Car Seat Safety for Infants Outside the Car

When driving with your infant, car seat safety is critical. Once you leave your car, here’s important information to know. Although car seats have saved many babies’ lives, they can also be harmful for infants who sit in them in other locations besides the car.

In a study from the journal Pediatrics, researchers looked at injuries among infants below the age of one that were related to the use of car seats outside the vehicle. Parents should avoid setting car seats on shopping carts, washing machines, car roofs or trunks, or other elevated surfaces.

They recommend that if parents must set an infant in a car seat on an elevated surface, they should make sure the surface is firm, the child is restrained, the seat is well away from the edge, and they constantly supervise the child.