Child Seat Safety

In the United States around five thousand infants, under the age of 1 are injured in auto crashes every year, some fatally? That's the bad news. Now. Here's the good news, research has shown that a properly installed. Rear-facing car seat, can dramatically, reduce the risk of serious injury for your child in a crash. Sally Crusher is the Safe Kids. Southwest Florida coordinator at the golisano Children's. Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida. Who is a child passenger safety technician instructor? Because infants heads are the heaviest part of their body. They aren't developed enough or strong enough to withstand a crash when their forward facing in a head-on collision. A rear-facing seat will protect your child's head, neck and Spine and evenly spread the crash forces over their entire body. Infants, and children should always be secured in the backseat. Especially if your vehicle has frontal airbags, these can injure or kill a child. The best seating position is always the one in which your safety seat can get the tightest Finn. If possible use the center position in the back seat. During the first year. There are three car seat choices to secure babies. Rear-facing infant only seats, convertible car seats and in cases of low birth weight or premature, infants a car bed, rear-facing infant, only seats. Like these are made for smaller infants and should never be used in the forward-facing position. You can now find Infant carriers with a higher weight harness, some even hold children up to 35, 40, or 45 pounds. Some families. Choose convertible seats like these to use rear-facing. And then turn the seat forward facing once the child reaches, the maximum height or weight for the child seat. Safety experts recommend that infants and toddlers stay rear-facing until they are two years old, or until they reach the highest weight, or height Allowed by the manufacturer of the child safety seat. Always check your car. Seat manual or labels for maximum weight and height guidelines odd times. Car seats can be tricky to install and simple mistakes can have fatal consequences for kids. Be sure to check your vehicle owners manual and your car seat instructions for specific information, but here are some general rules to follow one for a good snug fit. Be sure your child is wearing light clothing when you adjust the harness, when tightened, the harness should lie in a straight line with no slack. The harness should be adjusted. Each time you place your baby in the seat to make sure the harnesses tight harness, straps should be threaded through slots at or below your baby's shoulders. If you can pinch a fold in the harness at the baby's shoulders, your strap should be tighter. Lastly, a harness retainer clip, keeps the straps over the baby's shoulders Buckle, the harness, and tighten the straps position. The clip at armpit level to once the seat is in the car. It is important to see that the seat is at the correct angle. You don't want the seat to be too. Upright or two flat. Some seats have angle indicators to show you when the seat is reclined correctly. Many infant seats have an adjustable base to help set the angle. If your seat doesn't have this feature, you may need to use a rolled towel, baby, blanket or swimming pool noodle under the foot of the safety seat to help set the angle 3, next pull, the seat belt out, then carefully thread it through the rear facing belt path of your child. Safety seat. Check your car seat manual to make sure you're using the correct belt path. For the rear-facing position, and check your car owners manual. To make sure you have locked the belt correctly, some Vehicles, manufactured before 1996, may require the use of a locking clip to secure the seat belt, your vehicle owners manual will tell you, if you need one read, both the vehicle owners manual and your child seat manual to learn how to install the clip properly. For a Loosely installed seat is one of the most common and dangerous mistakes parents make to ensure a tight fit Buckle. The lower anchors or seat belt than lock in using a hand press down on the seat and tighten the belt. Now hold the seat at the belt path and pull. It firmly side to side and toward the front seat vehicle, a properly installed. Child, safety seat, will not move more than an inch in any direction. As you put your child in the car seat, get in the habit of checking, both the seat and the Is for a proper fit as babies grow and clothes, change with the season. It is important to adjust your harness. Every time you buckle your baby, after you're sure the car seat is tight in the car and baby is safely. Buckled into the harness. You're good to go cars made since 2002 have an attachment system called Latch, which makes it possible to install safety seats. Without using the seat belt latch is an alternative system to install car, seats and vehicles, using to lower anchors, and one together for real. We're facing seats. Only the two lower anchors are used. Unless the manufacturer allows rear-facing tethering, never install a car seat using lower anchors and the seat belt at the same time, unless specifically Allowed by both the seat and vehicle manufacturers babies and young kids can sometimes sleep. So peacefully that we forget, they are even there. It can be tempting to leave a baby alone. In a car while we quickly run into the store. The problem is that leaving a child alone in a car can lead to Serious injury or death. Heatstroke young children are particularly at risk as their bodies, heat up three to five times faster than adults, reduce the number of deaths from heat stroke by remembering to act, a avoid heat stroke related injury, and death, by never, leaving your child alone in the car. Not even for a minute and make sure to keep your car locked. When you're not in it. So kids don't get it on their own. See, create a reminder by putting something in the back of your car. Next to your child, such as a briefcase, a purse. Or a cell phone that is needed at your next destination. T, take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911 for more. Good advice about kids and cars, look for a certified car seat technician in your area. You may find a free child, safety seat, checkpoint or car seat. Check at a local hospital police or fire department, or state highway safety office, and remember crashes happen, but with proper precautions, serious injuries. Don't have to the service is often. Free. And you don't have to be an expecting parent or patient at the hospital to have your car seat inspected. As your child grows their car seat. Needs to grow with them to ensure. They are safe. You can locate a child passenger safety technician in your area at cert dot safe kids.org. This presentation was developed by the child. Advocacy team at the golisano Children's Hospital of Southwest, Florida, and funded by the pilot Club of Fort Myers.