Disclaimer: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Influence Central for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
Whether you are a new mom or a seasoned mom of multiple children, child safety is probably of the utmost importance to you as a parent.
One thing I have learned from being a mom of 3 is to research, research, research! No matter what you are going to purchase, do as much research as you can handle doing prior to making any purchases. I research everything to DEATH, even if it’s something as simple as baby wipes.
If you are a busy mom and don’t have time to do countless hours of research, you can start with visiting Baby Safety Zone to find hundreds of products that are JPMA certified. All products with the JPMA Certification seal of approval on them have gone through rigorous tests and are above the standard requirements. All the testing happens at an independent lab so you know there won’t be a bias. The JPMS Certification tells you which products are child safe and go beyond the safety standards.
Here is an infographic to demonstrate what I mean…
Photo Credit: Flickr via Creative Commons
Keeping your children safe is obviously a parent’s number one priority next to keeping them healthy and well fed. So it stands to reason that you not only want to purchase safe products for your nursery and home. Safety doesn’t end there…
My biggest worry is always when putting my kids in the car! Sadly, it’s the place where most parents lack basic safety knowledge though, especially new parents.
TFH’s Car Safety Tips
1. Make sure your car seat is not expired! With my first child, I used hand-me-down car seats and car seats I picked up on the side of the road. I didn’t know any better because my mom told me that a used car seat was better than no car seat at all. Thankfully, I now know much better than that and have learned that not only car seat expire but even a used car seat isn’t safe because you can’t garuntee it hasn’t been in a crash before. A few minutes on YouTube watching videos of test dummy babies flying through the windshield because their expired car seat failed will quickly teach you the importance of NOT using an expired car seat. When my car seats expire now, I put them directly in a dumpster after cutting all the straps off to ensure that no one will attempt to use it or sell it to an ignorant parent.
2. Make sure the chest buckle on the car seat is ON your baby’s chest! This is my pet peeve!!! It’s called a chest buckle because it’s supposed to be at the baby’s chest, not down across their belly! Chest buckles should be clipped and then pushed upwards to arm pit height before ensuring all straps are snug and adjusting accordingly. If you don’t secure the child in the car seat appropriately, do not expect the car seat to keep your child safe in a crash.
3. Do NOT put puffy coats on child when they are in their car seat! This is another pet peeve that drives me right up a wall. I know it’s winter, I know it’s 20° outside, but you just can’t leave puffer jackets or snowsuits on your baby or young child when they are in their car seat. Puffy coats and jackets compress significantly during an accident making the straps on the car seat loose and thereby ineffective during a crash. Please take big, puffy coats off your child before putting them in their car seat. If you have an infant, get a car seat bunting cover to go over the car seat to keep baby warm. Puffer snowsuits for baby are great for the snow or a stroller ride, but please do not leave them on your baby when you put them in their car seat.
Find out why (most) Coats & Car Seats are NOT a safe combo.
Be sure to check out the Baby Safety Zone at www.babysafetyzone.org
Did you know that JPMA has been helping parents find safe baby products for over 35 years? What kinds of baby products are you in the market for?
Disclaimer: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Influence Central for the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association. I received a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
