Keeping car seats safe for children

cccccarseat042: Community Connection Car Seat Inspection

After completing an inspection of a child car seat, Community Connection for Child Care’s Julie Rubin (left) and Kern County Public Health Department’s Mariel Mehdipour fill out the needed checklist for the parents.

Several Kern County parents discovered owning a child car seat does not necessarily mean safety for their children. They were among a steady stream of adults who brought their cars, child seats and in many cases children to the Community Connection for Child Care’s (CCCC) free “Back-to-School Child Car Seat Inspection” on September 25 at the “Babies R’ Us” parking lot in northwest Bakersfield.

“Our goal was to make the public aware of how important child care seat safety is, especially now that school is back in session,” said Brooke Antonioni, CCCC special projects facilitator. “According to statistics from the Safe Kids Coalition, 82 percent of all car seats are installed and/or are being used incorrectly. National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration statistics indicate motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among children ages 14 and under.”

During the free inspections, a total of nine child car seats were determined to be improper and had to be replaced. Five certified safety technicians from CCCC, California Highway Patrol, Kern County Fire Department and Kern County Public Health Department conducted the inspections. Not only were they looking for defective or improper seats, they were also making sure seats were installed correctly and teaching proper installation techniques to parents. Each check up took about 20-30 minutes. Volunteers from State Farm Insurance Companies assisted the inspectors by logging checklist information.

“My husband and I tried on our own, but we couldn’t get the child seat in our car tightened enough,” said one expectant mother. “We knew we weren’t doing something right. The technicians checked it out and them demonstrated the proper way to do it in a way that was really easy to understand.”

According to Antonioni, another couple discovered they had a car seat that had been recalled and were very grateful it was discovered by the inspection. They purchased a new seat that will allow them to transport their child safely. One set of parents brought in two child car seats that were over 20-years-old and were not deemed safe by today’s higher standards.

“State and federal laws for child car seats have changed a lot to insure children will be safer in the event of an accident,” Antonioni said. “Many parents told us they were not aware of the new rules and regulations. Still others didn’t realize that installing the car seat correctly is only one part in making sure their child is safe. If the car seat belt harness is improperly installed, the child can still be at great risk for injury.”

Vendors provided other useful information for parents. CCCC handed out child care and safety tips. Automobile Club of Southern California and State Farm dispensed car seat safety information and insurance information. Health Net distributed brochures highlighting its “Healthy Children and Families” insurance for low income families. In addition to furnishing the venue for the event, Babies R’ Us had free gifts for visitors, donated some car seats and helpful hints concerning breast feeding. Culligan Soft Water kept visitors refreshed with cold water on the hot day.

Plans for future free child car seat inspections are being planned by Community Connection for Child Care. For more information, contact Antonioni at (661) 861-5205.


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