Contributed by Tim Brugger, Catalogs.com Top 10 Guru

You don’t need hazardous weather conditions to make driving a scary proposition; other drivers will do that for you.

I can only assume they needed to pass a similar driving test as the rest of us, but you wouldn’t know it by sharing the road with them. For this reason alone it’s worth taking a look at ways to make our kids safer while traversing the roadways.

Short of leaving them in the safe confines of their own home, here are the best child passenger safety products.

Keep the kids safe

Roadside safety kit

Now here’s a good idea whether you’re driving with or without your kids, but is even more important for child passenger safety. Let’s face it, cars break down or gas stations aren’t as close as we thought and ending up on the side of the road happens. When it does, it requires more than the usual precautions. This is especially true with kids in the car. This handy little roadside safety kit fits neatly in the trunk where you can forget all about it; until you need it that is.

Strap them in

Make the car seat fit your little one

We know that babies need to be safely strapped into a car seat from their first ride until they graduate to a booster seat. But what happens when the baby car seat is too big for your newborn? Having too much wiggle room can pose a major hazard to your baby in the event of a collision, or even an emergency start. That’s why you should consider this JJ Cole Body Support insert. The shape works with five-point harnesses (something tucked in blankets just can’t do) and the installation is as easy as placing it in the seat before you put baby in.

On the water

Boating safety

Sure you can tie them to the bulkhead for their own sake, but they’re bound to complain long enough and loud enough that eventually you’ll need to let them loose on the boat. Child passenger safety is never more important than when you’re on the water. Of course it’s a requirement that they wear a safety vest, but there are a lot of vests; some good, some not so good. If you get your boating equipment you should be sure it’s top of the line.

Sears

Booster seat

When your kids get to that certain age, the ‘baby’ car seat is no longer tolerable. After all, they’re nearly grown up now don’t you know. Time to graduate to the booster from the baby. It’s a rite of passage of sorts, but it doesn’t mean you need to sacrifice child passenger safety as the little gal moves up to the big leagues. If you have a 30 to 100 pounder to strap in, this Safety 1st Child Booster over at Sears should do the trick nicely.

Cushy safety

Support pillow

Kids, cars and road trips; even if the road trip is to the store and back, often ends with someone zonked in the back. Kids can sleep in cars at a moment’s notice; I wish I had that skill. Of course, along with the innate ability to crash at the flick of switch comes the inevitable flop of the head; I mean, it just looks painful. But even worse is what happens to their head and neck if you have to stop suddenly. The Kid/Toddler Head Support Pillow will make the ride safer and more comfortable.