I found THIS VIDEO yesterday and it definately has me thinking – Is my child as safe as he could be in his car seat? He’s in a backless booster and although he does have head support from our vehicles, he wouldn’t have any side protection. Is YOUR child in a booster? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 Here’s a nice VIDEO that EthanMadison0310 created for YouTube for her sister. ..showing the importance of a rear facing car seat. Do YOU have a child that could still be rear-facing?

Ever wonder about regulations in other parts of the world? Me too. I looked into the Swedish approach. Did you know that their “fatalities and serious injuries are close to zero for young children?” They believe in keeping kids rear facing much longer. In fact, they strongly recommend adults keep their children rear-facing until age 4 (or longer). Click HERE to learn more. The Swedish regulations are as follows: (as taken from http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/countries/index.htm)

Children shorter than 135 cm must use an approved child restraint. Children are permitted to travel in the front seat. It is illegal to carry a child in a rear-facing child restraint in the front seat, if protected by an active frontal airbag. The child restraint must be suitable for the user, installed according to the instructions of the restraint and used in the way intended. Child restraints must conform to the ECE Directive 77/541/EEG (2000/3/EG) or the United Nations ECE Regulation R44.03 or later standard. Child restraints that conform to a Swedish Standard or to an earlier version of R44, may be used until the 9th of May 2008. The driver must ensure that children younger than 15 are restrained correctly in accordance with the law. If the child is 15 or older it is the responsibility of the child to wear the seat belt.

The regulations in Greece are much less- “Children under the age of 10 must not sit in the front seat. Seat belts are compulsory for all occupants of a vehicle.”

Interested to see more? Click HERE.

Child restraints are a crucial part a your a child’s safety – Be Informed! Not all car seats ‘fit’ all car models. Be sure to read the manual to know for sure how to install, etc. Use a car seat that has never been in an accident and is not ‘expired’. Many manufacturers put a six year expiration stamp on their car seats.