Beyond the Car Seat - Products for National Child Passenger Safety Week

Mark your calendars! National Child Passenger Safety Week is February 12-18th. Every year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration takes this opportunity to remind parents of the importance of properly installed car seats and booster seats. Car seats save lives. However, every year, thousands of children are killed or injured in non-traffic related vehicular incidents. They're hit while walking in a parking lot, accidentally backed over, forgotten in a hot vehicle, etc. In other words, their car seat can't help. Fortunately, other safety products exist to protect your child when the car seat cannot. Here are three under $10, a small price to pay to save the life of your child. Parking Lot Accidents - KidHands Every parent knows to hold their child's hand in the parking lot. But what do you do when you get to the car, and your hands are full? You've got bags in one hand, your kid in the other, and you've got to get your keys out! One concerned parent developed a product called "KidHands." They're car magnets, shaped like "kid hands," that give the child incentive to touch your car and stay there. Essentially, if your hands aren't available, you can have them "Touch the KidHands." ($5.99 at kidhands.com) Driveway Backovers - Wide Angle Mirrors Accidental backovers are responsible for more than 400 deaths annually. Many luxury class cars now come with cameras and sensors in the rear of the vehicle to alert the backing-up driver. For those without luxury vehicles, aftermarket cameras and sensors can be installed. And for those with big hearts and thin wallets, there's the wide angel mirror. Convex mirrors can be strategically placed on your vehicle to reduce or eliminate dangerous blind spots. (Starting at less than $10 at ebay.com) Accidentally Left in the Vehicle - Baby Bee SafeTM It's hard to imagine that it could happen to you, but children have died as a result of being forgotten in a hot vehicle. Many parents take turns dropping off Baby at day care on the way to work each morning. Every once in a while, a parent forgets the sleeping baby in the back seat and goes straight to work. Baby Bee SafeTM is a low-tech way to make sure this never happens to you. It's simply an oversized ring that jumps back and forth between the baby's car seat and your key ring. When you get out of the car, if the ring is on your keys and not on the car seat, good luck trying to get your keys back in your purse or pocket! It's simple, inexpensive, and it can save your child's life. ($4.99 at babybeesafe.net)