Introduction
As a mother or father, you naturally want to keep your son or daughter safe. Car accidents — and the very real specter of your child being involved in one — are certainly not how you want or expect to keep your child safe. In the USA, more children between the ages of 5 and 19 die from this cause. More than fire, more than drowning, even more than firearms, which children have a horrifying propensity to get their hands on. Car accidents. So, of course, you listen raptly to the staggering statistics.
Note: Visit babyhillsthailand.com for a wide range of products and services for your little ones. From baby essentials to educational tools, we have everything you need to raise your child with care.
Ensuring Car Seat Safety
- The first phase of car seat safety is selecting the right seat for your child. You have three primary options when it comes to the type of seat you can choose, and each option has its own pros and cons. First, there are rear-facing car seats that are designed to hold infants and very young children. These seats offer the most advanced and comprehensive kind of protection available. However, they are only suitable for children who have not yet reached a certain height or weight. Once your child becomes too tall or too heavy for a rear-facing seat, then you must consider either a convertible or an all-in-one car seat. Convertibles can be used in the backseat on the vehicle in a rear-facing configuration for children up to a certain age and weight..
- When selecting a car seat, you should take several matters into account. To begin with, you need to establish your child’s current age, weight, and height because these are significant considerations when selecting a seat that will accommodate your child both now and in the future. Then, of course, there’s the all-important matter of safety. You want to keep your child as secure as possible, so you need to look for a seat with features like side-impact protection, a 5-point harness, and a robust base. And let’s not forget installation—make sure you can install the seat in your car quickly and correctly, each and every time.
Car Seat Installation: Tips and Tricks
- Installing a car seat is something any responsible parent does with care. There cannot be too many tips and tricks that are offered to make this process more efficient and effective. They are all meaningful and carry their measure of importance. Four simple ones we highlight here are reading the manuals, using LATCH and belts, tightening up, and making sure that straps lie flat and are snug.
- Most car seats these days come with more than one installation approach, and the second called for is usually the seat’s belt system in connection with the car’s seat generally, but sometimes with the car’s LATCH system. Remember to use the any-is-better-than-none approach.
Here are some of the most common car seat mistakes to sidestep:
- Never use a car seat that is expired or has been in an accident.
- Always make sure you install the seat correctly and securely.
- Keep those harness straps nice and tight; you should not be able to pinch any extra webbing. And they should also never be twisted.
- The recline angle you choose is very important. Make sure it is suitable for the age and weight of your child.
- Finally, never switch from rear-facing to forward-facing too soon.
The Latest Car Seat Safety Recommendations
The latest car-seat-safety guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) pretty much mandates that children should remain in rear-facing seats for as long as the seats can legally be used and the child’s safety isn’t diminished thereby. This consists of three basic tenets. The first is that children should be kept in rear-facing seats until they reach the weight and height restrictions set by the manufacturer of the car
Conclusion
Ensuring the safety of your child’s journey starts even before you put them in the car seat. Making sure you have the right seat and taking the time needed to be certain it is installed correctly are crucial steps toward keeping your child safe. Yet this task can feel overwhelming with all of the choices and installation methods available to parents today. So, what’s a parent to do? Here are some very basic, yet absolutely necessary, steps you can take to make the right choice for your child and use it the way it was designed to be used once you’ve made it.
