Car Safety: Tips For Parents To Keep Kids Safe by Dr. Chetan Ginigeri

1. Use A Good Quality Booster Seat

A car seat or booster seat is always a safe option for your little one. The regular seats of a car are made for an adult passenger. So they cannot provide ultimate safety and comfort to your child. For this, you need to install a well-fitting booster seat in your car. Many parents prefer to keep their children on their lap while riding a car. But, with this practice, they are compromising the safety of the little one. A booster seat keeps your hands free, and your kid in a proper position.

For a good booster seat, you need to keep this checklist in mind.

• Buy a proper size booster seat, according to the height, weight, and age of your kid.
• Get the booster seat installed by a professional to ensure it is securely fitted in the vehicle’s seat.
• Check the installation of the car seat every time you put your kid in it.
• Ensure the harness is not too loose or too tight. A loose harness cannot protect your child in case of an accident. Whereas a tight one can cause difficulty breathing.
• Talk to the manufacturer to get the best booster seat type for your specific car.
• Avoid purchasing second-hand or used booster seats as you never know what condition they are in.
• It is better to place the car seat rear-facing if your kid is under 2 years of age or 10kg in weight.

2. Keep Your Child Within Eyesight

It may sound impossible or careless, but the cases of leaving a child behind in the car in a hurry happen a lot. This can be fatal for the child due to suffocation and heat inside the car. Our body is a machine. Sometimes it does some work based on practices without the complete involvement of the brain. We do not contemplate works that have become our habits. We do things instinctively, such as brushing teeth or locking the door. So it becomes necessary to keep the child within your eyesight inside the car to avoid such instinctive disasters.

A rear-facing car seat has this disadvantage as here you cannot see your child through the looking glass. To avoid such a disaster, some parents knowingly leave important stuff like mobile phones or purses on the back seat. Besides, you can talk to your kid occasionally, or check them after some time to keep your mind aware that you are not driving alone.

3. Do Not Leave Your Child in the Car Even For a Few Minutes

Here we are talking about leaving the child inside the car deliberately for some time. You may feel it will take only 15 minutes in the grocery shop so let the kid sleep in the car. But this can be equally dangerous. If you leave the car running (so the air conditions run) then your kid may accidentally change gear and cause an accident. To avoid this if you put the car off and the windows closed, then the inside temperature will increase immediately. As the air is stuck inside the car it can cause heatstroke and suffocation during summer.

[Read : Safety Precautions For Kids In Cars]

4. Keep the Child Hydrated

If you are planning to go somewhere distant with the kid alongside, make sure of proper hydration. Keep water and homemade fresh fruit juice in the car. Let your kid drink them at intervals. This will keep them away from dehydration and heatstroke in the summer. In a country like India, you should always keep your and your child’s body hydrated.

5. It is Good to Avoid Eating in a Running Car

Kids love to have some snacks while traveling. Things like Cheetos and Doritos can be their favorite travel snacks, but they can be dangerous in a moving car. While crossing the bumpers or turning a lane they can accidentally choke the child. And you may not even notice it if the child is seated in a rear-facing car seat on the back. So it is best that if your kid wants to have some snacks, let them have the snacks but only after parking the car.

6. Do Not Text and Drive

The involvement of mobile phones increases the accident rates hugely. No matter how important the message is, do not reply while driving. Either stop the car and reply or simply call the person and put the phone on speaker. A few seconds of distraction while driving can cause lifelong injuries or death. And you are surely not willing to put your kid in that danger.

7. Keep the Kid Engaged

You will have to engage your kid in some activity so that they let you concentrate on your driving. Instead of just giving them a phone to play games, you can encourage reading storybooks or listening to good music. For driving, concentration is very much important. And kids can sometimes break your concentration if they get bored. So do engage them in some activity, especially on a long drive.

