Rick, who works at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth, sought advice from our nurses who perform car seat safety checks on whether his niece could put her larger-than-average infant son in a front-facing car seat she’d purchased. His niece was worried the seat she was using before was too small.
One of the nurses informed Rick that a baby’s age, not size, was not the indicator for switching to a front-facing seat, and the baby needed to be much older before facing forward. Based on this advice, Rick’s niece took the new front-facing seat out and placed the old reverse-facing seat back in.Days after making the switch, his niece was killed in a head-on car collision in Johnson County. Her son was in the backseat. He survived, suffering only minor cuts from the broken glass.
“I credit the car seat for its design, my niece for her love of her child, and the team here at Texas Health Southwest for their caring hearts,” Rick said.
I’m reminded of the story today, knowing people will gather for free car safety seat checks on Saturday for National Child Passenger Safety week. Sadly, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 3 out of 4 child safety seats are not used properly, which is a grave risk when traveling.
Shopping for a child safety seat can be daunting for new parents. And since Texas began requiring children up to age 8 to be in a child restraint -- depending on their age, height, and weight -- parents aren’t just shopping for babies and toddlers anymore. But securing 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. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children age 3 and older, but using child safety seats reduces the risk of fatal injury in a car crash by 71 percent for infants and 54 percent for toddlers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Here’s some advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics for parents trying to navigate the car safety seat maze:
• No one seat is the “best” or “safest.” The best seat is the one that fits the child’s size, is correctly installed, fits well in the vehicle, and is used properly every time you drive.
• Avoid using price as an indicator of quality. A higher price does not mean the seat is safer or easier to use;
• Stay away from used seats if you don’t know the seat’s history. Never use a car safety seat that is too old, missing instructions, parts or a manufacturer’s labels, has any visible cracks or was recalled;
• Do not use seats that have been in a crash without checking with the manufacturers’ guidelines.
You can get free car seat checks at most Texas Health hospitals. Find out more about that by calling 1-877-THR-WELL or visiting www.texashealth.org. Another great source of information is www.healthychildren.org.
I know Rick would tell you it’s worth checking on.
Megan Brooks
Sr. Public Relations Specialist
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