Just this weekend, my mother saw a woman riding with two children under the age of two who were not buckled in their child safety seats. She tried to talk to the woman about ways to ensure her children's safety, but unfortunately, the woman seemed unreceptive. She should have listened: car crashes are the number one killer of children and 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly.
Child safety seats save lives, but they must be correctly installed. Thankfully, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, and the National Safety Council have joined with others to form SeatCheck.org. They'll help you make sure your car seat is installed correctly. Here's how you can use this wonderful resource:
* Call 1-866-SEAT CHECK (1-866-732-8243) to get information on free child safety seat inspections. Information is available in Spanish and English.
* Visit SeatCheck.org to find a free child safety seat inspection site near you. The site is also available in Spanish.
Remember, this is important not only for parents of infants and small children, but also for anyone who transports a child in a motor vehicle. (Good call, Dawn!) Also, if the cost of a car seat is prohibitive, call your local department of motor vehicles. Your state may have a program that provides free or reduced price car seats to those who qualify.
So do something good for your child or the child you carry in your car. Get your child safety seat inspected, and keep children safe. Call or visit SeatCheck.org today!
"History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure." -Thurgood Marshall, US Supreme Court Justice (1908-1993)
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Those with older children under 4'9" should check out boosterseat.gov.
We went to get our car seat installation inspected yesterday. I highly recommend this service. Kwadjo and I both tried independently to install the call seat last weekend. I used the seatbelt; he used LATCH and neither one of us was able to prevent side to side motion of the car seat. It was only after we went to a local fire station that we learned how to properly install the car seat. It's tight now, and I feel confident that Em will be safe.
The wonderful firefighter who helped us told us that they take a weeklong course to learn the correct way to install car seats. He also reminded us about forward vs. rear-facing seats, booster seats, etc. He was extremely helpful, especially since he stopped cooking dinner to help us out. Thanks a lot to the folks at Atlanta Fire Station 19 in Virginia Highlands! Keep up the great work!
Safety Tips
Ten Tips to Keep Your Child Safe
1. Infants should ride in rear-facing child safety seats in the back seat until at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds.
2. If under age 1, but more than 20 pounds, infants should ride in a child safety seat approved for heavier babies and remain rear-facing until at least age 1. Best practice states that children should ride rear-facing until they reach the upper weight or height limits of the safety seat.
3. Never place a rear-facing infant seat in front of a passenger air bag.
4. Once children outgrow their rear-facing child safety seats (typically over age 1 and heavier than 20 pounds) they should ride in a forward-facing child safety seat until they reach the upper weight (usually 40 pounds) or height limits of the seat.
5. Once children outgrow forward-facing child safety seats, they should ride in the back seat in booster seats until they are at least 8 years old, unless they are 4 feet 9 inches tall, at which point they should fit properly in a seat belt.
6. After outgrowing a booster seat, children under age 13 should always use a seat belt and ride in the back seat. Remember, kids of all ages are safest when properly restrained in the back seat.
7. Old/used child safety seats should not be used unless you are certain they have never been in a crash and you have all the parts (including instructions). Seats that are 6 years old or older should be discarded and never used. Click here to check if your child safety seat has been recalled.
8. Always read both the vehicle owner's manual and the instructions that come with the child safety seat.
9. It is important to remember that the "best" child safety seat is the one that correctly fits the child, the vehicle, and is used correctly every time.
10. Get your child's safety seat checked!
Learn more at http://www.seatcheck.org/tips_safety_tips.html. Stay safe!
before you get your car seat inspected, it's good to know what are the State Child Restraint Requirement for the state you live in.
also, it is necessary to check the State Child Restraint Requirement before buying a car seat.
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