Parents and kids in the Oxford Head Start and Early Childhood Developmental Delay programs got 18 brand new car seats, free of charge, Thursday along with instructions on how to use them safely.
‘Car seats need to be used correctly,? said Angela Glew, a child passenger safety specialist with the Michigan Dept. of Community Health.
Parents drove their vehicles into the bay at Oxford Fire Station #1 four at a time so a pair of volunteers from Safe Kids Macomb County Chapter could examine their car seats and see how they’re being utilized by both adults and kids.
‘There were 24 car seats that we inspected,? Glew said. ‘We replaced 18 of them.?
Reasons for replacement included recalls, involvement in a crash, seats older than six years, wrong seat for the child and unknown history.
Of the seats that were inspected, Glew said, ‘The misuse rate was 91.7 percent.?
‘We based that on how the child arrived and what kinds of misuse we saw,? she said. ‘There were only two that were (being used) right.?
‘This is not unusual,? Glew noted.
Each child’s height and weight were measured to make sure they had or received the correct seat for their age and size. Parents received instructions on how to properly utilize the seats.
‘It needs to be the appropriate car seat for the child,? Glew explained. ‘If it’s not, then it doesn’t work as well as it could.?
For infants, a rear-facing car seat should be used until the child’s at least 1 year old and 20 pounds.
Glew noted a lot of rear-facing car seats these days will accommodate kids up to 35 pounds. ‘It’s ideal to keep them rear-facing for as long as possible,? she noted.
Once a child exceeds the rear-facing seat’s height and weight limits and his or her head is within one inch of the seat’s top, it’s time to move on to a forward-facing toddler seat.
Many people believe once a child outgrows the toddler car seat, he or she is ready to go straight to a standard seat belt, but Glew said that’s not true.
‘A lot of people don’t realize that booster seats are recommended for children once they get out of a car seat (and) before they go into a seat belt,? she said. ‘A lot of people aren’t aware that’s an important step.
In order for a child to be big enough for safety belts, they must be about 4 feet, 9 inches tall and between 80 and 100 pounds. For most children, that will be between ages 8 and 12.
Until children reach that size and weight, they need to use a booster seat with vehicle lap and shoulder safety belts, according to Safe Kids Worldwide, an international nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing the unintentional injury of children age 14 and under.
Glew also wished to remind parents that once a car seat’s been involved in a crash, it should not be re-used. A new one must be purchased.
And just like food, car seats have an expiration date and should not be used after six years, according to Glew.
Car seats expire because of changing technology and the extreme temperature changes Michigan undergoes.
As the plastic goes from ‘really hot? to ‘really cold? year after year, it begins to ‘break down after a while,? Glew explained.
For more info about car seat safety visit www.usa.safekids.org.