Baby on Board: Safe Driving Tips for New Parents in Palm Coast, FL

When you have a little one, nothing is more important than ensuring their safety. Here is a list of helpful hints for all who wish to keep their children as safe as possible when driving.

Secure Your Baby and Their Stuff

Make sure you know the proper method for installing and using your baby’s car seat. Go with a seat that allows you to tie your kid’s pacifier and other items to the seat itself so that you don’t have to hunt for these things if they are cast aside. They’ll be much calmer if they can quickly grab items when they want to. You will be too because you won’t have to do it over and over again.

Stay Focused on the Road

Your child is cute and will do sweet things that could be distracting. Your child can also be loud and startling when upset. Your natural impulse will be to take a look in the rearview mirror to see what is going on. Avoid this impulse at all costs. Looking away at the wrong moment can lead to the worst of disasters. It just isn’t worth it. Keep your eyes on the road; it’s the best way to keep your little one safe.

Plan Your Trips Around Your Baby’s Needs

If you plan to travel a long distance, make sure that you figure in times for feedings, changings, and playtimes. Failing to do this will cause your child to become increasingly irritated. Pack everything that you regularly use for all three tasks and don’t leave out the last. Play is an excellent way to change the mood of a baby from angry or upset to happy or sleepy. The best kind of drive is the sort where your baby is either calm and friendly or sleeping through your journey.

Brake Very Carefully

Before you put your new child in the car for a drive practice breaking as softly as possible. Hard or broken braking will irritate your kid at best and injure them at worst, regardless of how well strapped-in they are. Braking too hard also tends to send unsecured items flying, which can do a different kind of harm. Make sure your braking system is well-tended. Brakes that jam and lock are dangerous for everyone in the vehicle.

Never Leave Your Child Alone in the Vehicle

Never, ever leave your child in a vehicle alone. It doesn’t matter if you think it will only be for a moment. It doesn’t matter if it is in your own driveway or in another place you feel is secure. Don’t do it. Your baby could be harmed by the increased temperatures commonly found in vehicles sitting in the sun, and far worse is possible. It is often illegal to leave a baby or older child in a vehicle alone. Avoid harming them and earning yourself years of jail time by taking them with you wherever you go.

Follow these tips and research others. Make sure your little one is as safe as can be when you hit the road.

Image via Flickr by Ryan Polei | www.ryanpolei.comused under CC BY-ND 2.0

Posted in Palm Coast Ford Service | No Comments »