September is National Baby Safety Month
As a parent, you do everything you can to protect your beloved child. From installing safety locks to locking the bleach away, keeping your child safe is your main concern. Although you're a cautious parent, you may be overlooking one important safety element: your child's car seat. Unfortunately, parents continue to make mistakes when it comes to their child's car seat. Here are some tips on how to avoid these errors.
Mistake #1: Not purchasing the correct child seat or booster.
Not all car seats fit in all cars, so you need to make sure that the car seat you get is appropriate for your car and child. To ensure you don't fall into this trap, do your homework on what car seats best suit which vehicles. Be careful about buying a second-hand car seat unless you know for certain that there are no faults and that it hasn't been compromised in any way.
Mistake #2: The wrong recline angle.
Getting the recline angle just right on a rear-facing seat can be tricky, but it's crucial. Babies have heavy heads and weak neck muscles. If the seat is too upright, your child may end up chin to chest, which can interfere with breathing. Being reclined also protects your little one's spine in a crash by spreading the force of impact across the entire body. Most seats come with a built-in indicator that will tell you if it is at the proper angle (around 45 degrees). Check your car seat's manual as the recommended recline angle may change with the weight of your baby.
Mistake #3: Positioning the straps too loosely.
Of course you don't want to strap your baby in too tight, but slack straps could be dangerous. To figure out if the harness is too loose, try to punch the top of the strap between your thumb and forefinger at your child's shoulder. You shouldn't be able to grip the strap at all. If you can, it's too loose. Make sure the chest clip is at armpit level, too.
These tips can help to keep your baby safe through Baby Safety Month and beyond! For all of your
personal insurance needs in Banning, Beaumont, and neighboring cities in California, contact Little & Sons Insurance Services.
