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Keeping your little angel safe is a bit easier when you know what to do.

It is known that car accidents are the #1 cause of death in children under the age of 14 years old. That information alone should make any parent want to learn as much as possible about keeping their baby safe.

First of all, it is very important to have your infant in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible. Most rear-facing car seats can be found to hold up to 35 lbs. The absolute minimum is suggested to be when the baby reaches 1 year and 20 lbs. A lot of parents get that information confused and think it's one or the other. You may not like the fact that as they get older their legs will bend at the knee in order to sit in the rear-facing car seat. However, I would prefer a little possible discomfort for the baby to possibly losing my sweet one because I turned the car seat a little too soon.

For any who wonder why a rear-facing car seat is so much better than front facing. Well, if we could drive facing the rear, we would be a bit safer too! However, I think at that point we would have more crashes and it would defeat the purpose. It helps prevent spinal cord injury, snapping of the head and neck and other possible things that a crash would cause a body to do.

Some time or another you will absolutely have to face your baby to the front. Do it when you really have no choice. Your baby should ride in the front-facing car seat until absolutely necessary to change to a booster. Most front-facing car seats have a weight limit of 40 lbs. The safest car seats are the ones that have the 5-point harness. This is very important to keep your baby safe.

I know we are talking about baby car seat laws but I absolutely have to stress this fact. When your child has reached the car seat limit, safety is still the number one issue. Please be sure to find a booster that will allow up to 80 lbs and has the 5-point harness as well. So many children are severely hurt or even killed due to their shoulder belt being behind their back because it was "uncomfortable".

Now, actual car seat laws do vary from state to state so remember to check with your highway patrol for more information. Or simply type in "car seat laws in _____" in our trusted google search. Or, whatever search engine you may use.

One more very important thing Any time you purchase a new car seat or booster get a professional to have it checked to make sure that it is installed correctly. You may feel it's "out of your way" and "un-necessary" but it's always best to know your baby is going to be safe.

Learn more about this author, Dorothy Garcia.
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