Driving a car is one of the things that often gets taken for granted. Most people do it every day and, as a result, usually, forget just how much risk it can be. As a result, you may let down your guard when kids are in the car. After all, if they are buckled in with a seatbelt, then that’s enough to keep them safe and secure, right? Well, actually, that might not be the case. To help keep your kids safe in the car, consider these tips.
Teach Your Kids to Stay Quiet in the Car
If your kids are causing a riot in the backseat and making a whole lot of noise, they will probably drag your attention away from the road. That’s not good when you need to always be aware of potential hazards that you might need to react to while you are driving.
So, try to teach your children the importance of staying quiet and calm whenever they are in the car. If they do start to kick up a fuss, pull over in a safe space and wait until they calm down. Then, continue your journey.
Kid Safety: Invest in a Good Car Seat
It is now a legal requirement that all toddlers and small children need to be seated in a proper car seat. The seats ensure that they are safe and out of any major harm’s way if there is ever an impact on the car.
These seats can be expensive to buy new, so you might want to check out these car seat Black Friday deals to see if you can find a bargain. All car seats come in different shapes and sizes. So, it’s super important that you find one that correctly fits your child.
Make Sure the Seat Belt is Snug
The seat belt should be snug around your child, even if they are in a car seat. However, it shouldn’t be too tight as this could be very uncomfortable for your child.
Seat belts have a tendency of losing their length after they have been used. So, it’s a good idea to double-check that it fits correctly every time you strap the child into it.
Babies Need to Face the Rear of the Seat
Is your child under one year of age? If so ensure their car seat faces the rear of the seat and not forwards.
The manufacturer instructions that come with the seat should show you exactly how to secure the seat in this position. Once your child is older than age one, they should be safe to ride facing the direction in which the car is going.
Hopefully, these useful tips will help parents and guardians keep the kids a lot more securer on your next car journey! What are some other tips to add to the list?
Photo: Ride safely in the car with your kids. Pexels photo, CC0 License.
Great post on safety, cheers!
As for carseats a child should rear face as long as possable and as long as the seat allows them to. Most seats now days of decency will allow a child to rear face till around 2 yrs old. Its the safest way for them to be facing in an accident while there bodies are still fragile and theres whole heap of reasons to why a child should extend rear face. You can pick up extended rear facing seats for as little as $200 and as for older kids safest practises say that a child should be restrained in a harnessed seat till a minimum of 8 yrs old. Most 7 yr old kids are to small to be sittong without any sort of restraint seat be it a booster or a harnessed seat.
i think a close watch is necessary
The last point it’s perhaps the most overlook aspect of child safety in the car. Good post, informative.
Good tips it’s easy to get distracted when your a busy mum, pulling over is a great tip to take a minute to gather everyone back together then continue the journey rather than get stressed out.
So important!
Excellent tips. This is very informative! I appreciate your hard work.
And I appreciate the support here!
Great tips, Christy. Here’s a couple more: kids, especially small children, are safest in their carseats in the backseat , and not the middle part of the backseat, in case of collision. Also, when my kids were small, I kept a couple of special toys that they only played with in the car and always traveled with easy-to-eat snacks, like goldfish or cheerios so they could entertain themselves quietly.
Really important information here Christy. <3
Great tips, Christy – I especially like the one about teaching kids to be well-behaved when driving.
Indeed! I think I finally learned that tip by… well… it came eventually ;)
Congratulations! I think your blog is awesome and I have nominated you for the Most Active Blog Award. If you are interested, go to https://hisperfecttiming.blog/2017/10/15/most-active-blog-award/ to learn more. God bless you!
Thank you kindly for the award, my friend! I’ll head over and read the post :) <3
Great tips, and I agree with putting down the phone. Will try to keep my kids quiet!!
And pray that all the other drivers on the road are careful good drivers.
These are fantastic tips, especially the one about getting them to be quiet.
Great reminder. Never too much of safety.
Great and helpful post✌✌
Hi Christy! Hope you’ve been well! These are fantastic tips, especially the one about getting them to be quiet. It’s so hard to concentrate when they are screaming in the back! I’ve learnt to pull aside now when this happens!
Safety in the car is of extreme importance, Christy. We are always only a few seconds, if that much, away from disaster. Our concentration, particularly with our precious young ones in the car, is extremely important. I was so grateful when seat belts became mandatory. It is dreadful to think that, when my son was a toddler, we drove across Australia without proper restraints. They were only just being introduced. How fortunate we were to all have arrived safely. I couldn’t contemplate driving anywhere now without proper restraints.
This is really helpful
Excellent post! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼. May I add another to the list?
“Put down the dang phone. The text or call can wait. If it’s that important, pull off the dang road.”
😘❤️❤️
Absolutely! Nothing is important enough to be on the phone while driving. If you have hands-free in your car that’s a little better but you’re still distracted if you’re talking on the phone while driving. And NEVER should you text and drive, there is NO excuse for that.
Amen.
YES!! The phone CAN wait. Thanks for adding that valuable point, Laina <3
Thank you bunches, Christy 💖. Your articles are amazing!! I love reading them 😁
Oh goodness ~ I feel that way about your blogs ~ Many hugs <3
Thank you! Many hugs to you too! 😘❤️
Thank you :) <3
Hi Christy,
I am always worried when I drive my children in the car.I always secure them, but I’m never sure if they are really safe.Great post as always
Thank you