When you have a baby, you want nothing more than to keep the precious life you’ve created safe, so it’s natural to have some worries and anxieties in regards to traveling in the car. As long as you follow up-to-date guidance and are careful there’s no need to stress, getting out and about in the car with your baby is good for your mental health as a new parent, and babies love it too. Even if you have a colicky newborn that cries a lot, chances are a ride in the car will soothe them right off to sleep. Here’s what you need to know.
Rear-facing is safest
It’s a legal requirement for babies to sit in rear-facing car seats until they’re at least fifteen months old, but it’s recommended that you keep them rear-facing for much longer than that. The reason that this is the safest way to travel is because the body of a child differs structurally from the body of an adult in a number of ways, including the proportion of their head to the rest of their body and the development of their neck and spine. Crash tests have continually shown that crash impact does significantly more damage when a child is facing forwards, in most cases, it can be the difference between life and death. Many people prematurely move their child’s seat to face forwards because they think that their legs are getting squashed, however, it’s perfectly comfortable for children to cross their legs once they get too long. This does NOT increase the chances of injury to the spine or legs. Ask any accident attorney, they see these situations all the time and would agree that rear-facing is the best way for young children to travel in the car.
Isofix/ LATCH is well worth investing in
Isofix (also known as LATCH) is the international standard for attachment points for child safety seats in passenger cars. It’s a structure that securely attaches to your car, and means that your car seat can clip directly onto it. It prevents the need for messing around with the seatbelt to secure it which can be fiddly. When your baby is small and still using an infant carrier, Isofix enables you to easily remove the entire carrier in and out of the car with just a click. That way you can pop this onto your travel system pram without waking them up if they’ve fallen asleep in the car. You can also take the entire seat into the house without having to mess around unbuckling and removing them outside of the car. If for example, you move between your car, your partner’s car, and perhaps your parents’ car if they look after your child for you, you only need one Isofix system in each car. Then the one infant carrier can be used between all of the vehicles without having to buy separate ones for each.
Coats and car seats don’t mix
Padded coats and car seats cant be used together. This is because any kind of padding can prevent you from pulling the straps tight enough to keep your baby safe in a potential crash. When it’s cold, use a blanket over the top of your baby once they’re strapped in. Coats can also cause overheating in small babies in cars so another reason to take it off before every journey.