I have read this kind of news many times before. It is so devastating in that this thing can be prevented by securing your children on the car seats. Although I know that accidents can happen anywhere to anyone, it is our job to make efforts to reduce the possibility of casualty. Car seats nowadays are not that expensive, you can get toddler’s car seats as low as RM180 with a proper harness. Most parents give the reason that their children hated to be seated on car seats that they cried out loud when they were strapped in the car. However, I believe that is one of the challenges that we as parents need to overcome to ensure the safety of our children. Some of the tips that I can share with other parents on how to train your children to sit on car seats:
- Put your children on car seats as early as when they are still babies. Once they feel comfortable in their seats, trust me, they don’t even want to get out from their seats.
- Install DVD player in your car or you can buy any portable DVD player and turn on any programmes that your children love, especially when you are travelling long distance.
- You need to be firm and train yourself to focus on your driving even though your children are crying at the back. If possible, stop the car for a while at any services or RNR to calm your children and continue back your journey.
- The best time to travel long distance is when your children are still sleepy, or they are tired from physical activity and need to take a nap.
- We as parents must show a good example to our children by fastening our seat belts. There were also cases where adults were thrown out from the car’s window during accidents. Again, things might come out differently if they buckled up.
- Distract your children from crying etc. by singing together with them, or talking to them, or playing mind games with them (recommended if you are the co-driver).
In addition to the above things, make sure that your children’s car seats and your children are properly harnessed. Come on parents, let’s change our mind set and think positive about this whole car seat thing.