Where the Rubber Meets the Road with Safe Ride 4 Kids: Recent Episodes

saferide4kids

Ever wonder what car seat you should have your 2-year-old in? Or why the car seat tilts to one side when you take a turn? Or how to get the car seat so tight you can shake the car when you test it? Or if you even should get it that tight? Car seats are a pain, right? We are Child Passenger Safety technicians (aka car seat experts) here to answer all of your questions. We'll walk you through all things car seat from the stages of car seats to how to handle teen driving. Because as parents, we all want to keep our kids safe. And the sad fact is... Driving is the most dangerous activity we do every day, but your family has places to be and things to do. Safe Ride 4 Kids helps you arrive safely by equipping you with innovative products and unbiased information from our team of certified safety experts.

Episode 14: Along with transitioning too early (episode 13), many parents move their child to just the seat belt too early. Whether it's because they are following their state law (usually a minimum standard, episode 7) or their child is complaining because "none of my friends have to", a child should remain in a belt positioning device until they can pass the 5-step seat belt fit test.

Want it in writing? Read Take the 5-Step Seat Belt Fit Test for more details.Watch a video here to see proper seat belt fit with a child who passes the 5-step seat belt fit test.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Even if your child passes the 5-step seat belt fit test, keep them in the back seat until they are at least 13 years old.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Choose your battles. You could fight about every little thing with your child but who wants to live like that? Pick just a few of the most important things to you that you want your child to be accountable for.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 13: It's not a graduation and nothing to celebrate. In fact transitioning to the next stage of car seat is actually a reduction of some degree from the previous stage. Listen as we describe how each transition is a step down and why you want to wait to make those transitions and NOT make them too early.

Want it in writing? Read Going Forward Facing Too Early — Way Too Early for why we wait for the first car seat transition from rear facing to forward facing.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Most state car seat laws are minimums, follow best practice as much as possible.
Parenting Tip Bonus: As our friend Veenu from Veenu Inspires says so eloquently, "Our kids inner voice reflect our outer voice." What we say to them becomes what they say to themselves. Think before you speak.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 12: The fifth step in properly restraining your child is using the harness correctly. In this episode we talk about making sure the car seat harness straps are at the right level for your child, keeping the straps threaded correctly and properly tightening the harness for safety.

Want it in writing? Read Using the Car Seat Harness Correctly

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Wipe harness straps clean when dirty. Follow manufacturer's instructions for cleaning the car seat.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Ask questions. Just like our children expect us to have a reason, they have one too. You can learn a lot about your child and his or her thought process by asking questions.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 11: Installing your child's car seat seems like it should be easy but isn't always. And what may seem like the right thing to do, may not be. In this episode we walk you through the two methods of installing car seats, which to use when and tips to make sure you do it correctly.

Want it in writing? Read Properly Installing Your Car Seat

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Do the one inch test and more importantly, have your car seat checked by a certified child passenger safety technician.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Flexibility wins the game. When it's not necessary to be steadfast, sometimes being flexible will provide a win-win for you and your child.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 10: Where is the safest location in the car to put a car seat? While this matters, what matters more is whether you can get a correct installation in that that position. If not, then another position in which you can get a correct install would be better. There are a lot of details that go into choosing where to put your child's car seat. Listen to find out what you need to consider.

Want it in writing? Read Where Should You Put Your Car Seat?

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Most cars do not allow you to use a lower anchor from the passenger side and one from the driver's side to install the car seat in the middle seat using the LATCH system. Read your car manual and car seat manual to determine if you can.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Follow through is super important. Don't make promises, or threats, and not follow through.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 9: Part of selecting the right car seat (as we talked about in our last episode) you need to know which direction your child should be sitting. So which direction should you put your child's car seat? Is your child still rear facing or is it time to start forward facing? Best practice is to keep your child rear facing for as long as possible.

Want it in writing? Read Keep Your Child Rear Facing for as Long as Possible on our website. If you are interested, you can also read Rear-Facing Recommendations, Are They Changing?, Going Forward Facing Too Early — Way Too Early, or Rear Facing Versus Forward Facing Car Seats.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Park on level ground when checking the angle of the rear facing seat.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Start with the end in mind.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 8: The right seat is: one that fits your child, fits your car and you can correctly install every time. In this episode we break that down to some more detail to help you decide which is the right car seat for you.

Want it in writing? Read Selecting the Right Car Seat on our website.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Pick the car seat based on fabric. JUST KIDDING!! If you are able try it in your car before buying.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Teach your children to participate in their own rescue. (See children's book Me to the Rescue)

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 7: Did you know state car seat laws are considered a minimum standard for car seat safety? Many people think states have car seat laws and booster seat laws but in reality it is a "child restraint law" which includes all stages of car seats. Only a few actually even mention anything about booster seats in particular.

