Team-BHP - Child Safety, and SAFE driving on Indian Roads

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkap01 (Post 2239858)

Never leave children alone in vehicles

On a typical hot Indian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can be 30 – 40 degrees Centigrade hotter than the outside temperature. That means on a 30-degree C day, the temperature inside the car could be as high as 70 degrees Centigrade.
75% of the temperature increase occurs within five minutes of closing the car.
Don’t think that by putting the windows down 5cm will help either because with an outside temperature of 30 degrees C, it will only cause a slight decrease in the temperature inside the car.
Heat stress, dehydration, heat stoke and death are all possible outcomes of leaving a child unattended in a motor vehicle. Children do not tolerate the heat as well as adults. Their bodies generate more heat relative to their size than adults do. They also lose more fluids because they have a greater proportion of skin surface in relation to their size.
On a hot day in a car, ensure children are not overheating and have adequate fluid intake.
Please do not leave children alone in motor vehicles. Even if you only need to run a short errand, take the children with you
Leaving a child in a car can be extremely dangerous, so NEVER leave children alone in a car.

I bring this quote to the front, as the temps are ranging above 40 these days and as we know, the inside temperature in a parked car can go beyond 60, which is not compatible with life, if a child is left alone for more than 20 minutes!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkap01 (Post 2362143)

here is an unfortunate reminder.
BBC News - Italy toddler dies after being left in car for hours

Just as a warning, it does not take hours for this situation to develop. In our part of the world, cars take only seconds to heat up, so please dont leave kids unattended in cars even if you are just going to buy that packet of milk. Please take them along!

Please also ensure kids are always under supervision when inside a car as they can also end up playing with features such as power windows, cigar lighters etc. They are not to be blamed as the working of these features is too advanced/ complicated for their innocent minds to comprehend. IMHO, in case of an unfortunate incident where either the kid is hurt or if something is broken, it should always be treated as lack of alertness on part of the adult in charge.
Please please be careful guys!

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive (Post 2362204)

IMHO, in case of an unfortunate incident where either the kid is hurt or if something is broken, it should always be treated as lack of alertness on part of the adult in charge.
Please please be careful guys!

Very well said. We cannot expect a child to be careful enough on its own. We as parents have to ensure that the child is safe. Accidents do happen, but let our lack of care not be the cause for it.

Therefore Car Seats are a must!
It keeps the child safe and more importantly secure. Thereby restricting the child's movement within the car. So the chances of playing with that cigarette lighter and etc are reduced or not possible.
Do your child a favor, go out and buy that car seat TODAY!
Thanks in advance.
Drive Safe ~ Child Safe!

What do we put between the child seat and the car's leather?
I believe, leather might tear off due to repeated removal/ installation of the child seat.
Is some sort of padding with cloth a good option?

One question: I was told by someone in family that child seats are not good to use for more than 30-60 min at a stretch. I wasn't able to find out "why", but has anyone come across the cons of the car seat (from perspective of body posture or some other developmental aspects).
Anyone came across something like this before?

Quote:

Originally Posted by S_U_N (Post 2365319)

One question: I was told by someone in family that child seats are not good to use for more than 30-60 min at a stretch. I wasn't able to find out "why", but has anyone come across the cons of the car seat (from perspective of body posture or some other developmental aspects).
Anyone came across something like this before?

There is no such time limit that I have heard of, this is more subjective based on how far the child is comfortable. My son requires a break from driving which he utilises in generally running around the hotel/ stop/ park.

In fact if anything the car seat should help maintain the correct seating posture for a child who may otherwise be restless and move around in an adult seat. Most importantly, the child will be restrained in the correct position in case of any sudden changes in speed and/ or direction.

If the child is uncomfortable you may want to reconsider the angle of the back rest and/ or the support foam.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S_U_N (Post 2365319)

I use thick towels folded in such a way that the entire back and bottom of the child seat does not touch the leather seat directly. This has worked like a charm for me. You just have to ensure that the towel does not interfere with the stability of the child seat, just lay it plain and you should be fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive (Post 2365342)

My son also stays in the car seat for hours at end, when we make the long high way trips. We have cushioned the child seat slightly so that he sits at a higher position enabling him to see directly through the window. The passing vehicles and scenery keeps him busy, also most of the times he dozes off. Duration has never been a problem so far.

Glad to see there are folks who believe in child seats. clap:

I see so many people who sit with their small kid on their lap on the front seat (sometimes no seat belts) or standing on the back seat or 3rd row space (in SUVs) or worst, on the drivers lap!!! Got one question for these people - what the hell are you thinking??

There is actually a special blanket type looking thing which i had seen at one of the baby shops. I think it was also available at lifestyle in their baby section. This blanket type thing is to be laid on the leather seats and then the child seat is to be placed atop this blanket. I almost picked it up having leather seats myself, but then put it back in the end. So far i have taken out the child seat a couple of times for service and cleaning etc. as well as it has been in place for weeks and months on end. There is no problem either way and it has not affected the leather one bit.

Coming to the second part.
Well Kids are usually quite comfortable in their car seat and the posture is spot on. You can adjust the angle accordingly to make your child more comfortable.
I haven't heard of any effect on the child because they use a child seat.
Our baby usually listens to music and then doses off after some time when we hit the highway for a couple of hours.
There have been rare occasions where she has had enough and wanted to get into her mother's lap. It was after about 7 hours though. and because her mother was sitting in the back seat, she unfastened her harness and let her sit in her lap for the rest of the journey.

Visited the following:
LifeStyle (Kalyani Nagar) - only one seat available - very poor cushioning.
SGS Mall - no car seats
Shopper Stop @Nucleus Mall - got 4 seats for 2+ years. Very poor cushioning in seats which can recline. Good cushioning in seats which cannot recline. Even the Britax one (12K) was a let down.
Pune Central @ Bund Garden Road - only one Chico seat - did not like this.

Now, I am left searching for options.

Quote:

Originally Posted by S_U_N (Post 2365853)

Check out Mothercare, the one at inorbit mall, housed within shoppers stop.
Also check out Mom & Me at Aundh

^Checked out the following last evening:
1. Mothercare inside ShopperStop at Inorbit

Got two-three options -liked one of them
ShoppersStop.com - Mothercare Sport Car Seat - Red

2. Mom & Me:
Saw two options. The Graco seat was good - but very expensive. I did not feel it was worth Rs. 14,500. It did not recline much.

The other seat was from evenflow. This one was around Rs. 9,000. The cushioning was OK, but the head cushioning was not adjustable (there was a velcro by which it was to be attached and adjusted - not practical). The other aspect was the reclining position has to be selected before the baby is put in the seat. Again, I don't think this would be very practical when we want to recline after the baby dozes off without disturbing the baby.

3. Shopper Stop @ Wakdewadi
No seats.

4. Lifestyle @ Inorbit
Only one seat - very poor cushioning.

Most likely I would pickup the one in the link mentioned above today itself.
Only issue is that it is in red and no other colours are available.

Could not check out All For Small. It was getting late and was not on my route.

This is very similar to the car seat we have.
and can definately vouch for the fact that you will be happy with this product
It's very comfortable, has a decent recline position. and is easy to wash too as it has a removable cover. The only slight drawback will be that it doesn't do upright too well. but nevertheless the folks at mothercare will be happy to give you a demo and install the car seat in your car for you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkap01 (Post 2362143)

Quote:

Originally Posted by selfdrive (Post 2362204)

here is an unfortunate reminder.
BBC News - Italy toddler dies after being left in car for hours

and tragedy strikes Chennai.
3-yr-old boy left inside car for three hours in city, dies - The Times of India