Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Car Seat and Tween Safety



Having a child under the age of 13, I take this information to heart. Keeping my child safe is my number one priority.

Every 33 seconds a child under 13 is involved in a car crash in the United States. For younger children, car seats can dramatically reduce the risk of fatality or injury – but over half of car seats are either installed or used incorrectly. For older children, buckling up is critical. A full 50% of children age 8-14 who were killed in car crashes from 2011-2015 were not restrained.


That’s why we want parents and caregivers to know about the importance of making sure their child is safely restrained—whether that’s selecting the right car seat for their child’s age and size, or making sure that older kids (8-14) always buckle their seat belts and sit in the backseat.


As parents, we all want to do the right thing to keep our children safe and sound.  This spring, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are unveiling new PSAs to address these important issues.  First, is the up to date car seat safety information like the tips found in the fun new video series “The Wide World of Car Seats.”

Everyone needs acknowledgment for their parenting wins, just like we cheer our kids when they score that winning goal. so why not get cheered for finding the right car seat for your child?
 





The right car seat can make all the difference in a motor vehicle crash. And car crashes are a leading cause of death for children 1 to 13 years old.  But despite their best intentions, many parents may not realize their child isn’t in the right seat.  For example, many parents move their children to the next restraint type (car seat, booster seat, seat belt) too soon. To make sure you have the right seat for your child, visit SaferCar.gov/TheRightSeat.

And just when you think you’ve got this parenting thing down, your child becomes a “tween” and you enter a whole new world.  To help with travel safety, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are unveiling new PSAs featuring characters from Fox’s upcoming summer road trip adventure Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul. The PSAs remind parents and caregivers that even if kids argue and plead, parents should stand firm and always insist that their kids buckle up and sit in the back seat (the safest place for kids under the age of 13).

My son absolutely loves Diary of a Whimpy Kid series, and I can help remind him of how important it is to buckle up and ride in the backseat. Just like the characters!



How do you talk to your children about seat belts? My son is stubborn and always wants to sit in the front. He's 11 and thinks he's big enough. I've had to explain how important it is for kids under 15, by law in Virginia, have to be in the back. I also explain to him that sitting in the front, can ultimately be deadly. Thankfully he understands and complies with my wishes. It's become a habit now so I don't worry so much. Making sure his safety belt clicks assures me he will be safe.

As a healthcare provider, I am mandated to stop at accident scenes. So I have seen the impact of what not wearing a seatbelt can do. I try very hard to reiterate this to my son all the time. I don't want him to become a statistic. It's easy for me to preach to him how important this is and he definitely takes it to heart. So whenever we get into the car, it's automatic and I don't have to fight him to jump in the back and buckle that belt!

Per data from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), an estimated 69,000 tweens are injured every year in car crashes and 61% of 14-year-old children killed in 2015 car crashes were unrestrained at the time of the crash.  Even though life as a parent is full of compromises, seat belt safety should never be up for negotiation. That’s why the new PSAs encourage us to: “Never give up until they buckle up!”

For more information or if you need more tips to convince your tween to buckle up, visit SaferCar.gov/KidsBuckleUp.  If you have a great tip, join the conversation on social media using: #KidsBuckleUp.


25 comments:

  1. It's the law here in Massachusetts, so my kids buckle up. Always.

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    1. It is here in Virginia as well. Children under the age of 16 have to be in the back seat no matter. When I first moved here I was totally unaware of that until I had an officer tell me. Thank goodness he just gave me a warning!!

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  2. Very useful tricks for handling the fussy kids. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. You are very much welcome! It really s hard to make children understand how important it is for their safety but once they get into the habit it's easy peasy!

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  3. It's the law here in Missouri, too. Kids think that dying is for adults, we have to instill the logic that anyone can die at any time. Scary but true.

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    1. Yes! When children are young, they often feel like they are invincible...I was the same way. unfortunately we have to break their dreams and let them know that they aren't. Sometimes it's a hard truth to tell but a mandatory one.

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  4. When I was younger, I hated seat belts. Obviously, things were different back then.

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    1. Very true. Road rage wasn't as abundant as it is today. And people seem to be in more of a hurry and forget that they aren't the only ones out on the road. I hated seat belts myself but my mom always insisted. Now it's just ingrained into my bones.

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  5. Important message & one that does need to be reinforced every so often, so thanks for sharing. Even today my kids remind me, but love it best when it's my granddaughter reminding me as we try to race to see who's buckled in first

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    1. That is so awesome! I love that with my granddaughter too. I normally lose haha of course!

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  6. Car seats and searbejts. Two things I don't mess around with. Must be buckled for the car to move.

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    1. That's what we do as well. The car doesn't move until everyone is ready!

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  7. I agree with another comment. My car will not move until everyone is in a seatbelt. Sometimes my husband "forgets" to put his own, and he is part of the rule. Parents have to also set great examples for the children.

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  8. I taught my kids from birth on to buckle up for safety. I never had to get on to them about buckling up after they learned. I did have a bit of problem with my youngest grand daughter though. She'd manage to get out of her car seat and would scare me to death.

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  9. This is so critical. My friends used to say that my son was too big for his seat. I did not care, he needed it.

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  10. We ought to pay more attention to car safety. I think it's really important even if our kids are grown up and no longer sitting in a car seat.

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  11. I am a big time enforcer of car safety, I kept my kids in rear facing car seats for much longer than most did at the time. Now it is recommended for longer but not when my kids were little. It is hard as they get older and do more things without me around, I hope that my encouraging car safety will stick with them even when they are in cars without me.

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  12. Thank you for this great reminder. Kids can be so hard headed at times! I agree that parenting is full of rules and compromise, but there should be no negotiation when it comes to buckling up.

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  13. It is so important to buckle up your kids. The correct car seat is equally important.

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  14. I would OCD about not having your seatbelt on. I asked my son before we leave our parking area and sometimes even once while we are driving. It's always a fear of mind that his little body will be flown from the car due to not having on his seatbelt

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  15. This is great tips! Car seat and safety belt is so important. It's the law in Canada that everyone wears seat belt. I always make sure that my son put on his seat belt every time that it became an automatic reaction to put on the belt.

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  16. i'm very careful when it comes to car seats and my kids. this is great information

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  17. This is really a good info,car seats and seat belts are must in my car too

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  18. It is really concerning to read all of the numbers :(

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