat belts fit correctly.
A properly-fitting seat belt has a lap belt that lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and a shoulder belt that lays across the chest (not the neck).
...don't rush your twins into the next stage of safety or booster seat before they're actually ready and meeting the specified upper height and weight rating restrictions for their restraints.
While it can be easy to give in to peer pressure from well-meaning friends or family members to hurry your kids along to the next "big-kid" seating arrangement, don't rush your twins into the next stage of safety or booster seat before they're actually ready and meeting the specified upper height and weight rating restrictions for their restraints.
This might mean you're switching from an infant rear-facing car seat to a convertible car seat that is first used in a rear-facing position and only moved to a forward-facing position once your children are tall or heavy enough to do so. It might mean more work, but it definitely means your kids are safer for it.
The reason you want your children to use a rear-facing car seat for as long as they can safely do so is because if you're in a front-end collision, which is the most likely scenario, a rear-facing seat allows your little one's head, neck, and spine to all move evenly into the seat, not away from it.
...if you're in a front-end collision, which is the most likely scenario, a rear-facing seat allows your little one's head, neck, and spine to all move evenly into the seat, not away from it.
Graco's car seat recommendation states that, "Children are safer riding rear-facing and should ride rear-facing as long as possible, until they reach the maximum rear-facing height or weight rating for their car seat. Then, children should ride forward-facing, using the built-in harness system as long as possible, until they reach the maximum forward-facing weight or height for their car seat. Be sure to check your local and state or provincial laws, as well as AAP and NHTSA recommendations for car seat usage."
Know when it's time to make adjustments
Know the height and weight restrictions of your car seats, so that as your kids grow, you'll know when it's time to make safety adjustments to their seating arrangements.
Once your twins outgrow their rear-facing convertible seat restrictions, they should move into forward-facing car seats with a five-point safety harness and top tether. Be sure to adjust the height of the harness and the tilt of the seat, so it sits more upright, as outlined in the seat's manual. All forward-facing seats must have the top tether attached to the corresponding anchor point.
Forward-facing seats can be securely installed in a vehicle by using the lower anchors and tethers for children (LATCH) system plus a top tether or by using the seat belt plus the top tether. If you use the seat belt method, guide the seat belt through the car seat along the belt path (arrows on the car seat or its label will outline the correct path to use).
Both the seat belt and LATCH method are safe, but they are not safe to use simultaneously. Choose whichever method gives the car seat a more snug fit while following the height and weight limits specified for the seat.
Both the seat belt and LATCH method are safe, but they are not safe to use simultaneously.
Only move from a forward-facing car seat to a booster seat with lap and shoulder belt once your children outgrow the weight and / or height limits outlined for your particular forward-facing seat.
This prolongs the protection of your passengers; a child in a forward-facing seat with a five-point harness and a top tether is safer than one who is in a booster seat with a lap and shoulder belt or one who is solely using a seat belt.
Conduct safety seat checks
National Seat Check Saturday serves as a reminder to remain vigilant when it comes to keeping all child passengers safe all year-round while traveling on the road with parents and caregivers.
While you wait for your little ones to reach the height and weight limits needed for the next seat upgrade, make the effort to conduct safety seat checks to ensure everything is set up as it should be.
If a car seat is installed properly, it shouldn't move more than one inch front to back or side to side when pulled. This holds true whether the seat is rear-facing or forward-facing and whether it's installed using the LATCH and top tether or seat belt and top tether method.
Other safety points to check include things such as:
- Proper use of the various features of your car seat Double-check you're properly using and have no twists in the harness slots and straps, the chest clip, the buckle, the harness adjuster button and straps, the tether strap, and the lower anchor attachments.
- The five-point harness is properly fitted Make sure the five-point harness is sitting securely along the shoulders, hips, and crotch.
- That it passes the pinch test Once the harness is buckeld and tightened, pinch the harness at the shoulder. If it's snug, your fingers will slide off of the material. If it's too loose, you will be able to pinch the harness webbing between your index finger and thumb. Keep tightening the harness until you pass the pinch test.
- The height of the harness slot compared to the shoulder straps Verify you're using the correct harness slots for the shoulder straps based on your twins' respective heights, and be aware if the straps should be sitting at or just below (or at or just above) the shoulder (this depends on whether yoru car seat is rear-facing or forward-facing.
- The placement and fit of the seat belt's shoulder strap with your booster seat Follow the guidelines on your booster seat; the seat belt's shoulder strap should fit across your little one's chest and on the shoulder, not across the face nor the neck. The lap belt should sit atop the legs or low on the hips, not across your child's stomach.
- That it passes the seat belt fit test Complete this test in every car your child will travel in. Place the seat belt over their shoulder and low on the hips; if your twins cannot fit properly or securely with only a seat belt, revert to the booster seat.
- Don't forget the child safety locks Once you switch your rear-facing car seats to be forward-facing, don't forget to activate your vehicle's child safety locks on the passenger doors; you don't want to be driving down the highway when your twins suddenly figure out how to maneuver the door handle and figure out all it can do. Your owner manual will direct you how to do activate the locks quickly.
- Don't be fooled by bulky jackets If you live in an area where the temperature plummets in the wintertime, chances are high your twins will be rocking winter jackets or heavy sweaters. These sorts of garments can be misleading when checking the fit of the harness because a lot of air can get trapped inside. It's best to adjust the fit of the harness while your twins' jackets are off and then re-coat up and re-buckle them in to ensure a fit that isn't too loose.
Stalled up on the installation?
There are certified child passenger safety technicians across the country who are trained to show parents and caregivers how to safely install and properly use car seats and booster seats in their vehicles.
Click here to find a car seat check station or technician near you in Canada.
Click here to find a car seat check station or technician near you in the United States.
Beyond Seat Check Saturday, Safe Kids coalitions hold car seat check-up events and inspections around the United States throughout the year.
Find an event near you or look for a certified child passenger safety technician who can help you.
Babies (and beyond) on board
The most important things you'll ever transport from Point A to Point B are your children.
Ensuring you have their car seats installed properly, safely, and securely is incredibly important.
Knowing the height and weight limit restrictions for your particular seats will allow you to be aware when your twins are ready to safely graduate to the next car seat stage.
Completing safety seat checks regularly will help keep all child passengers safe all year-round while traveling on the road with parents and caregivers.
How often do you conduct car seat safety checks? Do you have a checklist you follow as you review the set-up in your vehicle? Let us know in the Comments section below.
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