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As your child grows, several different child safety car seats will need to be purchased. Each time you buy a new car seat, mail the registration postcard so that you will be informed if there is a recall. Recalls of car seats are very common because documentation of car seat performance continues even after manufacturing. Contact your local health department for classes on child safety or inspections of car seat installations. Differing locations may use differing personnel, such as the local hospital or fire department to conduct safety classes. Below are some things you may learn about car safety for children.
Put your child in the back seat of the car. Most automobiles have airbags in the front seats and a child in a safety seat should not be placed in a front of one. The airbag is a bit too powerful for a child's small mass, and children have been hurt by airbags. Even if there is no airbag, a child is safer in the back. If a car seat is rear-facing, as it should be for small infants, parents can use a special mirror to help them occasionally peek at their child's face. Some parents hate to have the baby somewhat out of sight, but they can usually put their baby to sleep in a crib out of sight. Remember the instinct to keep a child close and in sight will not help the child in a car crash if the child is not safely restrained.
Garage sales and secondhand baby stuff is a great way to save money, but not for child safety seats. You never can tell if a seat has been in an accident and such seats should not be re-used. Also seats that are more than five years old should not be re-used. Seats that have been in a recall should not be re-used. This is why you should buy your own seat and send in your registration card.
Another reason to buy a new seat is so that you will have the instructions necessary to properly install your car seat. Read the instructions and follow them. We repeat, read the instructions and follow them. If your car seat needs some kind of tether strap to secure the seat to the car in addition to the regular seat belt, be sure to use it. If you drive an older model of car that has no anchor to secure the tether strap, call a local dealer of your model and order a bracket to have installed in your vehicle.
Since 2002, cars in the United States are required to have a LATCH system as part of their design. LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren. This system makes installation of car seats easier than before. LATCH is a built-in system of anchors and tethers to secure car seats. It works very well with the newer child car seats.
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