Car Seat Safety

Now that I'm driving and most of the time I don't bring the nanny with me; I was thinking of getting a car seat for Ozzy. You see he's at this age where he doesn't want to be held or carried. When were in the car, the tendency is he would want to sit in the chair like the rest of us, but when we try to put on the seat belt, naturally its too big for him.

So we try to hold onto him as best we can. But that can't be the case forever. What if there's no one else in the car except me and him? He can't stay unsupervised. Online I found a whole lot of choices with Britax car seats.

These information I got in www.car-safety.org is some Basics on Car Seat and I feel is worth sharing:

10 Basic Rules:

1. Kids 12 and under should ALWAYS ride in the back seat. This cuts their risk of death by 36%.
   
   
2. Kids should be in a carseat or booster until they can be seated properly in a seatbelt. For most kids, this is around 8 years old or 4' 9" tall, but proper seatbelt fit is the most important factor.
   
   
3. Never place a rear-facing carseat in the front seat when there is an active frontal airbag.
   
   
4. Keep your baby rear-facing as long as possible. That can mean up to 30, 33 or 35 pounds in most current convertible seats unless they outgrow it by height first.
   
   
5. All current car seats pass government safety standards. Select the one that best fits your child, your vehicle and your budget. Some models do have different features; select one that has the features that will allow you to use it correctly EVERY trip.
   
   
6. Always read the owners manuals for your vehicle and carseat thoroughly. They often contain specific information about carseat installation that may not be obvious. Some models may vary from what you would expect.
   
   
7. Make sure that the harness fits snugly on your child, the carseat fits snugly in your vehicle, and that your vehicle seatbelts are locked properly.
   
   
8. When you buy a carseat, make sure you have a good return policy in case it doesn't fit or in case you find you don't like it. Have your seat inspected by a certified technician for free at a checkup event or fitting station.
   
   
9. Please be wary of used carseats, especially those over 6 years old, those with an unknown history that may have been in a crash, those that show any form of cracks or damage, and those with missing labels, model number, manufacturing date, instructions or parts.
   
   
10. Please give driving your complete, unimpaired attention and wear your own seatbelt all the time. These two simple steps are among these easiest ways you can protect yourself and your passengers from injury or death.

That's it. Hope it helped. Better be safe when it comes to our kids, right moms?

Ciao!