Getting a Child Car Seat

I talked about child safety a little bit in an entry a couple of days ago.  Part of what a parent needs to consider when thinking about the safety of their child is which car seat to purchase. 

Before making the trip to the hospital to deliver is the appropriate time to determine which is the best child car seat for your little one.  And there are quite a few things to consider, such as:

• Do you want an infant seat that's part of a travel system? 
• Do you want a convertible car seat that allows you to stay with the same car seat as your child grows?
• Do you want to use one that a friend no longer needs, or buy a new one?
• Do you have all of the appropriate accompaniments for it to fit your little infant on the day he/she comes home from the hospital?

And there are more.

If you decide to buy a new infant car seat, make sure to follow the instructions closely when putting it together.  There are proper angles for the seat depending upon how it's positioned in the car, straps to adjust, etc.

If you are going to acquire a used car seat, there are some other things to think about. Not only do you want to follow the manufacturer's guidelines when putting it in place, but you'll also want to:

• Be sure that the seat fits your child.
• Make sure that it fits, and will work as it should, in your car.
• Check the straps to ensure that they do not move, unless you are adjusting them. Make sure there aren't any tears in the straps.
• Check to see if it's been in an accident before; it is recommended that car seats which have been in an accident not be used.
• Check for any cracks or breaks in the seat itself.  You are checking the integrity of the seat.
• Make sure that there are no essential pieces missing.
• Ensure that you have the proper base.  If it can be used without a base, can it be positioned properly in your car without it?
• Check the baby product recalls to ensure that your seat hasn't been recalled.  If it has, check to see if the manufacturer has provided a remedy for the concern.
• Ensure that the straps will lie flat, as intended, across the shoulders and around the hip area.  

This isn't an all-inclusive list, but these are some of the things to think about when getting a car seat.  For more things to consider, check out my page on the infant car seat.

As the child grows, if you've been using an infant car seat, you'll need to consider a convertible or booster seat once your child reaches the size limit for the infant seat.  

There are many different options when determining the best child car seat for your little one.  It's an important decision.  Think about how much you drive!  Do your research so that you'll be happy with the one you get.  You'll be using it a lot!

Parenting Discipline

In the past year or so, there has been a lot of coverage about the changes the past couple of decades have seen in parenting (in general). 

Do kids, these days, feel entitled?  Do they act as if they are? Are parents entitling their kids?  Are more subscribing to the uninvolved parenting style, or the permissive parenting style?  Are parents just generally overwhelmed with their own lives and then even more overwhelmed with having to deal with their kids? 

The alternative might be the authoritarian parent, one who is very strict and needs to maintain control.  Have you heard the coverage over the past year about the Tiger Mom?  Her girls seem to be very successful, but is this the way to get them there? 

A deeper question might be how parents these days are actually disciplining their kids.  There is a lot of negative coverage about spanking, and great coverage about time - outs.  Is this what parents are doing today, or are parents spanking their kids and not mentioning it to anyone? 

I cover this topic on the page on my site called parenting discipline.  I'd like to get a lot more feedback from others.  Please go to disciplining kids and weigh in. 

Temper Tantrums Start as Toddler Tantrums

If you have kids, you've seen them or will see them throw a temper tantrum.

I think these little fits actually start as babies; babies know no other way to get what they need other than to cry.  But as children get older and begin to develop their ability to think through small lessons of cause and effect, they'll turn into toddler tantrums; they're causing a meltdown to affect the reaction/result they want.

If you're not there yet, get ready.  They'll happen.  And it's how you handle the child during these times that will shape future behavior you'll experience with him/her.

Have you seen the child in the department store who starts screaming at his mother loudly enough for the whole world to hear?  This child wants something, and is testing the tantrum thing to see if it'll get her what she wants.  She can either learn very quickly that this type of behavior works very well... or she can learn 1) that screaming doesn't work well and 2) there are other, better ways to get what she wants.

All too often as the mother, (and this has happened with me many, many times!) it is easier and less embarrassing to give in, thinking that you'll handle it the next time, or you'll discipline your child for her bad behavior later.  Well, once she learns that bad behavior will get her what she wants, she'll gladly provide more of it the next time.  And disciplining a toddler later can be very confusing to her; it is best to handle it in the moment.

HOW you do it can vary a lot, and that's a topic for another post.  But handle it.  Do it with grace.  Talk with her.  Don't let HER bad attitude get control of YOU.  Know that you're behavior in response to her is an example to her of how to act.  Remember to reward her for good behavior, once she corrects it in a situation like this, but also when she's acting nicely at other times.

What's a reward?  Well, that depends on your child. This is important because often I see parents reward kids based on what they (the parents) like as rewards, not with what the child's currency is. What does she like?  What gets her excited?  What has she wanted before when she's thrown a temper tantrum? 

Know that handling toddler tantrums well early on means you're paving the way for better behavior as your child gets older.

For more on temper tantrums which happen during the toddler years, see my site's page on toddler tantrums.

Click here for more on the topic of parenting discipline.  Weigh in on spanking versus time-outs!  Leave your comments on  our disciplining children page.

Safety of Kids

When you bring home an infant from the hospital, the main concerns you might have with regards to his/her safety is the infant car seat and any medicines which the baby might need.  Childproofing your home may not be a concern yet since it will be a while before the baby is mobile. Yet childproofing the home is best done before the child becomes very mobile so that the necessary precautions are already in place.

Many things should be considered prior to your baby crawling:  plug outlets, and medicines, cleaning chemicals, and other solutions which might be poisonous if ingested should be stored out of reach of the child.  Plants should be removed from the crawling area.  Anything small, that might possibly be removed from something larger should be out of reach.  Gates should be put up to keep the crawler contained to safe areas.

Floors should be kept free of debris that a child might think looks interesting to eat. (Crawlers usually think everything looks like it should go in the mouth if it fits!)

For other useful tips and safety considerations in and around the home, visit Safety of Kids.

Another thing to keep in mind as parents is sun protection.  Protecting kids' skin from sun damage when they are young will be very important to them as they age, but nothing they'll care about when they're children.  That's why it's our job, as parents to help them with this!  They'll appreciate it later! Choosing  the best sunscreen, which includes knowing and assessing the sunscreen ratings, should be part of the plan.

Click here for more information on sun safety for kids.

Safety isn't something children think about much; very young kids don't have the ability to even understand consequences, so "safety" does not mean anything to them.  That's why, as parents, it needs to be on the front of our minds for our little ones.
-->