Car Seat Safety from Conception Forward

We all want our children to be safe in the car and thanks to the folks at Safe Ride 4 Kids, we can protect our babies even in utero with the Tummy Shield. 

The Tummy Shield is a seat belt safety device for expecting mothers and their unborn babies that protects baby in the event of a crash by redirecting the seat belt away from the pregnant belly. The patented design secures the seat belt at the leg, not the belly or hips where it can crush an unborn baby. Hundreds of successful crash tests have shown that the seat belt continues to comply with current safety standards. 

Once baby is safely born, Safe Ride 4 Kids has these car seat safety tips for all of us. 

• Kids are at least 5 times safer rear-facing versus forward-facing, because the entire head, neck and spinal column are supported in a frontal crash (which is statistically THE most common). When a child is forward-facing whether in a harness or a seat belt positioning device like a booster or RideSafer vest (which is a hybrid between the two), the crash dynamics are pretty much the same. The body is restrained and the neck/spinal column is left to restrain the child’s disproportionately large and heavy head. For this reason, parents should keep children rear-facing as long as possible, a minimum of 2 years old. The longer the better, up to the limits of their car seat. Some parents worry about the child’s legs being “scrunched” or injured in a crash when rear-facing, but that is not an area of concern for injury or comfort.
• Parents are too eager to move children out of each stage. The perception of “graduating” to the “next stage” is a not in the child’s best interest from a safety perspective. The biggest reduction in safety is moving from rear to forward-facing, but there is also a reduction of safety from a harness (conventional 5-point or RideSafer with tether) into a seat belt positioning booster. The child has more “freedom” to put themselves at risk by being out of pre-crash position when they are in just a booster, especially a backless booster. The child’s behavior and maturity are big factors in deciding which restraint system is appropriate for them.
• Regardless of what your state law says, it is best to follow “Best Practice” recommendations including keeping children in the back seat until they are at least 13 years old.
• A child restraint improperly used is not as effective and may even put your child at increased risk of injury. It is critical that car seats be used according to manufacturer recommendations, including using the equipment in your vehicle correctly every time. The only way to achieve that is to read and follow both the vehicle and the child restraint’s owner's manuals. This is not a piece of furniture where you can guess and hope you get it right. When in doubt, find a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician to help you. Be aware that not all fire departments or police departments have certified technicians. Make sure you are getting correct information by meeting with a certified tech.

So you've had your baby, followed all of the recommendations and now your child is old enough to ride forward-facing. Safe Ride 4 Kids has you covered there too with the RideSafer. Whether you are seeking an alternative to a traditional booster seat or a more portable version of a forward-facing, 5-point harness seat, the certified RideSafer wearable car seat vest offers increased safety and comfort by allowing the child to sit further back and lower on the more comfortable vehicle seat. The RideSafer is also lightweight and easily portable, which is great when traveling with kids. 

Safe Ride 4 Kids is happy to be the #1 retail seller of the RideSafer Travel Vest which solves several challenges for parents and caregivers and the Tummy Shield which makes makes driving while pregnant both safer and more comfortable.