Buckling Up to Enjoy the Ride

Steps to ensure your baby’s safety

Buying an infant car seat has become an integral part of the official entry into parenthood — ranking right up there with getting a prenatal ultrasound and picking out nursery furniture. Knowledge about how to keep our children safe in cars has improved dramatically since our own parents were faced with the same task. After all, we've come a long way from the days when new babies were brought home secured in nothing more than a parent's loving arms. Only a generation ago, parents had to be convinced to even buy a car seat, much less use one, while today few of us would dare leave home without it. As you join the ranks of proud parents, you will inevitably become well acquainted with car seats. Not only are they guaranteed to be part of your everyday parenting routine for many years — long after teething, colic, strollers, and diapers have all come and gone — but making sure your child is always secured properly in a car seat constitutes one of the most important measures you can take to help ensure your child's safety.

Before Leaving the Hospital

Buying a car seat for your baby will certainly be one of the most important purchases you'll make, and one that you will need to make before your big day arrives — or at least before you leave the hospital. All 50 states now have laws requiring the use of infant safety seats in the car, and it has become standard hospital policy that parents must have one in their possession before taking their new baby home. Showing up with an infant seat, however, is not the same as using and installing it correctly. Plan ahead, take time to educate yourself, practice installing the seat in the car and, if possible, schedule a time before your due date (or as soon as you can after your baby is born) to have the seat checked by a certified child passenger safety technician in your community.

 

How Times Have Changed

A quick historical look at the evolution of automobile safety may help you understand why there is a generation of grandparents (and even parents) out there who still need to be convinced to buckle up!

1965: Lap belts first required in passenger vehicles

1971: First federal standards for child restraints (car seats)

1973 and 1989: Lap/shoulder belts required in front seats; in both outer positions of the back seat

1996: Phase-in of air bags and requirement that all seat belts come with a locking mechanism

2002: All new vehicles and child seats equipped with universal tethers and anchors — a system referred to as LATCH.

The "Car Seat Challenge"

For infants born more than 3 weeks prematurely, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that they be monitored in their car seat before leaving the hospital. Taking this simple precaution helps to ensure that the car seat's semi-reclined position won't cause the newborn to experience breathing problems or slowing of the heartbeat. When it is a problem, doctors may recommend that an infant use a car bed.