Setting up Baby’s Car Seat Safely
Being one of the most crucial pieces of safety equipment you’ll ever use, installing a car seat shouldn’t be difficult for even a parent who hasn’t gotten enough sleep. Sadly, many parents do not recognize the damaging mistakes they are making. For safety reasons, you should face your baby’s car seat as suggested below. Besides, we recommend the article — best booster car seats for 5-10-year-old.
Your baby is facing forward too soon.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that all children ride in backward-facing positions until they reach the car seat’s maximum height or weight limits. The new suggestion is that kids stay rear-facing until at least age 2.
An infant’s spinal cord is still developing as the bones that surround it are still developing. When a child is rear-facing, the strongest section of his body, his back, is better able to withstand the powerful pressures of an accident. When an infant faces forward, his comparatively heavy head can fly forward, exposing his spinal cord and placing him at risk of paralysis or death due to his immature spine.
As long as your child is under the seat’s maximum weight or height restrictions, you must abide by the regulations and keep him rear-facing.
Your rear-facing car seat is not angled properly.
To prevent your child’s head from flopping forward, make sure the seat is angled properly. For information on your seat’s ideal angle and how to change it if necessary, refer to the instructions. Angle indications or adjustments should be standard on all rear-facing seats.
An infant’s airway has a diameter that is comparable to that of a soda straw. Your baby’s unusually large head may tumble forward if the rear-facing seat leans too far forward, obstructing her airway and causing her to go unconscious.
For the comfort of adult passengers, most rear vehicle seats slope backward, but safety seats are meant to be installed on flat surfaces.