8. Use the Trunk or Dicky of the Car to Store Anything

In case of an accident, any heavy or sharp item present in the car can cause maximum injury. If you are running your car at 40 miles per hour that means every object present in your car is also having the same speed. Thus. if the car hits something the impact will move everything inside. And if anything sharp or heavy hits your kid, it can be fatal. So use the trunk of the car to store everything you want to carry along with your journey.

9. Airbags are Sometimes Dangerous For Kids

You should never put your child in the front passenger seat until they turn 12. In the UK it is illegal; our country doesn’t have this rule, still, we should follow it for our child’s safety. All modern cars have airbags. It takes only 20 milliseconds to open when a huge impact or a car crash occurs. Here hot nitrogen gas injects immediately into thin nylon airbags. It opens at a speed of 257km/h from the dashboard. It is undoubtedly a lifesaving invention, but it is for adults, not for children.

If you place your kid in the front passenger seat in a rear-facing position, then the child comes directly in front of the airbag’s opening area. Thus, you should never install a rear-facing car seat on the front passenger seat.

Even if your kid gets big for the car seat, do not let them sit on the front seat if they are under 12 or 4 feet 5 inches tall. The kid’s head is bigger than the body in comparison with an adult’s. This makes them unstable and vulnerable to accidents. So the forceful opening of the airbag can cause them great harm if not the accident itself.

[Read : Child Safety In The Car Every Parent Must Be Aware Of]

10. Display Proper Car Etiquettes Yourself

To teach your child car safety rules you need to practice them at first. Kids learn from what they see. So instead of just teaching, you need to follow basic car etiquette like putting your seatbelt on before driving, looking straight while driving, obeying traffic rules, or keeping your hands inside the car while driving. Your kids will learn from your gestures from their very childhood and follow them for life.

11. Praise Your Child

You must show care and love to your kid to comfort them on a long-distance car journey. They may otherwise feel tired or irritated or annoyed. Your praise or affectionate kisses can give them the strength to endure the tiresome journey.

12. Take a Pit Stop During Long Journeys

If you are traveling with a kid then you must take occasional halts in between some miles. The tiny tummy of your non-diaper kid cannot hold much pee at a time. So they will need a washroom every 1/2 hour to let it go.

While journeying on highways, you will find refreshment shops, dhabas, and petrol pumps. Take a break, have some tea and snacks, use the washroom and let your child use the washroom too if the place is clean and your little one’s toilet-trained. This will give comfort to both you and your little one.

[Read : Top Benefits Of Travelling For Children]

13. Keep Emergency Numbers and Medicines Handy

If you are driving long distances, always keep emergency numbers and necessary medicines with you. Emergency numbers like the local police number, numbers of some nearby hospitals, traffic control number, and your family members, etc., should be in your pocket.

In case of any unfortunate situation or accident, these will help you a lot. Also, have the medicine you may need on the journey, especially for your kid. At least take the prescription with you so that you can buy medicines if required. You can consult your pediatrician for a list of medicines you must keep handy while traveling.

So these are some basic car safety rules you need to follow in your everyday life to protect your kid from any dangerous situation. Also, teach your kid what to do if they come across such situations. Make them observe the rules so that it becomes their habit.

FAQ’s

1. At What Age is it Safe For a Child to Sit in the Front Seat of a Car?

It is safe to let your child sit in the front seat only after they turn 13. It is a rule in Uk and even your car manufacturer will advise you the same.

2. What Are 3 Safety Devices in a Car?

Airbags, seatbelts, and anti-lock brakes are some basic safety equipment in a car. Besides, tire-pressure monitors, accident avoidance systems, traction control, etc are also necessary car safety features. To make your car safer you need to use both shoulder and lap belts. Also, you need to stay calm and focused on the road while driving.

3. How Can I Make My Car Safer?

To make your car safe from accidents, obey all the traffic rules. Give your car regular servicing. Do not drink and drive and restrict night-time driving.

Read Also: Road Safety For Kids – 5 Rules Your Kids Should Know by Dr. Chetan Ginigeri