3 Things to Consider About Car Safety with Children*

When it comes to keeping your child safe, there is no such thing as going too far (unless of course you keep them in a bubble and don’t let them do anything!) When you have a baby it’s important to look at all aspects of your life to eliminate or at least reduce the ways in which your child could come to harm. We baby proof the house, we look into what areas we live in and what schools our children are going to attend and we vet the people who are going to be looking after our children. Another important thing to consider is safety in and out of the car.

Here are three important things to think about when it comes to car safety;

1. Investing in a Safe Car
It’s a known fact that some cars are safer to drive than others. They are built to keep not only the drive safe but the passengers and even pedestrians safe. It may be worth doing some research into which cars are more statistically safe, there is a great guide here to the best ones on the market. Of course it’s also known the newer the car usually the safer, an old rust bucket is more likely to cause you problems than a sleek new car however please bare in mind there is only so much a car can do to protect you, make sure you’re always driving safely and NEVER use a mobile device while driving.

2. Rear Seat Facing as Long as Possible
I know a lot of parents are DESPERATE to see their kids faces in the rear mirror but it has been statistically proven that kids in rear facing seats are less likely to end up critically injured if in a rear facing seat. It’s understandable that you want to be able to see your child as you talk to them or have them see you but until your child’s legs are so long they can no longer fit comfortably rear facing please consider keeping them facing out the back.

3. Teach Them About Road Safety
It’s not just about keeping them safe in the car, it’s important to keep them safe out the car too, as a pedestrian. Children aren’t born with ingrained road sense, it has to be taught to them by their parents. There are many ways to go about this but my favourite is THINK! education. There is a section for parents and it’s broken up into age groups which I love as different aged children have different levels of understanding. My daughter and I walk pretty much everywhere so she’s been learning about road safety since she stopped being in a pushchair and even now she hasn’t grasped it as well as I would like. But I will keep pushing on with it!

Road accidents are a common killer and as a parent it’s your job to ensure you do right by your child be it keeping safe in the care or out the car while walking to school, or anywhere for that matter. It’s really not worth the risk when it comes to the lives of your children.