Car Seat Safety Tips for New Parents is so important since you will spend a good deal of time in the car between attending doctor appointments to heading to Grandma’s house to picking up a few groceries to traveling to play dates.
Here are a few car seat safety tips that you will need to know.
Table of Contents
Car Seat Safety Tips for New Parents
Research car seat history
Before you even buy a car seat, you want to make sure that you are getting the right one.
It needs to have full instructions that shows the model number and manufacture date.
You also want to look up the car seat to be sure there are not any recalls on it.
Backseat placement
The car seat needs to be placed in the backseat because this is the safest place for your child should you be in an auto accident.
Never place a car seat in the front seat.
Rear Facing Position – what you must know
Children that are under the age of a year old and weigh less than 20 pounds need to be in a car seat facing the rear of the car.
Kids over the age of a year old and weigh at least 20 pounds may ride facing forward, however, it is safer to be rear facing, so why rush?
Tighten seat belt
Before you take off in the car and after your child is placed properly in the car seat, you want to be sure that the car’s seat belts are tightly in place.
There are slots on the car seat in which the seat belt is designed to go through.
Correct angle recline
When you have your child in the rear-facing position, ensure that you recline the car seat so the child’s head doesn’t flop forward.
To prevent this, you can tightly fold a couple of blankets and place them alongside the child.
Consistent usage
Even if you are only going a blocks down the street, you need to use a car seat.
Accidents can happen at any time, even a block from your home.
Car seats reduce the risk of serious injury or even death if you are in an accident.
Readers that liked this article also enjoyed Car Seat Tips for Your Vehicle, Dangerous Mistakes Parents make when using Car Seats and Car Seat Basics: How to Keep your Child Safe in a Car.
