If you have been a parent for some time, then you are well aware of how difficult it can be to make kids stay put in one place for a drive longer than a couple of hours. Even a daily drive through the city can be challenging enough, let alone a road trip. Besides providing them with enough materials and activities to keep them occupied, you need to think about measures of precaution that will guarantee a safe and secure trip for both you and your children. Here are some of the measures you should mind before getting in a car with kids every single time:
Teach your kids to use the seatbelt
Children often underestimate the importance of seatbelts. They find seatbelts inconvenient and unnecessary, and often forget to fasten them. First of all, you should teach your kids that it is punishable by law if a police officer stops the car and they do not have their seatbelt fastened. This might not be enough for them to develop a habit to also use the seatbelt in the backseat, which is why your job is to remind them every time and trust in the power of habit. After a while, you will see how fastening a seatbelt becomes automated, and this habit will stay with them possibly for the rest of their lives.
Make sure your car is well secured
Security precautions must be provided at all times if you wish to travel with your kids. When it comes to smaller children, a car seat is not only a luxury, but a must. Also, you should read this article explaining is it illegal to use an expired car seat to learn more. Moreover, it is never wise to travel without car insurance. Accidents happen, and by Murphy’s Law, they happen most often when you are not insured. There are cheap car insurance options you can tailor to your needs, and they can also offer you a wide range of covers and additional features. Do not let either you or your children’s life fall in the hands of faith, but try preventing any possible inconveniences.
Kids are not to be left alone in the car
Even if you might think this is impossible, horrible things have happened to people who left their children alone in the car, and there is a fair chance that something bad could happen to you, too. Kids can be unpredictable and curious at the same time, which is the worst possible combination for a child left alone in such a complicated machine with a lot of buttons. Furthermore, it can happen that you forget to pull up the hand brake, which can lead to your car sliding away and causing an accident (yes, this has happened to parents, too). A catastrophe can occur in a matter of seconds, which is why you should take your children with you even when stopping just for chewing gum.
Keep your eyes on the road
Driving around with kids is a challenge on its own, because kids can be quite obnoxious in the car. They have limited space to move, and their attention span is also very limited, which means they will be bugging you a lot. In such cases, it is important that you resist the temptation to move your eyes away from the road. Just a second of recklessness can be lethal, so make sure to stay concentrated all the time. If you find yourself even a tad sleepy before you take a ride with the kids, do not hesitate to throw in one more cup of coffee and get reenergized. Sleepy drivers cannot be good drivers, no matter how experienced they are.
Keep the car doors locked in movement
In most cars today, locks are automatically regulated, but in some older car models, you have to lock them manually. It is easy to forget to lock the doors with everything else in mind, and this is a common mistake that can easily be prevented. Kids get bored and tend to play with locks during the ride, which can lead to an accidental opening of doors. In order to prevent this as well, make sure to have smart locks installed so that kids cannot unlock them from within.
It is very important never to underestimate the possibility of an accident and always prepare your car for the worst. Never drive anywhere without a spare tire and a car towing service number. There is no need to drive faster than the speed limit, because getting faster anywhere is not worthy of risking an accident that can threaten both yours and your kids’ lives.
