Slide show: Car seat safety — birth to age 4

You'd do anything to keep your child safe. You wouldn't think of taking a drive — even through the neighborhood — without buckling your child into his or her car seat. But is the car seat installed correctly? Does it provide the safest fit?

Check out this slide show to make sure.

There's no one-size-fits-all approach to car seats.

• Infant-only seats. These seats only face the rear. They offer the best fit for newborns.
• Convertible seats. These are larger and heavier than infant-only seats. They can be used in both rear-facing and forward-facing positions, depending on your child's age and weight. Convertible seats may not fit newborns as well as infant-only seats, but they can keep up with a growing child longer than the infant-only variety.
• Combination seats. These seats only face forward. They can be used with a harness when your child is age 1 and weighs at least 20 pounds. When your child reaches a certain weight, the harness can be removed, creating a belt-positioning booster seat.

The safest place for your child's car seat is the back seat. Before you install the seat, read both the manufacturer's instructions and the section on safety seats in the vehicle's owner's manual. Make sure the seat is tightly secured — allowing no more than 1 inch of movement from side to side or front to back — and facing the right direction.

Once the seat is installed, choose a safe spot to store the instructions — such as taped to the back of the seat.

To make sure you're notified of any safety recalls, submit the product registration card to the manufacturer. Also contact the manufacturer if you need a new instruction manual or want to register a car seat in another name.

Every time you head out, buckle up your newborn in proper form.

• Use the correct harness slots, as described in the seat's instruction manual. Thread the straps through both the shell and the pad, and flatten any twisted straps.
• Adjust the straps and harness to lie flat against your baby's chest and hips with no slack. Place the harness clip even with your baby's armpits.
• Recline the seat according to the manufacturer's instructions — usually at a 30- to 45-degree angle. If the seat has a carrying handle, make sure it's folded down when you're driving.

Look closely. Do you see the mistakes?

1. The strap is threaded incorrectly through the harness clip.
2. The chest strap is too loose. It needs to lie flat against the baby's chest with no slack.

This baby is bundled up in a bulky snowsuit — another common mistake. Harness straps may not provide enough protection over heavy clothing. The twisted straps and lowered harness also are problems.

If it's cold, save your baby's bulky outerwear for outdoors. In the car, dress your baby in a lightweight jacket and hat. Buckle the harness snugly and then tuck a blanket around your baby for warmth.

What's wrong with this picture? You got it. The baby belongs in the back seat.

Never place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat. If you have a passenger air bag, your baby could be seriously injured or killed if the air bag deploys.

Use a rear-facing position in the back seat at least until your baby has passed his or her first birthday and grown to a weight of 20 pounds or reached the rear-facing weight limit for a convertible car seat. Even when your baby switches to a forward-facing position, the back seat is still the safest spot in the car.

Convertible seats can be used in both rear-facing and forward-facing positions, depending on your child's age and weight. Whether you start with a convertible seat or switch from an infant-only seat to the convertible variety as your baby grows, proper use remains important.

In the rear-facing position:

• Use the harness slot that's at or slightly below your baby's shoulders, according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Thread the straps through both the shell and the pad.
• Place the harness or chest clip even with your child's armpits. Make sure the straps and harness lie flat against your baby's chest and over his or her hips with no slack.

When your child reaches at least age 1 and 20 pounds or the rear-facing weight limit of a convertible car seat, he or she is ready to face forward. If you have an infant-only seat, you'll need to invest in a new seat that faces forward.

In the forward-facing position:

• Place the seat upright.
• Use the tether strap — a strap that hooks to the top of the seat and attaches to an anchor in the vehicle — for extra stability.
• Adjust the harness straps so they're threaded at or above your child's shoulders, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Make sure the harness fits snugly with no slack.

Make sure your child remains in a car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the seat's weight limit — often 40 pounds.

Then it's time for a booster seat, which will help an adult safety belt fit correctly. Use the booster seat until your child weighs at least 80 pounds or reaches a height of 4 feet 9 inches.

Your child's years in a car seat can help set the stage for a lifetime of seat belt use. Remember to set a good example by wearing your seat belt, too.