If you’re a parent or a caregiver, a significant part of your job is to keep your child safe when they’re traveling by car. Whether you’re running an errand or going on a cross-country trip, you must secure your little passenger in a car seat or booster seat inside the vehicle. Read on to find out why age-appropriate restraints are crucial for child car safety:
It Provides Optimal Protection
When a moving car hits another vehicle, a tree, or any other sturdy, rigid object, it will put your vehicle at an abrupt stop. Anything that’s not held down inside the car will keep moving, including passengers. Depending on how fast you’re coasting, the force upon impact can be fatal.
If you’re driving the car, your face might hit the steering wheel or the windshield. If you’re one of the other passengers, you might collide with the seat in front of you or the glass window on the side. Your ribcage might also hit the dashboard. You might even be thrown out of the car.
All of this sounds nightmarish, and that’s the reason why wearing seat belts is paramount. However, seat belts are made for adults. To protect your child from this kind of danger, you must use a car seat specially designed for their age and size.
Car seats and booster seats for children hold the passenger down. Like seat belts, this device is meant to spread the devastating force of the impact, reducing a child’s risk of serious injury from a sudden stop or crash.
However, for a car restraint to work on a small passenger, it must fit them correctly. Depending on your child’s neck strength, height, and weight, you may choose from the three common types of car restraints for children. These are the rear-facing car seats, the forward-facing type, and the boosters.
It Lets You Abide by the Law
Did you know that in the United States, more or less 700 passengers aged 12 years old and below died from motor vehicle accidents in 2021? A year before that, more than 63,000 were injured. Data shows about 36% of these were not buckled up.
Fortunately, all 50 states in the U.S. have passed some kind of child passenger safety laws and regulations. While they may vary, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and its other partner agencies have been encouraging all states and territories in the country to expand and strengthen their laws that require suitable car restraints for young passengers.
These laws, programs, and enforcement strategies of the U.S. Department of Transportation are meant to improve child passenger safety, as well as reduce injuries and fatalities related to motor vehicle accidents.
There’s no doubt that parents and caregivers can make a difference in their children’s lives by making sure that they’re always buckled up properly during car rides. It may sound trivial to some, but it’s unarguably a lifesaving measure. With the many options available on the market today, though, how do you know you’re getting the right car seat for your child?
Tips for Choosing the Right Car Seat for Your Child
Is your child 12 years old or younger? If so, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends strapping your child properly in the back seat of your vehicle when traveling. Their findings suggest that you can reduce a child’s risk of getting motor vehicle-related injuries by as much as 82% if you restrain them in a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt, whichever is appropriate.
- Consider your child’s age and size. Not all motor vehicles are designed to match every kind of car restraint. To determine which car restraint is best for your child, you must consider his or her age, height, and weight.
If you have a newborn, the CDC recommends the use of a rear-facing car seat with a harness. You may use this for as long as possible until your little passenger reaches the height and weight limit of the car seat, which is usually when they’re about two or four years old.
As soon as your child outgrows the infant car seat, you may switch to another type known as the forward-facing car seat that comes with a harness and top tether. Your kid can use this kind of car seat until the age of five at the minimum. You must transition your child once they meet the height and weight restrictions of the car seat.
As your child gets older, he or she will also outgrow the above-mentioned type of car restraint. Eventually, you’d have to buckle them up in a booster seat with a seat belt. You may use boosters until your child is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly.
This generally occurs when your child is between ages nine and 12. You will know that your young passenger is ready for a seat belt if the lap belt is not strapped to their stomach. Instead, it secures them across their upper thighs.
On the other hand, the shoulder belt should not be found across your child’s face or neck and not off their shoulder. Instead, it must be positioned across the center of their shoulder and chest.
- Check the labels. As a parent or caregiver, one way to be compliant with U.S. safety standards is by securing appropriate labels on your child’s car restraint. There are several car seat labels you may look for. This way, you can guarantee that the car restraint you intend to buy is safe and passes the required testing.
Examples of these labels are the Car Safety Seat (CSS) and the Federal and the NHTSA certifications confirming that your device complies with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS). - Determine the installation method. The NHTSA found that most parents and caregivers claim they have correctly installed their kid’s car seats. However, about 46% have done it incorrectly. Your kid’s life could be in danger if you don’t install their car restraint properly.
Car seats are only effective if properly installed. For this reason, you must compare car seats and their ratings in terms of how user-friendly they are. Equally important is to follow every step of the installation process.
It doesn’t matter what type of vehicle you own and where you drive it. Children are particularly vulnerable to injuries during crashes. You must constantly educate yourself about child passenger safety laws and standards and invest in age-appropriate car restraints for your little one.
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