Using a car seat is the number one step in helping to assure the safety of your child in a car. However just having a car seat is not adequate in itself: the car seat has to be used, and it must be used the right manner. Here are some helpful suggestions to help assure that your children will be as safe as possible in their car seats.

- Always be certain to read and understand the manufacturer's recommendations on the proper use of your car seat. Improper car seat usage is the main reason for car seat failure. Also completely read the owner's manual for your car as it relates to the usage of car seats. Most owner's manuals have specific instructions for car seat usage and these instructions should always be given the utmost consideration.

- To increase the safety of your child, only install the car seat in the rear set of your vehicle, not in the front seat. Ideally, you should put the car set in the middle of the rear seat to maximize security against intrusion during side-impact collisions.

- If your car seat can only be installed in the front seat (perhaps there is no rear seat), only install it there if there is no front seat passenger airbag or if the airbag can be disabled. And then make sure that the airbag is indeed turned off. Never place a car seat in the front seat of a car when the passenger-side airbag is enabled.

- Keep your toddler/infant in their rear-facing car seat for as long as possible so long as they meet the size and weight standards for the car seat in that configuration. In general, it is safer for your children to be rear-facing.

- When you place your child in their car seat, make sure the harness fits snugly and always use the chest strap. The chest strap should go across the chest as per the manufacturer's instructions. If the chest strap is too low, your child may not be secure in an accident. If the strap is too high, it may crush your child's neck in an accident.

- As soon as your child exceeds the maximum height or weight for their car seat, they should use a booster seat until the seat belt fits them correctly. Usually this is until they are about 4' 9" tall or 80 pounds. Check your vehicle owner's guide for the specifics with your car. When it does fit correctly, the shoulder belt should fit over the shoulders, not the neck, and the lap belt should fit across the hips, not the stomach.

- After you believe you have the car seat correctly put in, have the car seat installation checked by a certified car seat technician. This can usually be done in minutes at no cost. Check http://www.seatcheck.org/ to discover the nearest seat check location to you.

- If possible, avoid used car seats unless you know the history and age of the car seat. Do not use car seats older than five years old, or car seats that have been involved in an accident. Make sure that used car seats have all of their labels with the manufacturing information, manufacturing date, and model number. In addition, make sure that the instructions are available; never buy a car seat without the manufacturer's manual.

- If your automobile comes with the LATCH system for car seats, get LATCH-compatible car seats. Using the LATCH system makes for easier installation, leading to increased security and reduced chance of installation mistakes. Despite this, the installation should still be looked at by a certified car seat technician.

- Check the web site for the manufacturer for your automobile. Often times, automobile manufacturer's website will list, on a per-model basis, the car seats they recommend for use in their vehicles.