Keeping Your Child Safe in the Car

Driving can be stressful for many parents, from getting somewhere on time, to making sure you don’t miss the exit. One part of driving that cannot be ignored is securing your child in the proper car seat before each trip. How can you, as a parent, ensure that your child is safe during every car ride? Here are a few guidelines to follow.

1.       Pick the right car seat: This can be tough, there are a lot of options to choose from, and many guidelines have changed in the past few years. Ask yourself a few questions: how old is my child? How tall is he/she? How much does he/she weigh?

If your child is under two years old, they should be in a rear-facing car seat. You may be thinking, “Little Johnny is two years old yesterday, I’m going to turn his car seat around!” Hold on there; look at Johnny’s car seat height and weight limit. Is Johnny taller than the height limit? Is Johnny heavier than the weight limit? Is the answer to either of those no? If so, Johnny needs to stay rear-facing until he has exceeded both limits.

If your child is over two years old, and has exceeded the height and weight limits for rear-facing THEN it is safe to turn the car seat forward-facing (or switch to a forward-facing seat.)

Once your child has exceeded the height and weight limits for forward facing in their car seat they may transition into a booster seat. Booster seats should be used until the child can comfortably use the vehicle’s seat belt (usually 8-12 years old, and 4’9’’.)

2.       Install the seat properly: This is an easy one! The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a tool to locate a Child Car Seat Inspection location. A certified individual can either install the car seat, show you how to install the car seat, and/or make sure you are using the car seat correctly. The website is: http://www.nhtsa.gov/apps/cps/index.htm

3.       Secure your child into the seat properly: Make sure that the shoulder straps are set at the proper level for your child, you can do this by checking the manufacturer guide. Once the straps are at the proper level place the harness clip so that it is level with the child’s armpits. Finally, try to pinch the strap at your child’s shoulders. If you cannot pinch the strap then the straps are adjusted properly. If you can, tighten the straps until they are snug.

These guidelines are the main things to remember when putting your child in a car. As always, this is not an exhaustive list. For some other resources see The Mayo Clinic’s article on other mistakes to avoid, as well as the NHTSA’s guide to car seats.