Using a car seat is the best way to protect your children from injuries and accidents. Here are 9 expert-approved car seat safety tips that you can follow to make your trips more safe and secure.
1. Keep the car seat straps snug and comfortable - Make sure to properly secure snug straps in your child’s car seat with every trip. You can do this by checking if the straps are too loose before every ride. Removing any bulky clothing from your child is also important in making sure that car seats are as effective as they can be.
2. Keep your child rear-facing as much as possible - You should always keep your child rear-facing until age 2 or as long as they are still within the rear-facing limits of the car seat. Once they’re big enough for the limit of a rear-facing position, you can start flipping them around in a forward-facing position. Another must is to never place a rear-facing car seat in the front of a vehicle with an active front passenger airbag. Once the airbag inflates, it will hit the back of the car seat and can cause serious injury or death. Always install rear facing car seats in the back of the car.
3. Keep your child as safe as long as possible in forward-facing car positions - If you’ve finally switched your child to a forward facing position, you need to make sure that his or her safety is more important than ever. Forward-facing car positions mean that your child’s head and spine are less safe than they were rear-facing. So you must make sure to buckle them up with the necessary gear to prevent any serious injury or death from happening. You can do this by turning to tethers and harnesses as they can provide additional safety and security from these injuries.
4. Buckle up everyone in the car - Aside from your child, keeping all passengers safe and secure in the vehicle is also something that must not be ignored! Buckling everyone— from children to adults — with a car seat and seat belt is a great way to ensure everyone’s safety and comfort during the whole ride.
5. Seek the expertise of a trained car seat technician - Once you’ve installed your child’s seat on your own, it would still be best to have it checked by a certified car seat technician. Car seat technicians are expertly trained to demonstrate how to properly secure your child in their seat and help you with car seat tips for better and safer travelling.
6. The center back seat is the safest spot for your kid - Children positioned in the center seat are more likely the ones who won’t take a direct hit during an accident. If you’re taking your child or toddler out, be sure to always position them and their car seats in the center seat of the car.
7. Don’t text or talk while driving - Like with everything else, it’s up to the parent or the driver to make sure they’re doing their part to keep every passenger in the car safe. This includes sticking to a basic yet very crucial driving rule: don’t use your phone while driving!
8. Check your car seat’s expiry date - Car seats are generally made of plastic and like anything else with the material, it can get brittle and less compact with time. Manufacturers place different expiry dates on car seats to help parents ensure their effectiveness over the years. It’s important to remember that these dates take effect six years after the date of manufacture and not the date of purchase. To check for a car seat’s expiry date, just look for a stamp on the side or the base of the seat.
9. Have your car seat checked if you’ve been in an accident - If you’ve run into an accident before with the car seat in tow inside the vehicle, then chances are it has absorbed some of the force of the crash. If this happens, most car seat manufacturers advise parents to seek replacement as soon as possible.
If you want to know more about child passenger safety, give us a call at Taxi Baby! Our team of professionally trained car seat experts and technicians are ready to answer any questions that you might have in keeping your child safe and secure with every ride.