Benjamin Roberts Law Law | Sep 21 2026 13:00

Child Passenger Safety Week runs September 20–26, 2026, and it ends with National Seat Check Saturday on September 26. For Houston families, it is a good week to spend ten minutes in the driveway checking how the kids ride.

 

Most caregivers believe their car seat is installed correctly. Most of the time, something is off. Texas Children’s Hospital’s injury prevention program reports that four out of five car seats are installed or used incorrectly. The mistakes are usually small: a loose base, a twisted strap, a chest clip that has slid down to the belly. Small mistakes matter in a crash.

 

The numbers behind this week are hard. According to NHTSA, in 2023 an average of two children under 14 were killed and 345 were injured every day in crashes while riding in passenger vehicles, and 43% of the children killed were not restrained at all. A properly used car seat or booster is the single most effective safety measure a parent controls.

Whether you are driving the Loop at rush hour or three blocks to school, the checklist is the same.

Match the Seat to the Child, Not the Calendar

 

Car seats are built for stages: rear-facing, forward-facing with a harness, booster, and finally the vehicle’s seat belt. Each stage has height and weight limits printed on the seat’s label and in its manual.

The most common error is moving up too soon. A child who is turned forward-facing early, or moved to a booster before the harness limits are reached, gives up protection for the head, neck, and spine. There is no prize for graduating early. Keep each stage until the child outgrows it by height or weight, whichever comes first.

Children grow fast, and a setup that was right last fall may be wrong now. Check the label at the start of each school year.

 

Installation: Tight Is the Test

 

A quality seat installed loosely is not a quality seat. Whether you use the LATCH anchors or the vehicle seat belt, the base should not move more than one inch side to side or front to back when you pull at the belt path. If it shifts more than that, it needs to be tightened or reinstalled.

Other common problems: using both LATCH and the seat belt when the manual says to use one, installing a rear-facing seat at the wrong recline angle, and placing a seat in front of an active airbag. The manual for the seat and the manual for the vehicle both matter. When they are unclear, ask for help rather than guessing.

 

Check the Harness Before Every Ride

 

A properly installed seat still has to be used correctly on every trip. Straps should lie flat with no twists. Rear-facing, the harness should come from at or below the child’s shoulders; forward-facing, at or above. Pull the harness snug until you cannot pinch any slack at the collarbone. The chest clip belongs at armpit level, not on the stomach.

Bulky coats create hidden slack. In a crash, the coat compresses and the harness is suddenly loose. On cold Houston mornings (there are a few), buckle the child first and put the coat or a blanket over the harness.

 

Do Not Ditch the Booster Too Early

 

Booster seats are the stage families abandon first, and often too soon. A seat belt is designed for an adult body. On a small child, the lap belt rides up onto the abdomen and the shoulder belt cuts across the neck. In a crash, that can cause serious abdominal and spinal injuries.

Texas law requires a child younger than eight to ride in a car seat or booster unless the child is taller than 4 feet 9 inches ( Texas Transportation Code § 545.412). That is a floor, not a target. The real test is fit: the child sits all the way back against the seat, knees bend at the edge of the cushion, the lap belt lies across the upper thighs, and the shoulder belt crosses the middle of the chest and shoulder. If any of that fails, the child still needs a booster, regardless of age.

And every child under 13 belongs in the back seat.

 

Get a Free Car Seat Check in Houston

 

Even careful parents benefit from a second set of trained eyes. Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will check the installation, correct problems on the spot, and show you how to do it yourself next time. In the Houston area:

  • Texas Children’s Hospital / Safe Kids Greater Houston offers free car seat checks by appointment at the main hospital (7200 Cambridge St.) and at more than a dozen fire and police stations across the region, including Katy, Sugar Land, Pearland, Spring, and Tomball. Call 832-822-2277 to schedule. Bring the child and the vehicle the seat will ride in, and plan on about 30 minutes. Details and locations.
  • Harris County Sheriff’s Office coordinates its child seat inspections through Safe Kids Greater Houston at the same number.
  • Texas DSHS Safe Riders keeps a statewide calendar of checkup events and permanent inspection stations.

National Seat Check Saturday is September 26, 2026, and many stations add hours or events that day. Appointments fill quickly. Call early in the week.

 

Make It a Habit, Not a Holiday

 

Child Passenger Safety Week is a reminder, not a finish line. The protective habits are simple: tug the base before you buckle, pinch-test the harness, keep the chest clip at armpit level, and recheck the seat’s limits every time the child hits a growth spurt or changes stages. A few seconds at the curb is cheap insurance.

 

No parent wants to think about what happens after a crash. But if one does happen, questions about how everyone in the car was restrained will come up quickly, usually from an insurance adjuster. Our attorneys started their careers defending insurance companies, so we know how those questions are framed and what they are meant to accomplish. If your family has been hurt in a Houston-area crash caused by someone else, Benjamin Roberts Law, PLLC will walk you through your options in plain English. Call 713-609-1898 or contact us online.