Tips on Car Seat Safety

It is always a good reminder about car seat safety for parents who are busy, busy, busy. All children ages 12 and under should be properly restrained in the back seat on every ride, and it just takes one time of ignoring these tips for a child to be injured.

Nursing the pediatric population over the course of 30 some years has offered me the opportunity to treat a variety of injuries in children not properly restrained. It is so easy for a parent rushing off to drop an eight year old off at school, to not argue with the child or insist on a seatbelt when the school is only a few blocks away. However, I have treated that same age child for a fractured neck when mom was hit from the rear at the stop sign at the corner of the local school. 

Accidents can happen anywhere the vehicle is moving, whether it is your rural lane or it is the church parking lot. Following these tips will help to ensure your child's safety when riding in a motor vehicle.

• Infants should ride rear facing in the back seat until 12 months old or 20 pounds.
• Children who are at least one year old, weigh 20-40 pounds and can no longer ride rear-facing, should ride in the forward-facing car seats with a secured harness.
• Children over 40 pounds should use a secured in belt-positioning booster seat with a lap belt. Children over the age of 8 and 4 feet 9 inches tall may use the adult lap and shoulder belt if it fits correctly
• Install car seats and booster seats appropriately and according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• Check www.recalls.gov for car seat recalls. Replace a car seat if it has been recalled and deemed unsafe.
• Return the product registration forms for all new car seats so you will be notified of recalls.
• Use a seat with all parts, instructions, and labels.
• You can check www.nhtsa.dot.gov to see if a car seat which has been in a crash passes NHTSA's test for continued use. All parts must be in working order after a crash and no belts tampered with by emergency personel at the crash site to make the car seat safe after a crash.
• Obey all traffic laws, including those for child restraint use.
• Check www.safekids.org to find out about the laws currently in effect for your state.
• Avoid talking on the cell phone when children are in the car as it may be distracting and the cause of an accident even at low speeds.

Following these car seat safety rules of the road, even when going short distances , will keep you and your children safer on the road. Happy traveling.