1. Clip and Straps
It takes only a few extra seconds of your time to ensure that your children's chest clip and straps are in the right place, a few seconds of time to safe your child from harms way. The chest clip should rest at the level of the armpit and no higher or lower. Make sure that the straps themselves are not twisted and that they come from behind the shoulders and not above.
2. Bulky Clothing
Something that many may not know is dangerous, especially during these cold months, is that any big and bulky coats are a hazard to the safety and efficiency of your car seat. Below you can see how loose my son's straps were after buckling him in with his winter coat and then taking it off, if you can pinch the straps they are too loose!
Instead of using big bulky coats, start the car ahead of time allowing it to warm up, pack the coats in your diaper bag and have blankets to use while in the car. You can just as easily put the jacket on your children once you arrive to your destination! In our car we keep a soft cloth box between the kids filled with blankets, coats, hats, gloves and other things to help keep them safe while they are also warm!
3. Keep Space
Something that I was completely unaware of before having children was that you should always have space between the car seat and headrests to keep your children safe in the event of a collision. This little bit of space can make a huge difference if your car was to become compact during a head on collision! Take a few moments to adjust your seats accordingly!
4. No Accessories
This one is simple but vastly unknown. If you add any extra padding or accessories to your car seat you are potentially creating an unsafe situation as well as voiding any warranty on your car seat. The seats are designed and tested to be safe without the extras so they are simply unnecessary.
5. Level Indicator
On a majority of newer car seats you will find that they come with a level indicator that will show you exactly the angle your car seat needs to be at according to the age and weight of your children. As you can imagine my newborn is more reclined than my almost 2 year old, and thanks to the level indicator I am able to adjust this as they grow!
6. Just Do It
This is the "tip" that I find myself most passionate about. Why? Because I would never forgive myself if something happened to my toddler that I could have prevented. I rear face my 22 month old with no intentions of that changing any time soon. He weighs 28 lbs and is a short little guy, his car seat says that I can start facing him forwards at 20 lbs but can rear face him until he reaches 40. Why do the bear minimum requirements of anything in life? Beyond all excuses I have ever heard this is not just for fun, there is science behind why this is safer for your children and there is nothing that will keep me from keeping them as safe as possible. This is helpful information from Car Seats for the Littles (a highly trusted car seat safety source) :
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| Vertebrae at age 1 (left) and 6 (right) |
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends rear facing until a minimum of age two, based on findings published by BMJ Injury Prevention. This study compared injury statistics for 15 years worth of crashes involving children under age 2. Researchers compared the injuries sustained by the children in crashes and found “the odds of severe injury for forward-facing infants under 12 months of age were 1.79 times higher than for rear-facing infants; for children 12 to 23 months old, the odds were 5.32 times higher.”
The undeveloped bones in your child's growing body are in danger if you face them forward too soon. One of the biggest arguments that I have heard against rear facing toddlers is that there legs will break in an accident, my favorite saying is "Do you want a cast or a casket?". Or that their toddlers are uncomfortable and would rather be facing forward. Your children don't know any different, they've never experienced facing forward so how would they know that rear facing is more uncomfortable? Below are the many positions that my son sits in perfectly content while we are in the car, all of which are safer to him than any alternative.
As mothers the safety of our children is always first on our minds. Some of the best things I have ever learned is from the advice of others around me, as well as some of the worst. The beauty of advice is that it's simply that.. it's advice. It is up to you, as the mother, to decide what to do with that advice. All I can ask is that when a mother/father/family member/friend or even stranger seeks to give you advice pertaining to the safety of your little one's don't jump the defensive gun. No one is telling you that you're a bad mom, do you know why they are telling you this? Because they care. They care enough about you and your children to share information that they find valuable with you, that is such an incredible compliment. So take my "tips" as you will and travel safely this holiday season with your little ones.
And a very blessed and Merry Christmas,
-T
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