Question Car Seat Protector

This question is in regards to my 3 month old's car seat. I just got a Honda CR-V with leather interior. I went to put the car seat base in and it WILL NOT stay in place (my last vehicle had cloth seats and never had this problem)! I went to Google the problem to see if there were any solutions and all of the search results were about car seats ruining the leather with dents, etc - I hadn't even thought about this happening! There is a product Babys R Us sells called a car seat protector. From what I understand, it should protect the leather AND keep the car seat from sliding around; however, I wasn't sure if this was an acceptable product to use or if it even works. If it is safest not to use this product, I can deal with messed up leather in the backseat...it's going to get ruined at some point with kids anyway! But do you have any tips that could help me make sure the car seat doesn't slide around on the slick leather?

Hi there.

The seat protectors that claim to prevent dents and keep the seat from moving are not safe. For a few reasons.

First, even if you have something thin under the seat (a receiving blanket or pillowcase or thin towel is fine), the seat needs enough weight put on it so that it doesn't move. That usually means indentations, and they come out within a few hours or days. I hear conditioning the leather regularly will help with that.

Second, if the mat appears to offer grip, that grip is not crash worth. In a crash this thick mat will compress, the rubber that's on the underside (that's what offers the grip) will peel like double sided tape, and the seat is now moving far too much in a crash. That's why it's not safe.

What seat do you have, and were you installing with LATCH or the seatbelt? I'm sure we can help you troubleshoot the installation rather than need to move to a mat.

Wendy

Hi there!

I am a little less totally anti-mat than some (my advice is to check your car seat's manual to see what it says on the subject). But Wendy is 100% right that a mat will not safely solve your problem. If the only reason the car seat isn't moving is because there's a mat under it, then it is not installed correctly. A properly installed child restraint will not slide around excessively - not even on leather seats. Unfortunately, what happens with the mats is that it provides friction and fools you into thinking the seat is in correctly when it isn't. In a crash, that friction isn't going to do a single thing to keep the seat in place.

The first thing we need to do is get the seat installed correctly. Once that is done, and you know how to do it and how it feels, then you can evaluate whether you really want to deal with a mat (they are more hassle than they're worth in most cases, to be honest) and, if so, whether your car seat even allows a mat, and if it does, which mat(s) are approved for use with your seat.

Photos can often help with the troubleshooting process, if you have any. Other than that, the questions Wendy had for you are a good place to start.