Children are undoubtedly the most special cargo that you will have to transport in your car and as a responsible parent, you would not want to leave anything to chance when it comes to providing them with a comfortable and safe vehicle environment.
In terms of comfort and protecting your interior from all of those sticky fingers, sites like ShearComfort.com can offer a price-conscious solution. With regard to safety, there are a few easy things you can do which wonโt break the bank either, but could make all the difference.
Backseat Basics
The most obvious starting point when considering your childโs safety in the car, is to make sure they travel as securely and safely as possible.
General accident statistics and studies often conclude that the backseat of your car is invariably the safest place to put your child when you are going on a car journey. Using a car seat makes a massive difference to your kidโs safety and you instantly cut the odds of an infant under 1-year-old suffering a fatal injury, by over 70% and by over 50% if they are under the age of 5.
Most modern vehicles have an air bag in the front passenger seat, which can be dangerous to a young child if it is activated, which is why it is essential for your child to always travel in the back of the car until they at least reach their 12th birthday.
Childrenย Should Be Rear Facing As Long As Possible
Getting a car seat is obviously important from a safety perspective, but you also need to ensure you get the right one for their age and size.
Infants under the age of one and weighing less than about twenty pounds should be restrained in a rear-facing seat during this time in their life. If they weigh more than twenty pounds before they reach their first birthday, get some advice on choosing the right car seat, as they should still be in a rear-facing during this stage of their development.
Some believe that rear-facing seats should be used beyond their first birthday and even up to the age of five, so you should decide for yourself what is best. Generally, a lot of parents will swap over to a front-facing car seat once their child moves beyond the recommended weight limit.
Switching To a Booster Seat
It is always advisable to aim to keep your child in a proper safety seat for as long as possible as this should provide them with the best protection in an accident, however, if they weigh at least forty pounds or more, you might want to switch to a booster seat.
Make sure you use a belt-positioning booster seat so that you can adjust the straps accordingly and give them adequate protection by ensuring that the shoulder strap fits properly.
Throughout their stages of development, always regularly review how you are securing them in the car and even when they are old enough to use an adult seat belt on its own, you still want to make sure that the restraints are in the right place to protect them.
Never Leave Them Alone
It is easy to think that you might only be a few minutes in the store or when dropping something off, that you can leave your kids in the car just for that brief period of time.
There are many valid reasons why this is not a great idea.
On a hot day, a young child can quickly dehydrate, even if you leave the windows open. There is also the security aspect of leaving your child alone in a car, which could easily compromise their safety if they manage to free themselves, plus there is the potential threat of someone trying to get in the car while you are away, which is not a scenario you want to think about.
Child safety in the car is often about following a simple set of rules, which donโt cost any money, but are priceless if they keep your precious cargo safe.