Child car seats

Ensuring your child is safely and properly restrained while traveling in your vehicle is critical. However, installing a child car seat can sometimes be confusing and difficult.

Make the process a little easier by searching Transport Canada’s car seat comprehensive information source.

Find details about how seats perform in collisions, Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, seat types, how to select and buy a new or used seat, and even common installation errors.

Provincial standards and tips can be found at saferoads.alberta.ca and the Alberta Occupant Restraint Program

Clinics

NOTE: Inspection clinics previously held at fire stations no longer exist in many communities. St. John Ambulance developed a 2-hour parent orientation session that is free of charge to the public. Parents can register for these sessions on how to properly install their child restraint system. However, spots are limited and advance registration is required.

For questions and to register, call (780) 452-6161 or visit the St. John Ambulance website.

Other Locations:
Future dates for Calgary, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat and Red Deer are being planned. They will be posted when finalized.

Notices

Public notices are issued regarding certain seats, notifying consumers about potential defects and child car seat recalls. Visit Transport Canada’s website to view a list of safety notices. If you are unable to find the notice you’re looking for, try searching by seat brand.

New standards for child car seats came into place on January 1st 2012. These changes primarily effect  the manufacturers of the seats. Seats manufactured before that date are still safe to use, however they can no longer be sold.

Choosing and Installing the seat

What kind of infant seat or child car seat is best?

All infant and child car seats must meet strict safety regulations. Proof must be displayed on the child car seat in the form of a label that states the item meets Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards: CMVSS 213 – do not buy a seat without this label.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions to find what’s appropriate for the child’s weight and height.

I want to place my rear-facing infant seat in the passenger seat, but it is equipped with an air bag. Will the air bag affect the child seat?

An expanding air bag could seriously injure or kill a child in a rear-facing infant seat. Transport Canada recommends that rear facing infant seats be placed in the rear seat instead of the front, in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations. 

The base of the child car seat is not held tightly in place by the seatbelt. What causes this?

The manually adjusted seatbelt buckle may be sitting vertically when installed through the base of the child car seat. As a result, the locking bar inside the buckle is not able to grip the belt. Twist the belt once and buckle it upside down. Check for a secure attachment by applying pressure in all directions on the seat.

Some slippage at the base may occur when a continuous loop seatbelt is used to secure the child car seat. This type of seatbelt has a metal tongue that slides along the length of the belt. It requires the use of a locking clip to keep the metal tongue from moving and loosening the belt. The seatbelt should lock in a collision but the child car seat could work loose during sharp turns or swerves. Check the manufacturer’s instructions to see if a locking clip is required and follow directions for its use. Locking clips are required in most situations where this type of seatbelt is used with a child car seat.  

As the child gets older

When is it safe to put my child forward-facing?

There are three factors parents need to be aware of when deciding to change the direction their child faces:

• Manufacturer’s instructions - indicate a height and weight recommendation.  If you do not follow these instructions, the seat may not hold together in a crash.  Check height and weight recommendations carefully before a purchase as there are now seats on the market that can be used up to 40 pounds rear-facing and 65 pounds forward-facing. 
• Alberta law – drivers must transport any child under 18 kg. (40 pounds) and six years in a child car seat that conforms to Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and that the seat must be used according to manufacturer’s guidelines.
• Best Practice (based on injury research) – Because an infant’s head is much larger proportionally than an adult’s, placing an infant forward-facing puts them at increased risk of spinal cord injuries from the head whipping forward in a frontal or rear collision. Keeping them rear facing allows the head, neck and back to be supported by the back of the child seat. They must always be in a seat appropriate for their weight and they must remain rear facing until a minimum of 9 kg. (22 pounds). It is safest if parents wait until the child is a minimum of 10 kg (22lbs), one year of age and walking independently before turning them forward. 

Injury research shows that children are safest facing the rear as long as possible, in the middle of the back seat.  

What if my child is too tall for his/her child seat but weighs less than 40 pounds?

Children are safest in a forward-facing car seat until a minimum of 18 kg and the Alberta law requires this. Do not move a child to a booster seat before they are 18 kg, as this is both illegal and unsafe.

• Booster seats are not designed to be used before 18 kg and therefore do not protect a child as well as car seats. Car seats have an internal harness that holds the child in the seat, while booster seats simply place the child in a better position for the adult designed seatbelt to work more efficiently. Many new seats can be used for children as a forward-facing car seat until the child is 18 kg (or more) and then converted to use as a booster seat. Some are available for children up to 132 centimetres tall. 

Why is it not safe to put my six-year-old in a seatbelt?

Seatbelts are designed to fit adult sized bodies. They are designed to fit across the shoulder, chest, and hips so that these bony areas will absorb the force of a crash.  When a child is too small for a seatbelt, it goes across the neck and over the abdomen, which could cause life-threatening injuries to the internal organs and spine in a crash. Using a booster seat solves this problem. It raises the child up so that the seat belt fits the child’s body properly.

How do I know when to move my child into a seat belt?

When the seat belt fits your child well, it is safe to place them in a seatbelt, but keep your child in a booster seat until they are at least 9 years old, 80 pounds or 4'9" tall. 

Five questions that determine readiness for the seatbelt are:

• Does the child sit all the way back against the vehicle seat?
• Do the child’s knees bend comfortably at the front edge of the vehicle seat?
• Does the belt cross the shoulder between the neck and the arm?
• Is the lap belt as low as possible, touching the thighs?
• Can the child stay seated like this for the whole trip?

Properly used seatbelts and child car seats greatly reduce injury and death in motor vehicle collisions. Seatbelts reduce the risk of death by 40 to 50 per cent and reduce the risk of serious injury by 45 to 55 per cent. Child car seats reduce the risk of death and major injury by about 70 per cent. These devices are more effective than any other road safety measure. In a crash at 50 km/h, a four to five kg. (10 pound) infant will be ripped from a belted adult’s arms with a force of 91 kg. (210 pounds). Nearly 25 per cent of the injuries suffered by children involving motor vehicles, result from non-crash incidents such as sudden stops, swerves, turns, or child’s movement within the vehicle. Proper use of an approved child car seat can eliminate most of these occurrences. Seats made for use in countries other than Canada are not legal for use in Canada. Buy seats that have a CMVSS (Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standards) maple leaf sticker affixed. All Canadian provinces require children to use a seatbelt or a child car seat. Most provinces have passed legislation requiring the use of booster seats. Seatbelts and child restraints are unparalleled in saving lives and reducing injuries.  Manufacturers design and test their products and notify Transport Canada that the products meet or exceed the standards. Transport Canada tests seats on a random basis and upon suspicion of a safety-related defect. 70 per cent of motor vehicle collisions occur within 65 kilometres of home. Misuse of a child car seat can nullify its benefit, leaving the child at risk of injury in a collision. Passenger vehicles manufactured after Jan. 1, 1989, must have pre-drilled tether anchorage locations. Check your owner’s manual to determine their placement. Most cab companies have installed anchorages in their vehicles. When you arrange for a cab and are taking your child and child car seat, request such a cab.