As a parent, keeping your children safe in a car is your top priority, especially when it comes to car trips. Whether you navigate heavy traffic daily or you’re taking a long road trip, take note of the following tips to help you keep your little ones secure and protected. It’s also important to educate children on road safety so they can become safety conscious. 1
First things first – use safety belts
Buckling up is not only a wise choice, it is also a legal requirement. Each person in the car must have their own safety belt, so it’s never okay to have a child ride on someone’s lap with a seatbelt around the child and the adult. As the driver, it’s your responsibility to make sure all passengers have fastened their safety belts before driving off.1
Are all doors and windows adjusted for child safety?
Just like you wouldn’t allow a child to play with a car door or a rear window while driving on the freeway, it’s important to activate child safety locks on your car’s back doors and window restrictions. This is an easy and effective way to ensure that you little ones remain safe and secure. 1
Avoid food for kids while travelling
As a parent, keeping snacks on hand for kids during car trips is almost a necessity, but some young children can accidentally choke on a piece of food. If you are the only adult driving the car, you may not be able to attend swiftly to such an emergency. To help prevent this situation from happening, feed young children before embarking on a trip. 1
Keeping young children safe while travelling
It’s vital to use car seats or boosters and child restraints to protect your children on a car journey. Remember to use car seats or restraints that are appropriate for your child’s size, age, and weight. Always check the manufacturer’s handbook for the correct installation of your child’s car seat. Regularly monitor the child’s seat to make sure it’s in a secure position. It’s always a good idea to opt for new car seats as pre-owned ones could have been previously damaged, compromising their safety. 1
Always check the rear seat
Parents can sometimes be so busy and distracted when getting out of their car that they may forget a child in the back seat, with possible unthinkable consequences. With a little one in the back seat, it’s very important that you make a habit of double-checking the back seat before walking away from your car. 1
Train your kids
It’s essential for a stress-free and safe car ride that children sitting at the back of the car stay calm and well-behaved. Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen automatically, but may require some training from the parent. For example, children may make a noise and fight in the back, proving most disruptive for the driver, who could, for example, go through a red light if they are struggling to concentrate. So, besides training your children, bring along some distractions, like books, toys, or games, to keep them occupied and entertained while travelling. 1
Always lock your parked car
Locking your car if it’s parked in the driveway ensures that neither criminals nor children can get into the car, protecting it from potential theft, and ensuring that your kids can’t accidentally get into harm’s way. Imagine if your car is unlocked and parked in the sun in the driveway, and a child accidentally get inside and somehow shuts the door, unable to get it open again – he could suffer from serious heatstroke. Or, even worse, the child accidentally takes your car off the handbrake, with possible disastrous consequences. 1
Never leave your child alone in a car
Not even for one second should you leave your child alone. You can imagine what a young child can get up to inside a parked car, never mind the danger of any criminal activity nearby. 1
Disclaimer
The point of this article is to show you how to keep children safe in a car. 1
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Source:
1https://agworkers.com/follow-these-15-car-safety-tips-to-keep-your-child-safe/
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.