Child Passenger Safety Week/Baby Safety Month - Tips

September is Baby Safety Month, and September 18-24 is specifically National Child Passenger Safety Week. With more than 80% of car seats installed incorrectly, it’s clear that parents need to learn more about keeping their most precious cargo safe at all times, especially while in the car.

Chicco’s KeyFit 30 is the #1-rated infant car seat – and is among the easiest to install.  In recognition of National Child Passenger Safety Week, Chicco is happy to provide you and your readers with a few helpful reminders from its resident car seat safety expert, Julie Prom (bio below).   After all, everyone needs a friendly reminder from time to time – and what better reason to remind parents about car seat safety than now?

Car Seat Safety Tips to Keep in Mind from Julie Prom, car seat safety expert:

• Buckle up everyone, every time, every trip!  In a crash or emergency braking, an unbuckled passenger can be thrown into other passengers causing serious injury.  Also, ensure there are no heavy, loose objects in the vehicle that can be thrown around in a crash.
• Keep children in a rear-facing safety seat until at least 2 years old.  A recent study showed that children under age 2 are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they are riding rear-facing.  Be sure to use a safety seat designed for the size and weight of your child.
• Never put a rear-facing safety seat in front of an active air bag.
• All children under at least 13 should ride in the back seat.  The back seat is nearly 40 percent safer than the front seat.
• Never add any product (including toys and car seat covers or liners) or make any changes to a car safety seat or booster that is not approved by the manufacturer of the seat.  Add-on products can interfere with the crash performance of the seat.  Beware!  Many manufacturers of add-on products will state they have tested them—ONLY use products approved by the car safety seat manufacturer!  The safety seat manufacturer is the only one that can confirm the test results of its product.
• Never put an infant-only seat on top of a shopping cart.  This makes the shopping cart top heavy.  The Consumer Product Safety Commission and the American Academy of Pediatrics warn against this practice due to numerous reported injuries from carts tipping over and/or babies falling out.
• Finally, ALWAYS read and follow both the car safety seat instructions AND the vehicle owners’ manual when using and installing your child’s seat!

About Julie Prom

Julie Prom has over 25 years of professional experience in the cause of child safety.

She is an injury prevention and traffic safety consultant, and nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor for the Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training Program, an initiative run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Safe Kids USA.

Julie has provided consulting services to many local, state and national organizations, including the NHTSA, National Safety Council, DaimlerChrysler, Safe Ride News and several child restraint manufacturers. She is also a consultant for Chicco USA.

Prior to her consulting work, Julie spent eight years as Minnesota's Child Passenger Safety Program Administrator. There, she wrote child passenger safety brochures and training manuals.

Julie has conducted interviews with local print and broadcast media, and national outlets such as Reader's Digest and MSNBC.

Julie has four children and six grandchildren. Her children range from 21-32 years old. Her grandchildren range from 9 months to 11 years old. With all these children in her life, she has over 32 years first-hand experience with at least one child safety seat in her family vehicle — and she is still counting.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site's Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions.

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