7 Golden Rules for Child Car Seat Safety

• Wheel Well-Safety-Tips/Guides

As parents, we know full well to always secure our children into a seat while driving. What we aren’t all aware of is that most accidents happen on the shorter journeys, so even if you’re going “just around the corner”, proper use of a car seat is critical.

Car seats need to be replaced as your child grows. Children outgrow a car seat once they have reached the upper weight, height, or age limit of the seat. Check your child’s seat regularly to ensure it is still appropriate. Use these handy weight-for-age charts for girls or boys and read our guide to child car seats.

1. Never use a car seat with the airbags activated to ‘On’. When deployed, the speed and force of an airbag can seriously injure your child and even cause death.
2. Always install your car seat as per the directions in the manual.
3. Keep your child in the correct seat for as long as possible, but no longer. It is dangerous to keep your child in a car seat that they have outgrown.
4. Face the child car seat towards the rear at least until your child reaches 13kg or 15 months.
5. Tighten the harness correctly to fit snugly but comfortably.
6. For rear-facing seats, the shoulder straps of the harness must go over and below the shoulder. For forward-facing, the shoulder straps of the harness can be at shoulder height or slightly above the shoulder.
7. Never leave your child unattended in a car seat.

Remember that cars are not child-friendly zones – we as parents need to make them as safe as possible as well as with the correct use of car seats.

Do you have a pre-loved car seat your child has outgrown? Why not drop it off at your nearest Supa Quick store – Wheel Well will refurbish and distribute to families in need. Make a difference, save a life. 

Disclaimer: This information is for educational or informational purposes only. We do not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. The views expressed in this article are the views of the author and not necessarily the views of Supa Quick.