Even if you're confident you've bought the best car seat, it won't be safe unless it fitted correctly, as one mum blogger has proven...
Adele Barbaro, a mum-of-two who blogs as 'The Real Mumma', had recently posted a hack she had started using to stop her kid’s head falling forward while he was asleep in the car.
However, a few days later, the mum realised that what she thought was a clever hack could actually be dangerous for children.
In a bid to warn parents that she was wrong to post it in the first place, the mum took to Instagram to explain what happened.
She wrote: ‘I did a post on the weekend when I was frustrated with my little ones head falling forward while he slept in the car.
‘I kept turning around to pop his head back and it was making me fill ill so, I took off my sports bra and popped it across his forehead and shared what I thought was a funny and clever little mum hack.’
However, the mum then realised that the hack could indeed be dangerous for kids, and explained why.
She continued: ‘But I was wrong. DO NOT DO THIS.
‘I pride myself in sharing helpful and honest content but I was mortified to learn that I had shared something that was extremely unsafe, I took it straight down.’
Adele explained: ‘After speaking to a few people, including some paramedics and other trained professionals, I have learnt that the most important thing is that you have a car seat that is professionally installed and has its incline correct.
‘There are a lot of devices on eBay etc that are also unsafe, so just be careful and get the right info. I have had my car seats all professionally installed buy a certified installer, on its full recline so it has made me question the car seat more than anything.
‘Anyway, the point of this post is that I am not perfect. I don’t always get it right, just like every mum. And although it was a funny post, I would would never share anything that I thought was unsafe for children.’
Responding to the comments on the post, the mum explained why the hack is so dangerous: 'If you have the kids head fixed to the seat and there is a collision, the torso will go forward and the neck can snap. In a nutshell really.'
A user added: 'If their head is held in but their body tries to lurch forward in a crash, it can cause a broken neck or internal decapitation.'
Internal decapitation happens when the ligaments in the neck that attach the skull to the spine are severed, and while it can be survived, it has a very high fatality rate.