Want it in writing? Read Laws Vs. Best Practice in Child Restraints on our website.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Make sure everyone in the car is buckled up for every drive.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Do what you want your children to do. As they say, monkey see, monkey do.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

Episode 6: In this episode, we discuss traveling with kids and car seats. Start with planning. Are you buying a plane ticket for your child and car seat? Are you bringing your seat or renting one for the rental car? What is safest? And what is recommended? What do you need to think about? We have your answers.

Want it in writing? Get more tips for traveling with kids on our website.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: This is the biggest tip to remember. Your children are taking their cues from you, the more you can stay calm, the more they can stay calm.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Speak in the positive.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival™ with your family.

On episode 5 we are discussing what the deal is with winter coats and car seats. Most parents, though not all, have heard that they are not supposed to use a winter coat in a car seat. We often get questions about this because they don't understand why. We discuss the why here and what to do instead to keep your child warm during winter driving.

Want it in writing? Read Winter Coats and Car Seats on our website.

Get the car seat friendly coat we mentioned.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: For safety and comfort, take the coat off your child before putting them in their car seat harness.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Get curious about where the emotion you feel is rooted.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with children and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival with your family.

On episode 4 we continue talking about driving during pregnancy. Did you know pregnancies are at least at 5 times the risk of being lost in a car crash compared to a newborn in the first 9 months? Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center says, “Pregnant women who are hospitalized following motor vehicle crashes are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, even if they are not seriously injured or not injured at all.” And YASA International says, “Researchers have also found that a mother's uterus and bladder are not as protected by the pelvis after 12 weeks gestation and can be more easily injured by blunt trauma.” Here we review some tips to make driving safer during pregnancy.

Want it in writing? Here are some quick Do's and Don'ts for Driving During Pregnancy. Or read our longer, more detailed Tips for Driving While Pregnant. If you are looking for more information about the risks, read Is Wearing the Seat Belt Really Safe for Pregnant Women? Plus more on our blog.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Absolutely wear your seat belt, preferably with a crash tested, highly engineered Tummy Shield for the best protection available.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Take responsibility for your own feelings -- and teach your children they are responsible for their own feelings.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with kids and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival with your family.

On episode 3 we talk about driving during pregnancy. Women are driving many more miles now compared to when seat belts were designed for the average-sized male back in the 1960s. This means that the risks of driving during pregnancy have increased over time as well. How often are pregnant women in car crashes? And what are the potential results of those crashes? We answer those questions in this podcast.

Want it in writing? Read Pregnant Driving: The Stats or review our Pregnant Driving Statistics Infographic. Also, read Injuries Caused to Pregnant Women in Car Crashes.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Absolutely wear your seat belt. And listen to our next podcast when we go over several tips to make driving during pregnancy safer.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Let go of how you thought you were going to parent, kids come into this world with their own agenda and personality.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with kids and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival with your family.

On this episode we talk about crash dynamics:

types of crashes
the three different collisions that actually happen during a crash,
the movements our bodies go through during a crash
and how occupant restraint systems protect us.

Want it in writing? Looks like we need to write a blog article for this. We'll get back to you.

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: Always buckle up. Every person, every drive.
Parenting Tip Bonus: Teaching by allowing children to experience natural consequences.

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with kids and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival with your family.

Welcome to our first episode of Where the Rubber Meets the Road with Safe Ride 4 Kids.

Driving is the most dangerous activity we do every day, but your family has places to be and things to do. Safe Ride 4 Kids helps you arrive safely by equipping you with innovative products and unbiased information from our team of certified safety experts.

On this episode we start at the beginning and talk about the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's four stages of car seats: rear facing, forward facing, seat belt positioning and seat belt. We also talk a little bit about why we add a + (plus) stage; driving during pregnancy. As Professor Hank Weiss concluded in his 2001 study about pregnancy, car crashes and fetal deaths, “The major role that motor vehicle injuries have on reported traumatic fetal injury deaths was shown and a significant new challenge for child passenger safety advocates is indicated.”

Want it in writing? Read Car Seat Best Practice Recommendations and Missing Stage in Child Passenger Safety

Plus:

Our Tip of the Week: No matter how well you think you did, take your car and car seat to have it checked by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (aka car seat expert)
Parenting Tip Bonus: Rules versus Standards. What does that mean and how do you use it in parenting?

Stay tuned or visit our website for more information about car seat safety, driving during pregnancy, traveling with kids and more child safety subjects. We look forward to helping you Make Every Arrival a Safe Arrival with your family.