Overweight Children are NOT Adequately Protected in Car Seats

For the past ten years, the news media has consistently focused our attention on the fact that obesity is on the rise; that it has become a major problem in the United States, and that childhood obesity, in particular, has put young children at-risk for a multitude of health-related issues.

One surprising health-related issue stems from the fact that many infants and toddlers are being transported in car seats that are not safe for them to be riding in, and I am not referring to the improper installation of those seats. The problem I AM referring to is the fact that when car seats are crash-tested, the crash-dummies that are used to simulate the effects of an accident impact do not reflect the overweight child population being transported.

With so many young obese children today, common sense should dictate that the crash-dummy’s weight and dimensions more closely match that of the children using the car seats being tested.

In an article on the ThirdAge.Com website, March 29, 2011, under Boomer Health and Lifestyle, Katherine Rausch highlights a problem that although acknowledged for some time, has been awaiting a solution since 2004, but researchers have not come up with a product. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration is using smaller adult version dummies for child crash-testing. Why? According to a recent article in the Washington Post, it’s because crash test dummies are expensive to develop and funding is not readily available to develop larger “life-like” child test dummies. This leaves child safety seat manufacturers self-regulating their own products.  It also means that seats made just a few years ago to hold 65lb children are now marketed for those up to 85lbs.

It appears that heavier-weight crash-dummies have been in development for adults for decades now. Why haven’t overweight children been given the same attention?

With so many recent news reports about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ and NHTSA’s “new safety seat guidelines”, are we deluding ourselves into thinking our kids are safe?

JUST RELEASED: New Child Seat Safety Guidelines!

This morning, both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)  and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued new recommendations for child seats.

The new guidelines advise parents to…

• Keep toddlers in rear-facing car seats until they reach two years of age or until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their car safety seat’s manufacturer.
• Most children will need to remain in a booster seat until they have reached 4 feet 9 inches tall and are between 8 and 12 years old. The booster seat’s shoulder belt should lie across the middle of the chest and shoulder, not near the neck or face. The lap belt should fit low and snug on the hips and upper thighs, not across the belly.
• Children should ride in the rear of a vehicle until they reach 13 years old

According to Dennis Durbin, MD, FAAP, lead author of the AAP policy statement, the new guidelines are based on the latest scientific and medical research which indicate that: “A rear-facing child safety seat does a better job of supporting the head, neck and spine of and toddlers in a crash, because it distributes the force of the collision over the entire body…For larger children, a forward-facing seat with a harness is safer than a booster, and a belt-positioning booster seat provides better protection than a seat belt alone until the seat belt fits correctly.”

Why change now?

According to NHTSA Administrator David Strickland, “while all car seats sold in the U.S. must meet federal child restraint safety standards, selecting the right seat was a challenge for many parents”.  The “room for interpretation” in the 2002 guidelines plus the huge variety of car safety seats on the market often left parents with more questions than answers. The result: children were transitioning from one stage of car safety seat to the next, far too early to be truly considered “safe”.

New research findings, however are clear. Children under age 2 are safer in rear-facing car seats. Children under age 2 are 75% less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are rear-facing.  The hope of both NHTSA and the AAP is that issuing these new requirements will simplify the selection process and make it easier for parents to choose the “best” car seat for their child.

For more information:

• For guidance from the AAP to help parents choose the most appropriate car safety seat for their child, click here
• For a detailed list of car safety seats, including the height and weight limitations for each, click here
• For state-specific child passenger safety laws, click here
• For a copy of the NHTSA ”Car Seat Recommendations for Children” poster (above), click here

We all need to observe National Child Passenger Safety Week

We struggle in so many ways to keep our children and grandchildren safe from the many dangers we know are out there, both on the streets and in our homes. Yet surprisingly, even those who love them the most, are willing to do everything in their power to protect them from harm, still allow them to be exposed to a dangerous situation, sometimes several times a day. I’m talking about the few minutes required to make sure they are properly restrained in their car.

I’m a grandma. When my own children were young, there were no child restraint safety seats, therefore, no safety regulations regarding their use. Seatbelts were the only safety measures available in cars, and their use was not yet mandatory. Today, with the availability of four types of safety restraints for children based on age, height and weight statistics – and a step-by-step instruction guide to help you figure out which one you need (thank you!) – the watchdogs of child safety have made the use of the proper restraint a no-brainer. Combined with easy-to-follow installation methods (including offering videos as well as live help options) the only part of protection that remains to be taken care of is making sure the restraints are closed properly. That job was never intended to be left for the “kids” to handle themselves. What I think has happened over the last number of years is, with Mom or another caregiver transporting children to school, doctors, play dates, lessons, sports, shopping, etc . . . , everyone is in and out of the car so many times a day, that the easy way out took precedence over what is correct.  We let the kids buckle themselves in.  But making sure they are safe is an adult responsibility.

It’s time for a reality check. Too many children are killed or maimed each year because an otherwise loving, conscientious caregiver did not realize that the child safety restraint was not the proper one, was not installed correctly, or was not secured the right way. These are senseless and preventable tragedies.

Reaching out to and teaching these loving caregivers that help is available to minimize or eliminate the injuries sustained by children in a car crash has become the mission of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  This week, September 12 through September18, has been designated National Child Passenger Safety Week. Using all the tools at its disposal to spread awareness and make safety checks available to anyone interested in keeping children safe while being transported in a car. NHTSA has gone all-out to spread the word.

We wish everyone concerned in this worthwhile endeavor “good luck”. We’re hoping that every person reading this takes the time to forward the information and the links to all the caregivers they know.

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