Virtual Interactive Instruction Just as Effective as in-person Instruction for Child Car Seat Installation

A study that sought to improve child car seat installation found that interactive virtual instruction was just as effective as in-person instruction. The study, “Interactive Virtual Presence to Remotely Assist Parents with Car Seat Installation,” published in the November 2025 Pediatrics and online on Oct. 13, observed that 80-90% of child restraints used when traveling by vehicle are misused due to errors in restraint installation, child placement, or both. Researchers worked with 1,477 families across seven cities and randomly selected whether they would receive training from a certified technician remotely via smartphone or in-person. Researchers then checked how well car seats were installed afterward. They found that the on-site group had 97.7% of components of car seat installation and use correct, while the remote group had 95.6% correct. Because this difference was small, remote interactive instruction was considered just as effective as on-site instruction. Authors state virtual instruction could assist underserved parents by providing another avenue for them to receive the proper instruction. Virtual instruction could help parents living in rural and remote areas, those in underserved urban areas, those with language barriers, and those with very busy or atypical daily schedules, researchers found. Some drawbacks to virtual instruction remain, such as the possibility of dropped internet connection during instruction and the loss of the ability to watch the seat be installed firsthand. Authors suggest their study findings be used to inform industry strategy to keep children safe on the road.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.