Car seat safety can cause even the most level-headed parent to break out in a cold sweat.
Long gone are the days when babies could face forward in theirs seats at 12 months of age.
The simple fact is that today’s safety guidelines recommend that children well past the age of two be placed in a rear-facing seat in the back seat of the vehicle. However, the safest place doesn’t always mean the easiest option for the parties involved.
Many babies cannot stand to be out of site or reach of their caretakers… which means they are going to alert you in the most instinctual way possible- screaming. Screaming isn’t good for baby for long periods of time, and it’s also not good for the driver. This kind of distraction has many parents opting-out of driving alone with their infants until they reach an age where it is less stressful for their child.
Volvo has created a new car seat and vehicle design that may help with the parenting conundrum. The Swedish carmaker created a concept car which shows the front passenger seat transform into an infant base and seat right before your eyes.
The beauty of the design is that the infant can have a view of the driver and vice versa. Any unexpected needs of the child can be tended to as well.
But is it safe? According to specialists, this new front infant seat has the potential to have even more safety features than the traditional back-seat that is rear-facing. In this concept, the entire back seat supports the child’s spine and neck which potentially could have a significant impact on collision outcomes. The front airbags (an extreme danger to front-riding infants) will also be automatically shut off when the infant seat is in place.
Until this new idea becomes available to the public, we’ll have to make due with what we have. For car seat safety and recommendations check out The Sarcastic Mom’s Guide to Car Seats.
