{"id":2184,"date":"2020-08-21T20:31:38","date_gmt":"2020-08-21T20:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stg.lareau.ca\/en\/?p=2184"},"modified":"2020-08-24T14:28:19","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T14:28:19","slug":"in-the-car-the-safety-of-our-little-ones-comes-first","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/article\/in-the-car-the-safety-of-our-little-ones-comes-first\/","title":{"rendered":"In the Car, the Safety of Our Little Ones Comes First!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Gone are the days when we could lie down in the back seat of a moving vehicle or drive on our dad\u2019s lap! I\u2019m not telling you anything new, but we now highly value road safety\u2014with good reason\u2014especially when our little ones are in the car. When it comes time to buy a car seat for a baby, some parents get headaches when faced with all of the possible options. Convertible or infant car seat? New or used? Rear-facing or forward-facing? Take a deep breath\u2014we will clarify it all with you!<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Properly Assessing Your Vehicle<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Before you purchase a car seat, it is recommended that you read your car manual to determine the space, available anchors, and optimal weight for your car. This will thus guide you toward the type of car seat that will be the best fit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note: It is strongly recommended not to purchase a used car seat, because its history is unknown.<\/strong> Has it been in a vehicle during an accident? Are there damaged parts? Is there a recall for the model in question? Does it meet new safety standards? Health Canada has announced that it is now prohibited to purchase or sell a car seat manufactured in January 2012 or earlier for the reasons listed above.<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Installing Your Car Seat in an Optimal Manner<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Another puzzle involves installing the car seat in question. Here are some tips for installing the car seat.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If your child is less than a year old, the car seat must be rear facing.<\/li>\n<li>If your child is over a year old, the car seat can be forward facing, as long as your child weighs over 10\u00a0kg (22\u00a0lb.) and can maintain an upright position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>When your child reaches the weight and height recommended by the car seat manufacturer, you can consider switching to a booster seat. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/saaq.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/road-safety\/behaviours\/child-safety-seats\/choosing-right-seat-right-time\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the SAAQ has provided clarification about this<\/a>: for you to make the switch from a car seat to a booster seat, your child must weigh at least 18\u00a0kg (40\u00a0lb.).<\/p>\n<p>Legislation requires that children now sit in booster seats until they are 9\u00a0years old or 145\u00a0cm tall. If children are 9\u00a0years old or 145\u00a0cm tall, but their legs are too short to bend their knees over the seat, they must continue to use a booster seat. If you are unsure if you are complying with standards or doubt the safety of your little one,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>go to the nearest network member location in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caaquebec.com\/en\/on-the-road\/services\/child-car-seat-verification-network\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">child safety car seat verification network<\/a> (the list of locations is on its website); or<\/li>\n<li>go to a police station in your region. Police officers can help you install the car seat and make sure that everything is compliant.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Taking Winter Coats Into Consideration<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>In most manufacturers\u2019 manuals, it is recommended that winter coats not be worn in the car. Be that as it may, we don\u2019t have the same winters as our American neighbours! With cold Canadian winters, it is unthinkable not to dress our little ones in a warm manner! That being said, increasing numbers of stores specialize in manufacturing snowsuits adapted for car seats.<\/p>\n<p>If you put your youngster in a big, warm coat, <strong>it is important to tighten the seat straps properly to ensure that the coat is compressed enough<\/strong>. If the harness is not tight enough during an accident, your little one can be seriously injured or even ejected from the seat. Even if you are driving a short distance, make sure to comply with these guidelines, since accidents are not uncommon in zones with speed limits of 50\u00a0km\/h. They can happen, for example, if someone goes through a red light or doesn\u2019t stop at a stop sign. Accidents happen so fast!<\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Adding Your Car Seat to Your Insurance Policy<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Did you know that if you are in an accident you need to change your car seat even if it does not seem damaged? <\/strong>Following an impact, there may be cracks that are invisible to the human eye, which can compromise the safety of your little ones. You can include the value of your car seat in your insurance policy, so that it is covered and you can replace it in the event of a claim. <a href=\"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/contact-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Call us to find out if your insurance policy allows for covering the replacement of your car seat.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>You are now better equipped and finally ready to put your little one in your car! Don\u2019t forget that you can always go to a CAA network member location or your regional police station for help to properly install your car seat. There is also a very interesting page run by technicians certified in installing car seats on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/littlecupcakesincarseats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Facebook<\/a>. Finally, if you are in a motor vehicle accident, replace your car seat even if it does not seem damaged. In the car, the safety of our little ones comes first!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gone are the days when we could lie down in the back seat of a moving vehicle or drive on our dad\u2019s lap! I\u2019m not telling you anything new, but we now highly value road safety\u2014with good reason\u2014especially when our little ones are in the car. When it comes time to buy a car seat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":2187,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,535],"tags":[580,581,89,579,578],"class_list":["post-2184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-auto","category-personal","tag-car-seat","tag-child-car-seat","tag-children","tag-kid","tag-kids","sector-auto","sector-personal"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2184"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2184\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lareau.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}