Why are baby car seats so important?
Three decades ago, there were very little talks about car safety. Many people thought that, to be safe, all your kid had to do was to be held upright, both hands holding on to the front seat or the dashboard firmly. The stronger the child could hang on to the front seat/dashboard, the safer he was! Also, three decades ago, seat belts were barely used by the driver and road safety studies were not a priority.
Luckily, this had changed. Today, we are very aware of the risks of traveling by car and about the ways of protecting our children, To the point that parents are now struggling to understand the what makes a safe baby car seat model.
The law tells your to buckle up your babies!
The use of baby car seats are now part of many countries regulations : not using car seats adapted to the needs of babies will lead to a fine.
In most countries, it is the size of the child in a sitting position rather than the age of the child that counts when it comes to choosing the right baby and toddler car seats. As a matter of fact, a seven or eight years old child of small stature could be sitting in the same car seat size as a younger child. Remember that the sitting position refers to the height of the kid when he or she is sitting, from the bottom to the top of the head.
Baby car seats
Newborn babies refers to babies who weight below 9 kilos/20 pounds or measure less than 66 centimeters/26 inches. For newborn babies, parents have to use a proper baby car seat. In order to be safe for the baby, the baby car seat has to be installed in the opposite direction to the traffic, in the back seat. This disposition will provide a better protection to the neck and the chest of the child in the event of a sudden braking or collision. Moreover, until the child is able to stand alone by himself, it is recommended to keep the baby car seat this way (usually until about 12 months).
If the car does not come have an airbag on the passenger side, parents are allowed to use the front seat to install the baby car seat, as long as they make sure to back up the seat as far back as possible. But if the car comes with an airbag on the front right side, the baby car seat should not be installed at the front.
The seat for newborns should be installed at a 45 degrees angle. The baby should not be completely lying nor completely upright. If the seat can’t incline at a 45 degrees angle, it is advisable to put a rolled towel under the seat to fix the angle.
At 30 miles per hour or 50 kilometers per hour, objects in motion will weight 35 times more. Therefore, when a collision occurs, the 9 kilograms/20pounds newborn weighs 315kilos/700pounds. If not the newborn is not firmly seated to an appropriate seating, the baby can go flying and hit the dashboard or even be ejected from the vehicle.
This is why it is so important to use the proper seat for you baby. Using the proper car seat for baby can save you child’s life in case of accident.
Bonnie F. Lapointe is a freelance writer and has collaborated with many websites to teach about child safety awareness. Find her work at baby travel system.