Being a new parent you have a lot of things to worry about you likely once took for granted. Like the safety of your back seat passengers.
Babies, as you probably know, are fragile and require constant care. They need their parents to protect them at all times, especially when they are passengers in the back seat. Having a tested and certified car seat is the first step, but you’ll likely want to take it a few steps further than that.
For instance, the safest car seat in the world is worthless if you fail to secure it properly. More than half of all car seats are not installed properly, resulting in possible injury to the baby securely buckled into it.
Next, do yourself a favor and turn on the child safety locks located in the back of almost all vehicles made the last decade. You might not think your little baby is capable of reaching or even recognizing the door handle yet, but the last you want is to find out your baby is an early developer when it comes to this hazard.
Once the seat and the doors are secured you can start thinking about the comfort of your child. Purchase a sunshade for the rear window. The sun is an annoyance to you, but for your baby it is a big, bright ball of agony that can burn their sensitive skin and harm their eyes if they are left unprotected.
You should also consider a special backseat mirror which will allow you to see your rear-facing baby without actually needing to turn around in your seat. These mirrors can help you feel confident your baby is OK without endangering your life to get a better look.
Finally, now that you are riding with a baby, you need to keep a fully stocked first aid kit with you and extra baby-related supplies, like wet wipes, lotion, first aid cream, diapers, powder and bandages. You never know what you might need or when you might need it, so do yourself, and your baby and favor and bring it with you.
Because with a baby on board, life becomes a constant adventure.
