Car seats have been used to carry infants and children for years now, but there are many misconceptions that come along with them. If you’re looking to brush up on your knowledge about the smaller seats for little tikes everywhere, we’ve scoured the web for three of the most common car seat myths and have put them to rest in a comprehensive list you can read in full below. Spoiler: You may be surprised by some of the facts we share!
My Child Doesn’t Need A Car Seat
You may have not grown up sitting in a car seat inside your parent’s station wagon, but that doesn’t mean using one isn’t beneficiary for your child’s safety. In fact, according to the CDC, car seats reduce infant mortality risks by as much as 71 percent. Meanwhile, toddler fatality risks decrease by 54 percent with the use of a safety seat. Therefore, it’s pretty obvious having your child sit in a car seat is a huge safety advantage that can only keep your kid safer than they otherwise would be.
You Should Face Your Child Forward When You Think They’re Ready
Every car seat available on the market is designed to face backward to keep your child safer. Oddly, many parents believe that after their children reach a certain age, it’s safe for them to turn around and sit normally. That isn’t the case so long as your child is still small enough that they need a safety seat.
By placing your child facing forward in a car seat, the risk level of a severe injury as the result of an accident is 5.32 times higher. So until your child outgrows their car seat, it’s best for their safety to keep them facing backward.
My Children Don’t Fit in Car Seats Anymore, So They Can Sit Normally
Speaking of your child outgrowing a car seat, when your kid does get to be a bit too big to fit in their old safety seat, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re ready to sit like an ordinary passenger in your vehicle. Oftentimes, after your child departs their car seat, they’re still not tall enough so that a car’s seat belt crosses their chest instead of their neck. Therefore, if your child is too big for a car seat but isn’t tall enough to sit normally just yet, purchase a booster seat to add some height so the belt fits properly.
Judging when and how you should have your child sit in a car seat while traveling can be tough, and that can lead to the creation of even more myths surrounding the proper use cases for such protection. The three we’ve listed are, arguably, the most popular and can lead to unsafe circumstances for you and your family. It’s always good to brush up on your knowledge of how to implement a car seat safely in your family’s lifestyle, and with this information, we hope you’ll make better judgments.
Image via Flickr by Collapse The Light
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