September 14-20 is National Child Passenger Safety Week
Every parent wants the best for their child, but when it comes to keeping their child safe in the car there is often confusion about which car seat is safest and how to use it correctly. The problem is that keeping your kids safe in vehicles isn’t as easy as it might appear. Nationally, it is reported that 3 out of 4 car seats are not used correctly. For a car seat to best protect your child, it must be the one that fits your child, your vehicle, and one that you will use correctly every time you travel.
National Child Passenger Safety Week will be celebrated from September 14-20th and provides an opportunity for parents to make sure they are transporting their children safely. This year’s campaign is also putting an emphasis on making sure your car seat is registered so you can be notified of any recalls, as well as stressing the importance of keeping children under 13 riding correctly restrained in the back seat!
The fact is that children are at greater risk than adults in a vehicle crash. Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for children. Crash data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration shows that, on averagein 2012, nearly two children under the age of 13 were killed and 332 were injured every day while riding in cars, SUVs, pickups, and vans. Unfortunately in 2012, over one third (37%) of children killed in car crashes were not in car seats or booster seats, nor were they wearing seat belts.
Securing your children properly in age- and-size-appropriate child safety seats in the back seat of your vehicle is the most effective thing you can do to protect them in the event of a crash. In fact, in motor vehicle crashes, child safety seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for toddlers. Misuse of car seats can cause needless injuries and fatalities.
For a child safety seat to do its job correctly, it has to be:
- Appropriate for your child’s age and size,
- Installed properly in your vehicle, and
- Adjusted to fit your child securely.
Parents are reminded to keep children rear-facing until age two or until they reach the limit of their rear-facing convertible seat, which is usually 40 pounds or more. Also, children should stay in a 5-point harness system until they are ready to ride in a booster seat. Booster seats are for children who are at least age four and over 40 pounds, and mature enough to sit still in a booster. Finally, keep children in a booster seat until the seat belt fits correctly. This is usually at 4’9” tall and sometime between ages 8 and 12 years old. The average child reaches 4’9” at age 11!
Follow these guidelines from NHTSA to keep your children riding safely:
- 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 should 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 means that many children will ride 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 is 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. Children under 13 should ride in the back seat!
Parents and caregivers, please take the opportunity to have your car seat inspected by a certified child passenger safety technician. There is no charge for inspections. To locate a certified technician in your area, go to http://buckleup.tamu.edu or to find an event during National Child Passenger Safety Week go to http://seatcheck.org .
Upcoming Programs:
- Showdown on the Bosque: Sponsored by the Central Texas Youth Fair. September 20-21. Contact Jeff Chaffin at 254-396-2785 for information on steers and heifers. Contact Mike Gann at 254-855-3865 for information on lambs and goats.
- Centex Beef Cattle Symposium: Register online by September 23 and pay at the door. Event held at Hill College in Hillsboro on September 26, 2014. Cost is $25. One (1) TDA Pesticide CEU is awarded. 8:00am to 3:30pm.
- Hay Show: The 36th Bosque County Hay Show will be held on Monday, October 20, 2014, at Bosque Bottoms Pavilion in Meridian, Texas. We are enclosing a copy of the General Rules and Regulations for the show. The deadline for entering hay is NOON Friday, September 19, 2014. Please plan to be at the Hay Show sampling location at the Iredell Ag Science Shop between 9:00 a.m. and noon on Friday, September 19, 2014. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Forage Testing Laboratory at TAMU will do the testing. Cost: $10
