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
Be Ready, Be Buckled: Create Lifetime Seatbelt Wearers
In past articles I have written about various programs sponsored by the federal government that help to promote safety in kids. My most recent 
post was about distracted driving. For this post I have found a new program and site that I think is perfect to highlight and to showcase on this blog.
The program is called “Be Ready, Be Buckled”. Among its sponsors are the DOT, the National Highway Traffic safety administration and others. One aspect of the program is to encourage kids, K through 6th grade or age 5-12 to submit original artwork which focuses on the theme and supports the use of seat belts.
Some suggested questions or discussions to help inspire young artists include:
- Why is it important to buckle up every time while driving or riding in a bus, truck or car?
- How does the motto Safety Belts Save lives apply to bus and truck drivers as well as Kids and families.
- What would happen if a truck or bus driver did not buckle up on the job?
Two grand prize winners will be selected by the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE). The top 12 will complete the 2011 calendar. The picture at the top of this post is last year’s winner.
Even if your child does not win they and the family will share a bonding experience over safety and will hopefully create lifetime seatbelt wearers and champions. Please feel free to submit a copy of your child’s artwork here: info@pediatricsafety.net - we would love to post it on Pediatric Safety and to help encourage everyone to buckle up. For more official information and for the contest entry form please go to:
http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/documents/safety-security/2011-ArtContest.pdf
Child Passenger Safety is a 24/7/365 Job
For one week, Child Passenger Safety was on everyone’s mind! The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council combined to make an all-out effort to get the message out: parents and other caregivers need to make the right choices regarding child safety car seats…and resources are available…help is available.
But one week is not enough time to get the message out to all who need to hear it. Child passenger safety, when it comes to choosing the right car seat, installing it properly, and making sure it that it is appropriately latched, is an issue that requires addressing 24 hours a day/ 7days a week/ 365 days a year.
To that end, the message has to continue. Everyone you know who transports young children needs to know that free help is available for the purpose of making sure that they are choosing safe car seats and using them properly.
On Twitter: Any child passenger safety questions will be answered by an actual safety expert. Go to the @ChildSeatSafety account on Twitter.
On Facebook: The page at http://facebook.com/childpassengersafety is the place for parents to learn about the LATCH program, location of inspection offices, and any other up-to-date information from NHTSA.
On the Website: Created by the Ad Council, in conjunction with NHTSA, http://childcarsafety.adcouncil.org/ is a website for parents to go to in order to be able to view instructional videos, locate inspection stations, and take a fun quiz to make sure you have the correct information regarding child passenger safety.
The more caregivers who become aware of, and utilize this information, the more childrens’ lives we save.
Higher Penalties For Unrestrained Children…Says an 8th Grader
It took an eighth-grader researching a civics project to get the attention of the public regarding a serious child safety issue. Alexa Sepulveda was so moved by what she learned, she wrote a letter to the editor and it was published by Shore News Today on April 28,-2009 Her letter was so incredibly insightful that I wanted to share it with you here in its entirety:
To the editor:
Hello, my name is Alexa Sepulveda and I am an eighth-grade student at the Galloway Township Middle School. I am currently doing a civics project and my topic is increasing the penalty for driving with an unrestrained child in the car.
This has become an issue which, in my opinion, isn’t addressed enough. I believe that the penalty should be increased because it would deter parents from not putting their children in a car seat or booster seat. Restraining a child in a car will make everyone safer while driving.
For my project I have done some research, and the facts are frightening. A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in October 2002 showed that 42 percent of all unintentional childhood deaths were due to automobile crashes.
According to NHTSA, every day in the United States during 2006, an average of five children ages 14 and younger were killed due to crashes. During 2006, 6,983 car passengers age 14 and younger were involved in fatal crashes. For those children, 25 percent were unrestrained; among those who were fatally injured, 45 percent were unrestrained.
Most people think that they will never get into an accident, but it happens every day and you have to be prepared for when it does.
Many parents install car seats wrong, say they can’t pay for a seat or misuse it once it is installed. This is understandable for new parents or guardians whose financial situation isn’t good. For these reasons, many car dealerships, baby supply stores and police stations have places and times where you can take your car seat and they will install it in your car properly for you. If you are unable to buy a child restraint, there are many organizations that are more than willing to assist you in getting one.
As you can see, this is an ongoing issue all around us. In doing this topic as my project, I am hoping to make children safer, and to educate people about the need to restrain children to keep everyone safer.
Alexa reminds us of some important things: accidents can happen…we must make sure we are prepared so our children are safe if they do…and we are not alone, there are others who can help us get there.
Coincidentally, National Child Passenger Safety Week is coming on September 12th through 18th. It is sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). I’m hoping that all of you travelling in cars with young children take advantage of this opportunity to check that they are safely restrained. And a great big hug to Alexa Sepulveda for caring.
