INDIANAPOLIS
– Franciscan St. Francis Health is encouraging parents and caregivers to have
children’s safety seats inspected based on new recommendations issued by the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
That’s why
the hospital and the Marion County Traffic Safety Partnership are offering free
inspections with certified technicians on hand to advise on the proper use of
the seats for youngsters. The first event is 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, Sept.
18. The event will be located at 5230A Stop 11 Road near the hospital’s
Indianapolis campus.
The event
coincides with National Child Passenger Safety Week (Sept. 17). Appointments
are strongly encouraged and can be made by calling Don Bickel at 317-327-5356. If
unable to visit the inspection site, adults can arrange for free inspections at
other times by calling 317-528-5774.
“We want to
help adults do their best protect to protect children,” said Sharilyn Wagner,
RN, with Franciscan St. Francis’ pediatric specialty clinic. “It’s said that
three-in-four child seats are not place correctly. In the end, when it comes to
the safety of your child, there is no room for mistakes.”
In motor
vehicle crashes, car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for
children younger than 1 and by 54 percent for children 1 to 4 in passenger
cars, according to data collected by NHTSA. In 2009 alone, 754 children 12 or
younger were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes while riding in passenger
cars or light trucks.
And among
those who were fatally injured where restraint use was known, 42 percent were
unrestrained. Many of these tragedies could have been prevented if the children
were in the right restraint for their age and size.
The
updated recommendations emphasize how important it is to keep children in each
restraint type for as long as possible before moving them to the next type. For
maximum child passenger safety, parents and caregivers should visit their local
inspection station to ensure their children’s car seats are used properly.
Here’s
what the NHTSA recommends:
Birth
– 12 months: For the best possible protection, your child under age 1 should
always ride in a rear-facing car seat. There are different types of rear-facing
car seats: infant-only seats can only be used rear-facing. Convertible and
3-in-1 car seats typically have higher height and weight limits for the
rear-facing position, allowing you to keep your child rear-facing for a longer
period of time.
1 – 3 years: Your
child should remain in a rear-facing car seat until he or she reaches the top
height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. This may result
in many children riding rear-facing to age 2 or older. Once your child outgrows
the rear-facing car seat, your child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car
seat with a harness.
4 – 7 years: Keep your
child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness until he or she reaches the
top height or weight limit allowed by your car seat’s manufacturer. Once your
child outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, it’s time to travel
in a booster seat, but still in the back seat.
8 – 12 years: 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 across the upper
thighs, not the stomach. The shoulder belt should lie snugly across the
shoulder and chest and not cross the neck or face.
Wagner
further recommends that:
- Select a car seat based on your
child’s age and size, and choose a seat that fits in your vehicle and use
it every time.
- Always refer to your specific car
seat manufacturer’s instructions; read the vehicle owner’s manual on how
to install the car seat using the seat belt or LATCH system; and check
height and weight limits.
- To maximize safety, keep your
child in the car seat for as long as possible, as long as the child fits
within the manufacturer’s height and weight requirements.
- Keep your child in the back seat at least through
age 12.
