Tips for child safety in the Summer heat

As the weather starts to warm up around the country it's always good to remember that leaving children alone in the car is always dangerous, but in the summer it can spell disaster!!

On a typical summer day, the temperature inside a car can rise above 120 degrees; on mild days it can reach 100 degrees. In 10 minutes, the temperature inside a car can rise 19 degrees. In 20 minutes, that temperature can rise 29 degrees. So remember do not leave your child in the car alone, even if it's just a minute, not even with the air conditioner running.

There have been several tragic tales of people who have left their child in the car seat overnight or all day and the child has died. This is a tragic story, but unfortunately it happens. We, as parents, are all guilty of doing to much and not getting enough sleep- and those parents of infants are definitely walking around sleep deprived. But this is not an excuse, you have to give special attention to making sure your child is not in the car when you exit.

Make sure you actually drop the child off at day care, that is another tragic story. Everyone knows the story of the mother forgets to go to the day care and the child is left in the car all day in the parking lot, unfortunately this story has come true, too many times.

There are some simple steps you can take to ensure your child's safety while in the car:

1) Always lock your car and store the keys in a location where your kids cannot get to them.

2) Install a trunk release mechanism, so kids don't get trapped there.

3) Prioritize. Get your children out of the car first when you get home, and then take anything else like groceries or your dry cleaning out of your vehicle.

4) When leaving your car, check to make sure everyone is out of the car. Do not overlook any children that have fallen asleep in the car. Rear facing car seat are especially hard to see children in, so double check!!

5) Even if you leave a child in a car that is running with the air conditioning on, it does not mean that they are any safer. A child may accidentally put the car into drive or get caught in a power window.

6) Bring your children with you when running errands, or use a drive-through if one is available.

7) Fire Rescue officials say one way to never forget a child in the car is the stuffed animal method. Place a stuffed animal in a visible location like the front seat when you have a child in the car. When you take the child out of the car, place the stuffed toy in the car seat. The visual will help remind you there is a child in the back.

Rear Facing vs. Forward Facing?

Today I was involved in a pretty heated debate with some co workers about when you turn your child front facing in their car seat. A co worker had just switched his 9 month old from her infant seat to her convertible seat- and because she is still less then 20 pounds and not a year old yet she must stay rear facing. He said it was such a pain to get her in and out of the seat rear facing and he cannot wait until he can turn her around in 3 months, when she is a year old.

I quickly said that really she should stay rear facing until she exceeds the rear facing weight limit for her convertible car seat, which is most likely 35 pounds. He said oh hell no, it's one year old and 20 pounds, that they can go forward facing.

Now yes you've probably heard the one year/20 pounds advice from many sources, including your pediatrician, the car seat company and possibly your state's car seat law. But that's the old standard, and it is a bare minimum standard. All children are safer if they remain in a rear-facing car seat beyond a year. Thanks to higher rear-facing weight limits on car seats, nearly all toddlers can remain rear-facing for quite a while.

In Europe they keep their children rear facing until the age of 4, due to it being so much safer. Again, looks like the Europeans got it right once again! They know how to design cars and they know how to keep our kids safe in those cars!

Now, another co worker whose son is 13 months old chimes in that her child is so upset rear facing- and he is not comfortable rear facing and he is so much happier facing forward and it's such a pain in the butt to get a child in and out of a rear facing car seat.

Now all I hear when someone says this to me, BLAH BLAH BLAH- I don't care about my child's safety I care more about my convenience and giving in to all my kids desires. I don't give a crap if your kid doesn't like to be rear facing, I don't care if they can't watch the TV that is in the car, I don't care if it takes you an extra 5 minutes to put your child in their car seat properly- it's safer!! According to NHTSA, a rear-facing car seat is 71 percent safer then a forward facing car seat, hello 71% that is a big difference, it's safer!!!

