Safety in the car becomes our first priority when kids are traveling in the car. Car manufacturers have come a long way about car safety and car safety ratings have improved. As parents its our responsibility too, to make sure that our kids are safe and secure once in the car. Most common cause of infant,toddler or young child death, is car accidents. Children in the car without the proper restraint can be seriously injured or die during the accident.

Child safety seats and seat belts are the major safety features for the kids. Children of all ages from new born to teenagers should be fastened properly in the car according to size and weight, when traveling. We have discussed the safety measures as per children age and weight because their safety requirements change. We are working on the assumption that the child has healthy weight. If the child is underweight or overweight please choose a suitable category.

Note: This is only a general guide applicable in most of the countries. For further details check the country specific child safety web sites at the bottom of the page.

Safety measures for new born to 9 months old’s/ children up to 9 Kg

Carry cot/ baby capsule is the preferred way to carry the infant child or toddler in the car at this stage. Baby capsule can be hired from the hospitals, maternity supplies, Red Cross and some local councils. You need infant seat or child seat basically for the first six months of babies life. Get it fitted before child’s birth because you will need it for that very first trip home from hospital. In some countries doctors and nurses will not allow baby to leave the hospital till car is fitted with a baby capsule or child seat.

Child should always be fastened in the child seat while in the car, whether traveling or stopped for a break. While stopped for relaxing taking infants out of the car is recommended. It will refresh them and relax their still developing muscles. A child should not be left in the child seat for more that 30 minutes in a day, it can damage their still developing muscles and cause back problems. If you travel long trips often, consider installing a carry cot/baby capsule will always be the preferred option than the child seat.

Child car seat should never be placed on the front passenger seat. Correct installation is critical, incorrect installation is an ineffective restraint. Make sure to get it fitted by trained and authorised technicians. It is recommended that the child seat for toddlers and infants should be placed facing backwards and in the center of the car, to minimize any injuries in case of an accident.

For the children placed in the carry cot/baby capsule, extra precaution must be taken because it does not provide same protection as the child seat.

Be careful if you are looking for a second hand child restraint. Make sure that the equipment is not been in the accident, does not have any cracks or broken parts, seat belt and 3 point safety belt fits properly. Before using it for the first time make sure to wash properly to get rid of any possible infection or germs.

Babies are not safe when being held by another person. The person’s arms will not be strong enough to hold the baby in an accident. In most of the countries it is against the child seat safety laws as well.

Safety measures for 9 months to 3 years old/ children weighing 9 to 18 Kg

At this age some kids may not like to stay in their safety seat. They continually undo the seat belt or other harness. There there are some devices available to prevent this happening but these are not recommended, in case of emergency they are hard to undo and can cause extra injuries. Only the parent, or another adult, should undo and fasten the child’s safety belt. Parents should not teach their child how to do this, as they can otherwise never be sure that the child is securely fastened. If they already know, best way to deal with this bad habit is to be very firm about children staying in their restraint. If the child undoes the seatbelt, stop the car and tell them firmly that the car will not move unless everybody has their seatbelts on. You have to be persistent till they learn you will not drive if anyone’s seat belt is undone.

In case of emergency if you have to place child seat on the front passenger seat, make sure to disable passenger airbag. Do not forget to turn it on after wards. If your car does not offer the option of disabling the airbag, move the seat as far back as possible. Airbags are made to protect adults weighing about 75kg. They are very powerful when, inflated. Child placed in front of an airbag may suffocate or be severely injured by the impact of a rapidly inflating airbag.

Safety measures for 3 to 7 years old/ children weighing 15 to 30 Kg

Keep using the child seat till they can fit in them. Once your child is too big to use the child seat you have to get a booster car seat, which is a raised seat using cars existing seat belt. Booster seat with back and wings provide better support and safety in case of an accident. In most of the countries, children at this age are legally allowed to travel without the child seat. As parents for their own safety seat them on the back seat and make sure that their seat belts are on at all times while traveling. Adjust the seat belts so that they are tight to fit your child, remember incorrect installation is an ineffective restraint. If you can not afford a booster seat at least get a child harness.

