There are a few problems that can present themselves when you have your child in the car, but many of them can be overcome with a little common sense, a few tips and some occasional baby products that can help out.

Concentration

Your concentration means everything to your child and other road users.  It doesn’t matter how much your child is crying or even screaming, while driving you must never focus your full attention on them.  If you do this you are putting both your own and your child’s life at risk, not to mention the whole host of other drivers who are depending on you to be concentrating on the road.  It has to be on par with using your mobile phone whilst driving.  Even handing something to your child whilst you are driving isn’t a good idea.

Child in the back seat

If you fear for your baby’s safety you should ideally have something like a back seat mirror to see what they are up to while keeping your eyes on the road. If something important occurs (and it would need to be very important) you can find a safe place to stop the car and take care of it.  Back seat mirrors act in the same way as your ordinary rear view mirrors, only they are pointed at your child not the road.  Pay them the same amount of attention however and don’t spend time pulling faces at your child to amuse them when you are driving.

Child sitting next to you

If your baby/child is in the passenger seat next to you then you will be able to see them clearly and glance at them occasionally to make sure they are alright, in much the same way as you would check a mirror.  Even if they are right next to you, you should still refrain from touching them or passing them baby toys.

You should also remember when your child is in the passenger seat, to disable the passenger airbag.  This is enormously important because in the event of an accident the airbag can do more damage to a baby or small child than it can protect.  Your baby would not be able to stand the impact of an airbag and it could also cause suffocation.

Overall

Overall, if your baby/child is experiencing any difficulties at all whilst you are driving you need to stop the car safely to deal with it.  Too many accidents are caused these days by road users being distracted; don’t make the same mistake.