By far the most nerve wracking drive I have ever made was taking my newborn home from the hospital. Suddenly it seemed that every car was going 90 mph and texting while driving. The drive home didn’t change, but the importance of the trip increased exponentially. I had a new, tiny human strapped into my car and he wasn’t too sure what was going on. I white-knuckled it all the way home without incident. I bet you did the same.
Fortunately for my wife and I we had taken the time to install the car seat the night before my wife went into labor. We didn’t plan it that way, it just worked out like that. I recommend you install your newborn’s car seat well before your child’s due date. I can’t imagine going through the childbirth process and then installing the car seat at the hospital as an afterthought.
My wife and I put a lot of time into finding the best car seat for our child. We read reviews, watched demos and researched until we were dizzy. But finally we picked the best one for us and it worked great.
But statistics show that in 2015 that 95% of people install their child seat incorrectly. Don’t waste your hard earned research by installing a great child seat poorly. That is why it is important to get your car seat checked by professionals.
Source: USDOT
This week we celebrate Child Passenger Safety Week. The focus of this week is on keeping your kids safe while in the car. Most local police departments and nonprofit groups are holding free safety inspections this week for your car seat. Don’t worry, this is not a trap to fine you for some sort of violation. This is a genuine effort to keep kids safe.
At our first car seat safety inspection a few years ago, my wife and I were alerted to an error with our seat. While the seat was installed correctly, we were also using a car seat undermat for an infant car seat. While this was not a glaring mistake, we were told that the infant car seats were too lightweight to grip the undermat correctly. This meant in the event of an accident the bottom of the seat would move more, which is bad. So right then we removed it with the instructors help and reinstalled the seat. We were even complimented on the seat we chose as being one of the best at the time.
Overall it was a great experience and everyone was very helpful. Don’t be afraid to go to a free inspection, you are not going to be judged. This is great way to insure you child is going to be safe while in the car. I have gone to these inspections and will continue to go for as long as my child is in a car seat. For more information on keeping your kids safe while in the car and to find a seat inspection near you, go to Safe Kids Worldwide.
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