Who hasn't experienced the screaming baby on a trip to pay the bills, go grocery shopping, or for the more adventurous a long road trip? It happens to all of us. For some mothers it is a constant battle and for others it is sporadic but when it happens it can be heartbreaking. None of us enjoy hearing our baby cry and this lack of enjoyment only increases when we are limited in our capability to fix the problem. Instead of focusing on what we cannot do this post will feature what we can do to help a crying car seat baby.
1. Assess the car seat - There is quite a bit to this step. Make sure the car seat is comfortable for the baby. Check the straps to see if they are too loose or too tight, make sure the incline is correct, feel the fabric and the buckles to see if they are super hot or cold, feel around for any hard bumps maybe a lost toy. You also want to check to see if your baby is being hit directly with sunlight as this causes many to cry.
2. Create a car toybox - Put several car safe toy in a car safe toybox. Then when baby cries reach back and hand him/her a toy, every time. The box should have a lid and be relatively soft. The toys should be soft as well, something that wouldn't harm baby if it went flying in a car crash.
3. Pull over - Sometimes, even when five minutes from your house, you just have to pull over and comfort baby for awhile. Enjoy this time together, I promise you'll miss it later and I promise it is more important than wherever you have to be in most cases.
4. Talk or Sing to baby - Many babies are soothed by their mother's voice. Even if baby isn't soothed they will know you care about them and hear them crying. It is a way of showing affection even when you can't stop the crying.
5. Put some ice in a mesh feeder or a baby sock - Many babies love to suck on these contraptions and it can keep them occupied quite a long time.
6. Offer a binky - If your baby takes a binky then be sure to offer it for the car ride. We have a special car binky.
7. Have a special car seat toy - This toy is only played with while in the car. Babies get bored easy so this helps create novelty.
8. Bring the car seat in the house and let baby play in it - This helps break down the association of car seat as something negative.
9. Place a poster safely on the seat in front of baby - They make special baby items for this purpose. It gives baby something to look at while you are driving.
10. Play music or white noise - Many babies are soothed by music or white noise.
11. Assess for a medical condition - Babies with reflux, for example, may need the incline of their car seat adjusted (within safety guidelines) to make sure that driving is comfortable for them. There are many baby items you can purchase to help with this.
Now I know I promised a list of things you can do versus things you shouldn't do but I fibbed a bit. I do feel the need to create a small list of "do-nots".
1. Do not leave handle up of the carseat unless the manual expressly says it is safe to do so. If it is safe to leave the handle up it is still not safe to hang toys from it.
2. Do no take baby out of car seat while you or someone else is driving. The risk is not worth the perceived benefit.
3. Do not turn around while driving, pull over if you must.
4. Do not turn the car seat around to forward-facing prematurely. A lot of people will say that their babies stopped hating the car seat once it was forward-facing. However, we now know that it is much safer to rear face your child for an extended period of time. The benefits of safety far outweigh the risk of having an unhappy child.
Showing posts with label car. Show all posts
Showing posts with label car. Show all posts
Friday, October 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Car Safety: Summer Car Safety
Summer is here and it is so much fun to be out and about with our babies and children! We are blessed to have these little miracles to entertain and bring us joy.
When we are trying to figure out how many diapers we've used and if a trip home is needed before we return those library books it can really be hard to think of something so mundane like the temperature in our car.
It is Hot in a Car!
My featured articles are about just how quickly it can become hot inside your car. Never leave your child or baby unattended inside a car even for a quick minute! When you have to take those groceries inside and it is just you and your little babe don't forget to get that little bundle inside before those groceries! Or if you are a skilled AP* momma you can always babywear :)
Keep in mind that small children can be rascals. All you have to do is leave them unattended a minute playing by the car when they realize they left their favorite toy inside. Next thing you know they are playing in the car w/out realizing how hot is and perhaps even trap themselves inside. When we have that mom moment "hey it's too quiet, what's wrong?" it may be too late.
The following articles address these concerns and gives us some practical safety advice:
Car Safety on a Hot Day and 4 Tips to Safety
What happens when you do make a mistake and lock your kid/baby in the car?
The obvious answer is to call 911 and please do that immediately if possible.
