Next Week is Child Passenger Safety Week

Next week is Child Passenger Safety Week. It runs Sept. 15-21 and is the perfect opportunity to make sure your child is not only riding in the right car seat but one that is properly installed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds us that, “Children are much more fragile – thus much more vulnerable in a car crash than an adult. It’s not just about putting them in a car seat. The best way to protect children is to place them in the right seat for their age and size, and to install it in the right way, and ensuring that the car seat fits in the vehicle. This is why every year we feature Child Passenger Safety Week to help parents. The highlight of the week is National Seat Check Saturday, Sept. 21, where parents, guardians, and other caregivers can have their child’s car seat inspected and properly installed by Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians.” According to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among children in the United States. NHTSA crash data in 2010 showed that almost an average of 2 children (age 12 and younger in a passenger vehicle) were killed and 325 were injured each day. CDC figures show the fatality rate could be reduced by about half if the correct child safety were always used. Here are some of the basics to remember when it comes to children riding safely. – Children under the age of 1 should always ride in a rear-facing car seat. The rear-facing seat has a harness which in a crash cradles and moves with your child to reduce the stress to the child’s fragile neck and spinal cord. – Keep your child in a rear-facing car seat as long as possible as it’s the best way to keep him or her safe. – It’s time to move your child to a booster seat when he or she reaches the top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. But keep them seated in the back seat as it’s safer there. – Keep your child in a booster seat until he or she is big enough to fit in a seat belt properly. For a seat belt to fit properly the lap belt must lie snugly If you’re not sure if your child seat is installed correctly, the NHTSA has a handy inspection station locator on its website.