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Dad Field Manual · Field card 113 · New Dads & Babies

Install the infant car seat and check it like a pro

The first ride home from the hospital is the first time the car seat matters, so get it right before the due date. In about an hour you'll have the seat installed, tested and registered, and a certified technician lined up to check your work.

Time
1 hour
Cost
$0 to check
Ages
Newborn to 1
Where
Your driveway

What you need

  • A rear-facing infant car seat with a label showing its date and model number
  • The car seat manual and your vehicle owner's manual
  • The seat's registration card, or your phone for online registration
  • A doll or rolled towel to practice the harness on

Read this first

  • Never put a rear-facing seat in front of an active airbag. AAP says an inflating airbag hits the back of the seat, right at the baby's head.
  • Skip a seat with an unknown history, cracks, missing parts or labels, no instructions, a recall, or a moderate or severe crash behind it.
  • No bulky coats or snowsuits under the harness. They squash in a crash and leave the straps too loose.
  • In a crash or emergency, call 911. For a baby who needs special positioning, ask your pediatrician.

Steps

  1. Read both manuals first. Read the car seat manual and the vehicle manual: lower anchors, seat belt locking, allowed positions.
  2. Base in the back, facing the rear. Base in the back seat, rear-facing, in the spot where it installs tightest.
  3. Tighten it and do the 1-inch test. Press down and tighten. At the belt path, it moves less than 1 inch side to side or front to back.
  4. Check the angle. Set the recline indicator for a newborn, click in the carrier and tug to confirm it's locked.
  5. Practice the harness and the pinch test. Straps at or below the shoulders, no slack you can pinch, chest clip at armpit level.
  6. Book a free inspection. Find a free certified technician with NHTSA's inspection locator, and have them check your install.
  7. Register the seat. Register the seat with the maker and sign up for NHTSA recall alerts.

If it stalls

  • If you can't get it under 1 inch of movement, try the other method (lower anchors or seat belt) or a different seating position, then take it to a technician.
  • If the baby slumps sideways, rolled blankets can go on each side of the shoulders and head. Never put padding under or behind the baby unless the seat maker made it for that seat.
Inspected on · registered on
Signed off: can do this.Signed by Date