Group offers check of child safety seats

Research shows properly installed child safety seats save lives.

STAFF REPORT

BOARDMAN — As part of National Child Passenger Safety Week, a car seat check will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Babies ‘R’ Us on Doral Drive.

Appointments can be made by calling the Mahoning Valley Safe Kids Coalition at (330) 675-7818.

Three out of four child safety seats are improperly installed in vehicles, according to research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

It’s the responsibility of every parent and caregiver to make sure their children are safely restrained — every trip, every time.

According to NHTSA research, 8,325 lives of children under age 5 have been saved by the proper use of child restraints during the past 30 years.

Research shows that child restraints provide the best protection for all children up to age 8; after age 8, seat belts provide the best protection.

For maximum child passenger safety, parents and caregivers should refer to these “4 Steps for Kids” guidelines for determining which restraint system is best suited to protect children based on age and size:

UFor the best possible protection, keep infants in the back seat, in rear-facing child safety seats, as long as possible up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds.

UWhen children outgrow their rear-facing seats, they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in the back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat, usually around age 4 and 40 pounds.

UOnce children outgrow their forward-facing seats, they should ride in booster seats, in the back seat, until the vehicle seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest, usually at age 8 or when they are 4 feet 9 inches tall.

UWhen children outgrow their booster seats, they can use the adult seat belts in the back seat, if they fit properly — lap belt lies across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits across the chest.

For more information on Child Passenger Safety Week, which is this week, a national effort to remind parents and caregivers of the lifesaving effect child safety seats have in protecting young children, visit www.nhtsa.gov.