Did you know that your child should ride in the back seat of your car until they are at least 13 years old or reach a height of about four feet 9 inches? Yes, it is vital to buckle your child carefully to protect and secure from unexpected bumps or accidents. A few car safety guidelines for young children are discussed below.
Choose The Right Car Seat
The purpose of a good car seat is to protect your precious darlings during their rides with You in your car. Each child is different, and so is the car that sets the best car seat for your child should be the one that fits your child perfectly.
Check out the height and weight limits of your child. Make sure that the car seat you are buying will also fit in your vehicle and does not impact the passenger’s room in the front in a hazardous manner.
One more factor to be considered is the Ease of use of the car seat, which allows for simple installation. Check the chest clips by opening and closing them. Also, make sure it is not difficult for you to tighten or loosen the hardness.
Buckle The Right Way
When a child’s car seat faces the rare, you can ensure that they are buckled up properly by checking that the harness is set at the right height. And while tightened to maximize the baby’s safety. The harness straps should be below the shoulders and the chest clip at the level of the armpits. Ensure that the tongues of the buckle are properly locked into the buckle.
The importance of the harness in a car seat is that it decreases the impact of a car crash by spreading its forces over the strongest parts of the baby’s body, hence keeping the child safe from severe injury. When a car seat is used correctly, the risk of fatal injury to children is reduced by almost 71%.
Remove Heavy Clothing
The harness straps will not protect your child from wearing bulky outerwear. It would be best if you first buckled the harness and then covered your child with a blanket or a coat to keep him warm.
Booster Seat
Do not be in a hurry to transfer your child into a booster seat. Do so only when the child has met the highest hide and weight that has been ended by the car seat manufacturer.
Another thing to remember is that the booster seat should be used with both the shoulder and the lap belt and never alone with a lap belt only. The lap belt will be buckled across your child’s thighs, and the shoulderbelt will cross the middle of the child’s chest and shoulder. It is advisable to let your child remain in a car seat for as long as possible.
Transitioning To A Seat Belt
You can start using an adult seat belt for your child when they have reached a height of about 1.5 meters. Also, when they can sit on the back seat with their legs comfortably bent at the edge of the seat and can remain seated for the whole car trip.
Then it is time to make the transition from the car booster seat into an adult seat belt. Children are said to be able to use an adult seatbelt safely when they are between the ages of 8 to 12.
Conclusion
Keeping your child safe from injury is up to you. Always make it a point to put kids under 13 years of age in the back seat of your car and preferably in the middle.
One of the leading causes of child mortality is car accidents, so protect your child and use a car seat according to the child’s age and other requirements as using car seats for children according to U.S. laws.
