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April 2016 Moms
spicedice
member
Car Seat Safety Reminder
spicedice
member
There was a post WAY back in August about car seat safety. Since many of us are already in the third trimester and quickly approaching our EDDs, I would like to remind everyone about cat seats. I see so many people putting their child in danger because they don't know proper car seat safety!
I see way too many people with their child in their car seat ON TOP of shopping carts. Don't do it. Your car seat manual even tells you not to do it. Why? The car seat is not meant to clip onto anything other than your car seat base and stroller (if you have a travel system). Placing your baby on top of the cart makes it extremely easy for the cart to tip over, since the cart is now top heavy. It's a pain to have your baby surrounded by groceries, but it's better than risking your child's safety.
Check your car seat for limitations. What's the weight AND height restrictions on it? Don't just look at the weight. DS outgrew his infant car seat at 9 months because of his height. If you are using a convertible car seat, make sure you know that height and weight restrictions for forward facing versus rear facing.
Before buckling your child into their car seat, take off their coat! You can always put it back on before you take them out of the car!
Many of the car seat accessories that people buy make a car seat unsafe! Before you buy them, make sure you do your research.
Your child should always be in the back seat. If you only HAVE a front seat (like with a truck), make sure that the airbag is turned off. Don't just put your child up front so that you can keep a better eye on them while driving.
I see way too many people with their child in their car seat ON TOP of shopping carts. Don't do it. Your car seat manual even tells you not to do it. Why? The car seat is not meant to clip onto anything other than your car seat base and stroller (if you have a travel system). Placing your baby on top of the cart makes it extremely easy for the cart to tip over, since the cart is now top heavy. It's a pain to have your baby surrounded by groceries, but it's better than risking your child's safety.
Check your car seat for limitations. What's the weight AND height restrictions on it? Don't just look at the weight. DS outgrew his infant car seat at 9 months because of his height. If you are using a convertible car seat, make sure you know that height and weight restrictions for forward facing versus rear facing.
Before buckling your child into their car seat, take off their coat! You can always put it back on before you take them out of the car!
Many of the car seat accessories that people buy make a car seat unsafe! Before you buy them, make sure you do your research.
Your child should always be in the back seat. If you only HAVE a front seat (like with a truck), make sure that the airbag is turned off. Don't just put your child up front so that you can keep a better eye on them while driving.
Re: Car Seat Safety Reminder
The only other thing I have to add is to PLEASE not let your infant sleep in their car seat outside of the vehicle, without very close supervision. When the seat is not in the vehicle or in a stroller, it may not be at the appropriate recline and puts them at risk for positional asphyxiation.
Here's an example of what you do not want:
Different car seats have different indicators to tell you if your baby is reclined enough in your car.
It is a pain to shop with the car seat in the shopping cart but it's only until they can sit up on their own and then you can move them to the front. So it's like 8 months or less typically!
And a UO: I always wonder when I see moms with huge babies (I'm talking, 9-12 months old) lugging them around in a bucket carseat... why not take the baby out and actually hold them?
Wait? I thought it was the opposite?! That the middle wa a safer because it keeps baby from being hit from the side in an accident.
https://thecarseatlady.com/center-or-side/
Latch is the type of harness. Newer cars have places in the back seat for the car seat or car seat base to "latch on" to the car.
Hopefully the images I found help!
I seriously hate seeing car seats on top of shopping carts, it makes my heart jump every time.
I know a girl who forward faced her daughter at (no joke) 8-9 months and 15ish lbs. I gave her tons of resources and real life practical experience and she never changed it. I was so worried about that baby. She said "I got pulled over with her forward facing and the cop didn't say anything!" Lady, YOU are her momma. It's not a cop's responsibility ultimately to protect your child from death. It's yours. You know what you're doing is not only illegal, but unsafe. Don't pass the buck.
The first was a 2yo boy who was ejected from the vehicle still IN his car seat and was pretty well internally decapitated. He was in a halo brace with traumatic neck soft tissue damage and swelling in his brain. The boy was properly restrained within the seat, but the seat was not properly restrained within the car. He was so, so scared. Dad only had a broken arm.
The second was a very obese 4yo. I'm taking 70-80 lbs. He was in the car with a lap belt only, shoulder strap behind his neck, no booster or anything. They were rear ended by a semi, and he was severed trans-abdominally to the spinal cord. It's a miracle the boy was not cleanly cut in half. He suffered severe soft organ trauma and will be a paraplegic for the rest of his life. Parents were uninjured. They all acted like it was NBD, were too busy playing on their electronics to actively speak with healthcare professionals and the kiddo did not want to participate in therapy because he had to turn off his video games.
These two incidents have stuck with me over the last two years since that placement, I think of these boys often when I'm discussing car seat safety with other parents. Seeing things like this in real life and the way it affects both children and their families is unreal. If we can do better, then we should. There should be no mommy wars when it comes to basic, detrimental safety. Nope nope nope.