As a parent, you undoubtedly worry about your child on a daily basis. Your worries may range from whether your baby eats enough and gets enough sleep to whether he or she could suffer injuries in an accident. Unfortunately, accidents do befall children at a high rate, and those events include car accidents.
Car crashes present a major hazard to young children and are actually a leading cause of fatalities for kids. This idea may worry you to no end as any type of injury to your child would leave you devastated. Fortunately, you can act as your child’s first line of protection by ensuring that he or she remains properly restrained while in the vehicle.
Car seat safety
After your child’s birth, you may have worried over correctly installing the car seat in your vehicle. After all, you want to make sure that the seat would do its job and protect your child in the event of an accident. A properly installed car seat can make a substantial difference in the seat’s effectiveness, and you may also want to consider the following safety seat tips as well:
- If your child is not yet 2 years old, safety recommendations state that he or she should stay in a rear-facing car seat.
- You should move your child to a front-facing seat before age 2 only if he or she has outgrown the height or weight limits for the current car seat.
- If you utilize a front-facing seat, you should use one with a five-point harness.
- After outgrowing a front-facing seat, your child should use a booster seat to ensure that the safety belt fits properly across the body.
- Additionally, any child under the age of 13 should ride in the back seat for added safety.
You may worry that your child will get uncomfortable staying in a rear-facing seat until age 2, but his or her legs could remain better protected in the event of an accident. Of course, any time you change seats, make sure that the new seat has been properly installed.
Child injuries
Sadly, even if you do your best to keep your child in the correct car seat and properly restrained, he or she is not completely immune to suffering injuries in a crash. If another driver causes a car accident that leads to you or your child suffering serious injury, you may have reason to file a personal injury claim against that person in order to seek compensation.
