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Preschooler in the car: how to ensure the safety of the child?
Last reviewed: 18.10.2021
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[Statistics of road accidents
Statistics - a stubborn thing, and she says that more than 15% of preschoolers who ride in a car, when an accident dies. And more than 35% of children who have been in traffic accidents suffer serious injuries. The most common cases of death of children in cars - the death of preschool children under 6 years. Why is this happening?
Every adult, especially parents, does not want to imagine the worst. Including the fact that their child in the car can die or hurt himself anything. Therefore, only a few care about the safety rules in the car: they transplant their child into the back seat, buy a car seat for him, help the son or daughter to fasten the seat belt. But this very often depends on the life of the baby, which can break at the most unexpected moment.
You often had to see a preschooler who sits proudly in the front seat in the arms of his mother, while the rules of the road strictly enjoin him to be in the backseat? But my mother wants to be with her husband, especially if the car is expensive and a beautiful couple with a child looks so prestigious. At the same time, owners of expensive models do not even think that money spent on security means for their own child will pay off in dozens of times. But it would be worth it.
Safety rules for preschoolers in cars
Safety rules say that children can be transported in cars only using special means to keep the baby. First of all, the preschool child should be securely fastened - this will save him from many injuries. Especially since the baby's body is very fragile, and in cases where an adult gets off with only scratches and bruises, the child may have concussion or other serious injuries.
If the child is not yet 3 years old, it must be transported in the car only along the way. Vestibular apparatus of the child at this age is still very fragile, so transporting the child against the course of motion can cause him to feel sick, vomit and a headache. In addition, if an accident occurs, children who have not traveled will suffer much more serious injuries due to the fragility of the bones and, in particular, the fragility of the cervical spine of the children's spine.
Transportation of the preschooler on his hands is a direct violation of the safety rules in the car. Because in any unforeseen situation, if the car "skids" or something happens on the road, an adult with all his weight can press on the fragile body of the baby, and then the consequences are unpredictable. It is necessary to not spare money for the car seat, which is installed in the back seat.
The means for keeping the preschooler in the car must be properly selected, taking into account its weight, volumes, height and age. For example, if the child does not grow up to 150 cm, then the standard seat belt will not be enough for him - you need another, located lower. Such belts are provided on the rear seats. In addition to the safety belt, the car is supposed to hold special car seats, which are designed for different ages of children.
How to choose the right car seat for children?
The car seat for the preschooler should be selected by category. These categories are set for children from birth to 12 years. Let's take a look at these categories. Manufacturers of car seats for toddlers divide them into groups:
- child from birth to 9 kg in weight (an armchair called avtollyukoy)
- child from 9 kg to 15 kg (car seat)
- a child from 15 kg and above - up to 12 years (car seat).
From the age of 12 the child, regardless of weight or height, can safely sit in the back seat without a car seat. But before 12 years, such a purchase will be reliable and useful, because the weight of each child car seat, other than the specified weight, can withstand an additional 10 kg.
In the choice of models there are nuances: if you buy a small child a car, and not a car seat for more adults, this is the right choice. The fact that the car gives the child the ability to stay in the position that is more familiar to his age. In the car, the baby can lie or sit. This model is designed for kids up to 4 years.
When the child is 4 years old and his weight is in the redistribution of 9-15 kg, you can buy a more adult car seat. In comparison with avtolyubkoj this model will allow the child not only polulezhat in it, but also to sit. Children from 4 years are very inquisitive, they are interested in looking in the window or playing in the car, so you will hardly be able to limit it only by lying down or reclining, as in a cradle.
Both car seats, which are designed for children up to 15 kg, are good in that they provide a special handle in order to easily carry this convenient design. For this, car seats are called armchairs-transfers or cradles-transfers. They are very reliable due to reinforced side walls and special point belts. In the armchairs there are also headrests for babies who have not yet reached the age of 4 months. And for those children who weigh up to 9 kg, in the car seats there are additional pads for the shoulders. A real nest in which it is cozy and peaceful!
What came up with manufacturers for children from 15 kg in weight? In such car seats there are headrests and armrests, and both parents can regulate that their son or daughter was as convenient as possible. If the baby is not very comfortable because of the small growth, in the car seats are provided special boosters, which make it possible to raise the baby and put him higher. And that the chick does not fall out, it will be reliably protected by a seat belt. The booster is convenient because it is removable. You can either put it or remove it - if only the preschool child was comfortable.
What should I look for when choosing a car seat for preschoolers?
First, do not rely on your own eye and choose a chair without a child. This is a serious purchase, so parents need to make sure that the chair is matched properly. To do this, when buying, you need to seat or put the baby there and make sure that it is convenient there. Today the market has a huge choice of car seats, and parents have plenty of opportunities to choose the model that best suits their child.
"Suitable" means that the baby is not tight in the car seat, that he has space left there, taking into account his growth for the next 2-3 years. In addition, in the winter the baby will be dressed more warmly, therefore it is necessary to select an armchair in view of this circumstance. It must freely accommodate the preschooler in both winter and summer clothes.
When choosing a child car seat, be guided by its marking. The most reliable European models are marked with the letters ECE 44/03 or ECE 44/04. This means that the model has passed tests and tests.
Do not be mistaken that the more you pay for an armchair, the more reliable it is. This is far from the case. Given the information you have read above, the chair must first of all fit the child in size and age. If you have any questions about the models of car seats, you can use the services of a sales consultant.
In choosing a car seat for a preschooler there is one more nuance. At its selection you have the right to ask the seller for a certificate in which it should be indicated that the car seat has passed the crash test at a car speed of at least 50 km per hour.
So, simple ways of ensuring safety on the road will help protect your preschooler in the car. 90% of his life and health - in the hands of loving parents.