Many parents worry that their baby will suffer broken legs in a crash because baby's legs touch the seat back or look cramped when rear-facing. It's important to remember, though, that in a crash severe enough to break baby's legs, there would also be enough force to cause severe neck injuries if your baby or toddler was forward-facing. While it's never fun to choose between injuries, the chance of full recovery is greater for broken legs than broken necks.

Wait! My child is too big for their infant seat!

When you get to the point where your child reached the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of the seat for their rear-facing infant seat, they can ride forward-facing in a convertible seat. However, it is best for her to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of her car safety seat. Children should ride in a forward-facing seat with a five point harness until they are least 40 pounds, newer convertible seats are holding children up to 65 pounds. The longer your child can ride in a five point harness for as along as possible.

Most convertible seats are attached through the LATCH system, if your vehicle was manufactured after 2002, you will have LATCH in your vehicle. Convertible car seats are also attached using tether straps. A tether is a strap that attaches to the top of a car safety seat and to an anchor point in your vehicle (see your vehicle owner’s manual to find where the tether anchors are in your vehicle). Tethers give important extra protection by keeping the car safety seat and the child’s head from moving too far forward in a crash or sudden stop. All new cars, minivans, and light trucks have been required to have tether anchors since September 2000. New forward-facing car safety seats come with tethers. For older seats, or if your tether is missing, tether kits are available. Check with the car safety seat manufacturer to find out how you can get a tether if your seat does not have one.

Some of the best convertible car seats are the Britax Boulevard, Britax Marathon, The First Years True Fit, and the Graco My Ride 65. All of these can be found at Babies R Us, or online.

How Do You Install a Car Seat Safely?

Did you know that 7 our of every 10 kids are riding in a car seat that is installed incorrectly? I am going to take the next few blog entries to discuss car seat safety. It is found that so many parents have no idea what kind of car seat to use and how to use it propertly. Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death of children, ages 3-14. However, many of these deaths can be prevented through the proper use of child safety seats. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), child safety seats can reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers, ages 1-4.

Babies should be in a car seat starting with their first ride home from the hospital. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that all infants should ride starting rear-facing. They should remain rear-facing until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer. At a minimum, children should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. There are 2 types of rear-facing car safety seats: infant-only seats and convertible seats.

Infant Seats are the very popular because the actual seat can be taken out of the car without disturbing the baby- and the base stays in the car, the base is what the seat snaps into. The newer infant seats are made to fit children up to 22 pounds and some manufacturers like Chicco and Graco are making infant seats that can safely hold a baby up to 35 pounds. The new Graco Snugride 35 can be seen above.

Convertible car seats can be used rear-facing, then “converted” to forward-facing for older children. This means the seat can be used longer by your child. They are bulkier than infant seats, however, and do not come with carrying handles or a separate base.

Have higher rear-facing weight and height limits than infant-only seats, which makes them ideal for bigger babies. Most people use the infant seat until the child is too heavy for it and then switches to a convertible seat.

When installing a rear facing car seat make sure the car safety seat is installed tightly in the vehicle and that the harness fits the child snugly. Remember, never place a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has a active front passenger air bag. If the air bag inflates, it will hit the back of the car safety seat, right where your baby’s head is, and could cause serious injury or death. If your rear-facing seat has more than one set of harness slots, make sure the harnesses are in the slots at or below your baby’s shoulders.

Be sure you know what kind of seat belts your vehicle has. Some seat belts need locking clips. Locking clips come with all new car safety seats. If you’re not sure, check the owner's manual that came with your vehicle. Locking clips are not needed in most newer vehicles. If you are using a convertible seat in the rear-facing position, make sure the seat belt is routed through the correct belt path. Check the instructions that came with the car safety seat to be sure. If your vehicle was made after 2002, it may come with the LATCH system, which is used to secure car safety seats. Make sure the seat is at the correct angle so your infant’s head does not flop forward. Many seats have angle indicators or adjusters that can help prevent this. Most importantly, be sure the car safety seat is installed tightly. If you can move the seat more than an inch side to side or front to back, it’s not tight enough.

It's always a good idea to visit a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician to double check your car seat.