Why You Should Put Your Child In A Car Seat

With the growing number of people that own automobiles these days it is a good idea to stay safe in them.  There are many auto accidents every day and some are much more serious than others.  If you are cautious and learn about auto and driving safety, you can greatly reduce your chances for being in a wreck and keep yourself and your family much safer.  If you have young children or you ever drive around with your grandchildren or other children you may have with you, you may want to know a few things about keeping them safe in the car when you drive.  There are many reasons why you would want to keep your child in a car seat or child restraint seat.
You may not realize or may not have known that auto accidents are the number one cause of death in children between the ages of 1 year and 14 years of age.  Statistics show that many of these deaths to children that are on the younger end of this spectrum were involving children that were not in a child safety seat.  Even with those kids who were killed in the auto accidents that were properly secured, misuse of the restraint was indicated.  The majority of injuries caused to children in these auto accidents are involving the head, spine and neck, so they can be very serious and for sure life threatening.  There is good news, however, to all of this bad news.
Studies have proven that children that are properly restrained in the car according the correct guidelines from the manufacturer of the child seat are at a much, much lesser risk for being injured in an auto accident and for death as well.
Because of rumors that circulate and myths, some people think that if they are in a restraint or put their children in a restraint that it would be harder for them to escape if they are in an accident.  Statistics show, however, that those who are thrown from a car in a car accident are many times more likely to be killed.  If you don't wear your seatbelt and thus sustain a head or neck injury, you may not be likely to escape the crash.
The different states have their own laws regarding proper buckling up for children, however, most of them are similar.  Children should be in an age appropriate car seat until they reach about the age of 8 years old unless they grow to be about 57 inches in height before that age.  And at the time they are no longer in need of a car restraint, they should definitely start wearing a seat belt and buckling up.
When a child is an infant, they should be in a safety seat that is safe for infants and be rear-facing.  The car seat manufacturer will provide you with instructions that come with the infant seat you purchase that will tell you when the child can be forward facing safely.  It is usually around the time they reach 35-40 pounds or so.
Keeping your child or any children that are with you safe is very important.