Child Passenger Safety Tips

The third week of September is nationally known as Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week. This week highlights the importance of ensuring that all children are properly secured in an appropriate car seat or seatbelt, and the entire week is dedicated to all things related to child passenger safety. A child’s age, weight, and height can all play a factor when determining proper safety harnesses, so it is vital to your child’s safety to stay up-to-date with the current regulations and suggestions. Children’s World Learning Center, the best childcare Greenville NC has to offer, is here to share some guidelines for parents and caregivers about child passenger safety:

Know The Stages:

• Rear-facing Car Seat – From birth to at least age 2, infants and toddlers should be buckled in a rear-facing car seat in the vehicle’s back seat until they reach the upper weight or height limits of their specific car seats. Check the seat owner’s manual and labels on the seat for weight and height limits.
• Forward-facing Car Seat – After outgrowing their rear-facing seat until at least age 5, children should be buckled in a forward-facing car seat in the back seat until they reach the upper weight or height limits of their specific car seats. Again, check the seat owner’s manual and labels on the seat for weight and height limits.
• Booster Seat – After outgrowing forward-facing seat and until seat belts fit properly, children should be buckled into a booster seat until they are able to fit into a seat belt properly. Proper seat belt fit usually occurs when children are about 4 feet 9 inches tall and 9-12 years old.
• Seat Belt – Children no longer need to use a booster seat once seat belts fit them properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt lays across the chest (not the neck).

Proper Installation And Placement Of Car Seats:

• You should always install and use car seats and booster seats according to the seat’s owners manual, or get help installing them from a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. 
• The safest seat for a child is always the back seat. 
• The center of the back seat is the most ideal spot for both rear and forward-facing car seats, booster seats, and kids wearing seat belts. 
• Never place a child in front of an airbag. Airbags are harmful to small children if they are sitting in the front seat and can kill them instead of protecting them in a car wreck. Also, you should never place a rear-facing car seat in front of an airbag.  
• Use proper restraints on every trip. No matter how far you plan to travel, always buckle children in car seats, booster seats, or seat belts. 
• Set a good example – parents and caregivers should always wear their seat belts, no matter what!

Children’s World Learning Center

Children’s World Learning Center, the best childcare Greenville NC has to offer, recommends prioritizing Child Passenger Safety Awareness for not just one week in September, but throughout the entire year. Like you, we prioritize and value your child’s safety too, and the early years of life affect the brain the most. Contact us today to learn more about what Children’s World Learning Center has to offer!