Sadly, accidents are the main cause of death in children, with car accidents leading the way at 40%. Injury and death can all too easily result when small children are not securely fastened into the proper size of child seat with an appropriately fitted and correctly adjusted seat belt. Small children have proportionately larger heads compared with their body than adults and the sheer weight of the head if they get thrown forward violently makes them especially vulnerable; extra care has to be taken when travelling by car if carrying toddlers.
Ensure that children less than three years of age are securely fastened in. A baby capsule or toddler car seat is needed for toddlers in this age bracket. Children up to the age of 12 years, or 135cm in height, must have an appropriate child restraint to secure them in place.
A baby should not be forced to sit in a child seat for more than about half an hour a day. This is because of the slow development of its back muscles. An occasional long trip is fine, as long as there are plenty of breaks, and shorter daily trips are no problem.
Make sure to use the right sort of child seat for the child’s size, because if its head protrudes over the top of the seat then the seat is too small for it and severe injury could result if the car is in a collision.
Toddlers between three and six years of age can use rear child seats with three-point belts or alternatively booster cushions, although these are not quite so good. If using a booster cushion make sure that the belt, when fastened, crosses the chest rather than the neck, which would indicate that the cushion is too small.
Contrary to what you might expect, women’s car insurance could get cheaper when a baby comes along, with many insurers offering discounts. Getting married and having a baby are commonly two of the indicators often used by car insurers to define increased maturity and responsibility, which affects the rates to your advantage.