Although this seems like a simple answer it is not always feasible because the mom who locked her kid in the car by mistake probably locked her phone in too and there may not be anyone nearby to flag down. Also in some areas there have been incidents where the authorities refuse to come out unless the kid is unconscious. I know, how uncompassionate!
So what to do? Break a window and get that kid out of there! Break a window that is not near your child and using a window hammer and blanket is probably the safest way to do this. Now I'm not a safety expert and this information is simply what I have obtained by reading articles online and talking with moms who have been in this situation. I do know that if this were to happen to me I'd break the window. Even if you have called the authorities they may take a long time to arrive as is what happened to one lady I talked with. Remember a kid can get very hot very quickly in a locked car. You need to discuss with someone (partner, family member, support system) what you would do in this situation so that you have a plan.
Some locksmiths will come out and unlock your car for free. Pop-A-Lock is one of these locksmiths. Please see the following website to see if there is one in your location and keep their phone number in your car. They may be able to reach you faster than the authorities. Always call 911 in addition to the locksmith. And if they can't get their in time don't think twice about breaking that window.
Pop-A-Lock Child Safe Website
Thanks to my sister for the Pop-A-Lock tip!
And what if you see a baby or small child in a car alone? Please notify the authorities! You can notify them anonymously if you would like. Don't feel like you are giving that parent a tough time either. Leave it up to the experts to make the judgment call in terms of what that parent needs: a warning, a ticket, a child welfare check. Your responsibility is to that child and not the parent!
* AP refers to Attachment Parenting which is a parenting style that focuses on the emotional bond between baby and parents.
** Please note that in the picture here the straps on the car seat are not in the proper position, they should be equal with the armpits.
When we are trying to figure out how many diapers we've used and if a trip home is needed before we return those library books it can really be hard to think of something so mundane like the temperature in our car.
It is Hot in a Car!
My featured articles are about just how quickly it can become hot inside your car. Never leave your child or baby unattended inside a car even for a quick minute! When you have to take those groceries inside and it is just you and your little babe don't forget to get that little bundle inside before those groceries! Or if you are a skilled AP* momma you can always babywear :)
Keep in mind that small children can be rascals. All you have to do is leave them unattended a minute playing by the car when they realize they left their favorite toy inside. Next thing you know they are playing in the car w/out realizing how hot is and perhaps even trap themselves inside. When we have that mom moment "hey it's too quiet, what's wrong?" it may be too late.
The following articles address these concerns and gives us some practical safety advice:
Car Safety on a Hot Day and 4 Tips to Safety
What happens when you do make a mistake and lock your kid/baby in the car?The obvious answer is to call 911 and please do that immediately if possible.
Although this seems like a simple answer it is not always feasible because the mom who locked her kid in the car by mistake probably locked her phone in too and there may not be anyone nearby to flag down. Also in some areas there have been incidents where the authorities refuse to come out unless the kid is unconscious. I know, how uncompassionate!
So what to do? Break a window and get that kid out of there! Break a window that is not near your child and using a window hammer and blanket is probably the safest way to do this. Now I'm not a safety expert and this information is simply what I have obtained by reading articles online and talking with moms who have been in this situation. I do know that if this were to happen to me I'd break the window. Even if you have called the authorities they may take a long time to arrive as is what happened to one lady I talked with. Remember a kid can get very hot very quickly in a locked car. You need to discuss with someone (partner, family member, support system) what you would do in this situation so that you have a plan.
Some locksmiths will come out and unlock your car for free. Pop-A-Lock is one of these locksmiths. Please see the following website to see if there is one in your location and keep their phone number in your car. They may be able to reach you faster than the authorities. Always call 911 in addition to the locksmith. And if they can't get their in time don't think twice about breaking that window.
Pop-A-Lock Child Safe Website
Thanks to my sister for the Pop-A-Lock tip!
And what if you see a baby or small child in a car alone? Please notify the authorities! You can notify them anonymously if you would like. Don't feel like you are giving that parent a tough time either. Leave it up to the experts to make the judgment call in terms of what that parent needs: a warning, a ticket, a child welfare check. Your responsibility is to that child and not the parent!
* AP refers to Attachment Parenting which is a parenting style that focuses on the emotional bond between baby and parents.
** Please note that in the picture here the straps on the car seat are not in the proper position, they should be equal with the armpits.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)