We all “oooohhhhh and ahhhh” over cute little babies and toddlers, but do we all know how to keep them safe in cars? September is Baby Safety Month, so in the spirit of that, we would like to share some helpful and life-saving tips regarding car safety and driving with babies.

While you may not think you need to know about baby safety because you don’t have a baby, you never know when you’ll get called with some babysitting duty for a family member or close friend. Even if you have never even met a baby, it’s just good to know the basic rules to keeping babies or children safe in cars. Trust us.

National Heat Awareness Day is in May, but stressing the importance of this specifically here in Florida is very important. Almost every state in the United States, even Alaska, is hot in the summer, and Florida is hot almost year-round. While Minnesotans might define hot as 70 degrees, Floridians might think of hot as 90 degrees, so it's important to know what outside temperatures actually do to the inside temperature of a car.

On a sunny, 75-degree day, the heat inside a vehicle can rise to 90 degrees in ten minutes and 104 degrees in 30 minutes. 75 degrees -- that’s nothing to Floridians. The average temperature of Jacksonville, Tampa and Orlando in June is 90 degrees, and rises in July and August. In only 20 minutes on a 90-degree day (sun or no sun) a car can get up to 119 degrees -- that is very unsafe for babies and children.

90 degrees or 120 degrees aren’t suitable temperatures for anyone, especially babies and young children because they can’t get out of the car on their own! It only takes a few minutes for an infant or young child to overheat.

Unfortunately, many kids die each year from heat stroke caused by being left in hot cars. Make the effort and take the child with you.

Another important issue about a young baby or child in a car is car seat safety. Car seats are essential equipment for driving with young children and babies.

So, what can you do to assure the safest drive with a child in a car seat?

Before even purchasing a car seat make sure you do your research. It is important to pay attention to reviews, recalls, and the type of car seat best fit for your child.

There are several types of car seats including rear-facing, front-facing, and booster. You may be thinking “ok, so how do I know which is best for my kid?”. The answer to this is to pay attention to what the height and weight limit requirements are for each type of seat because they change depending on the child's size. Age of the child is also a variable to take into account. For more information on car seats check out the NHSTA's information on the subject.

Then there are a variety of other things people should know about before driving around with a baby. One in particular is the volume in the car. Babies are still developing humans and loud noises can be very damaging to a baby’s hearing. One rule of thumb to help you determine what is too loud for a baby -- if you have to raise your voice to be heard, or the sound is loud enough to make hearing difficult for you, then it is likely too loud for your baby.

That baby-soft skin is very prone to sunburns and in Florida the UV rays are almost at a maximum everyday. It's always a good idea to buy a window shade for your baby. If you go on a long trip or are going to spend some time in the car, it would be wise to put child-safe sunblock on your baby.

We hope you find this information useful. Be safe, and if you in need of a new safe car, don’t forget to check us out here and build your family dream car.