Safety measures for older children

Don’t rush to use the adult seat belt for children. Allow to use the child harness as long as possible. Make your kids sit on the back seats as long as possible. Once your child grows out of child harness than use adult seat belts and follow the basic safety principles like: make sure they are tight, always done while traveling. Try to avoid any confrontation in the car, as it can distract the driver causing an accident.

Have a safe trip.

Country specific child safety web sites

Australia

• www.officeofroadsafety.wa.gov.au/index.cfm

• www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.

Nsf

• www.atsb.gov.au/pdfs/child_restraints.pdf

Canada

• www.safety-council.org/info/child/childcar.htm

• www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/carseat/choose.shtml

Euro Zone

• www.etsc.be/documents/Fact_Sheet_Child_Safety_Restraints.pdf

• http://www.icadts.org/

New Zealand

• www.aa.co.nz/motoring/owning/safety/Pages/default.aspx

• www.childrestraints.co.nz

USA

• www.aap.org/healthtopics/carseatsafety.cfm

• www.nhtsa.dot.gov

• www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/childpas.htm

UK

• www.childcarseats.org.uk

• www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk

• www.direct.gov.uk/en/Parents/Yourchildshealthandsafety/Roadandtravelsafety

More links coming soon.

I’ve missed more than nine thousand shots in my career. I’ve lost almost three hundred games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. -Michael Jordan.

The life we have and many things that we do every day do not necessarily have clear cut instructions. Our search for the perfection never ends, we learn many new things every day. How do we learn them? For some things there are instruction manuals for the rest we do experiments with logic, with our intellect and with some common sense, to silence our curiosity. There are very few experiments in our life that work out on their first run. We do mistakes and than we learn from them to reach to that perfection that we have imagined as a result or the end product. If we are ready to learn from the failure than the road is endless, learning is endless. But if we start to give up from our failures than we become overcautious, we become scared of speaking up, we become scared of trying new things and in return it affects our personal and professional growth. As Marilyn Vos Savant said, “Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent”.


There is nothing pleasant about failure, at least not at the time when it happens, it embarrasses us. What we have to teach our kids is, parents and teachers can’t teach everything to them, they have to learn from their mistakes and failures and rise above them. easy said than done. If we give our kids the right perspective on failure, than it can be a spring board to success and not a hindrance.We will be able to prepare them to handle the real world, where nothing good comes easy. We have to devote some time to our kids everyday to check what they did all day. In the conversation almost everyday they will come up with the scenario’s where they have done the mistake or failed in something and as parents we have to help them to understand that there is nothing wrong with the failures and mistakes. We will be able to teach them to build realistic expectations that success does not come easy, that winning comes from losing and learning, that when we lose we must learn from them and not give up. Remember there are quick solutions and than there are solutions that take little bit long but the learning from them lasts forever.

However, failure can be a blessing in disguise. Through it we can learn what doesn’t work. Then we can find what does. Failure is a much better teacher than success. Success makes our heads swell. failure makes us stop, look and listen. If we can add “Learn” to this sequence than failure becomes the first step to success. Stop-Look-Listen-Learn; that’s the way to profit from failure.

During these years, your baby will turn into a toddler, a very young child.

She will gain enough control of her growing body to walk, climb, jump, run, and manipulate objects. She will learn to use language to communicate, ask questions, tell you what she needs, and tell stories.

Her learning style is becoming more evident. Her personality will be forming, as the genes she inherited interacts with the quality of her environment and your parenting.

Your toddler wants to be independent, but at the same time is scared of it all. She wants your help but at the same time, she doesn’t want it. This shift in emotions can give rise to tantrums. But this will ease as your child learns to talk better to express her feelings.

This is the stage where your kid grows so fast and change so much.