Employing a car seat is the first and most important step in helping to improve the security of your child in your automobile. But just owning a car seat is not enough in itself: the car seat has to be used, and it must be used the right way. Here are some tips to help assure that your child will be as safe as possible in their car seats.

- Always be certain to read and understand the manufacturer's recommendations on how to use the car seat properly. Incorrect car seat usage is the main cause of car seat failure. Also read the owner's manual for your vehicle concerning the use of car seats. Most car owner's manuals have detailed instructions for the installation of car seats and these instructions must always be given the utmost consideration.

- To optimize the safety of your kids, only place the car seat in the rear set of your car, never install the car seat in the front seat. Ideally, you should place the car set in the middle of the rear seat so that there is increased protection against intrusion during side-impact collisions.

- If your car seat must be used in the front seat (if there is no back seat), only use it if there is no front seat airbag or if the airbag can be disabled. And then make sure that the airbag is indeed turned off. Never use a car seat in the front seat of a vehicle when the passenger-side airbag is enabled.

- Keep your toddler in their rear-facing car seat for as long as they meet the size and weight requirements for the car seat when it is rear-facing. In most accidents, it is safer for your kids to be rear-facing.

- When you put your child in the car seat, be certain that the harness fits snugly and be sure to use the chest strap. The chest strap should sit over the chest as per the manufacturer's instructions. If the chest strap is too low, your child may not be secure in the event of an accident. If the strap is too high, it may crush your child's neck in the event of an accident.

- Once 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. This is typically until they are about 80 pounds or 4' 9" tall. Check your vehicle owner's guide for the specifics with your vehicle. When it does fit properly, the shoulder belt should fit over the shoulders, not the neck, and the lap belt should fit across the hips, not the belly.

- Once you suppose you have your car seat properly put in, have it checked by a certified car seat technician. This can usually be done in minutes, usually at no charge. Check http://www.seatcheck.org/ to locate the nearest seat check location to you.

- Stay away from used car seats unless you know the history and age of the car seat. Do not buy car seats older than five years old, or car seats that have been 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 manual is available; never buy a car seat without the instruction manual.

- If your automobile comes with the LATCH system for car seats, make sure you buy LATCH-compatible car seats. Using the LATCH system makes car seat installation easier, more secure, and it is less likely that the car seats will be installed incorrectly. Still, the installation should still be looked at by a certified car seat technician.

- Go to the website of the manufacturer for your vehicle. Often times, automobile manufacturer's website will list, on a per-model basis, the car seats they recommend for use in their cars.