Sept. 20th to Sept. 26th, 2020 is Child Passenger Safety Week. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injury for American children.
Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by as much as 71 percent. However, almost 60 percent of car seats are not used or installed correctly.
The Perry County Health Department offers the Ohio Buckles Buckeyes program providing car seats and booster seats to qualifying families. The goal of the program is to give car seats to families who are in need of a seat and may not be able to purchase one.
To qualify for a seat, the family must meet the current Ohio WIC income guidelines. The family will be required to attend a short class at the health department where they will learn about car seat safety and receive help to install their car seat or booster seat correctly.
Contact Deborah Raney at 740-342-5179 to check your eligibility and/or schedule an appointment for a car seat class. Parents can also visit Safe Kids Worldwide at www.safekids.org for current child safety seat guidelines.
Most parents understand the importance of car seats for young children. However, booster seat laws can be confusing, and many parents are not sure when or how to make the change from car seat to booster. Children need to be in a booster seat until they are eight years old or four foot, nine inches tall.
Ohio’s child passenger law changed in 2009 to better protect children on Ohio’s roadways. The change requires that children under eight years old must be properly restrained in a booster seat or other appropriate car seat unless they are four foot, nine inches or taller.
Safety belts are not designed for children under four foot, nine inches. Beginning at age four, many children are too large for car seats and too small for adult seat belts. Booster seats raise your child up so that the safety belt fits properly. Shoulder belts should cross the chest, not the neck and lap belts should rest on the hip or pelvis, never on the stomach. All booster seats must be used with a lap and shoulder belt. Be sure to follow your seat manufacturer’s specific instructions for weight limits and proper use.
Your child is ready for an adult seat belt if all the following apply: The child is tall enough to sit against the vehicle seat back with his or her knees bent at the edge of the seat without slouching. The shoulder belt lies in the middle of his/her chest and shoulder, not his/her neck or throat. The lap belt is low and snug across the upper thighs, not the belly; and the child can stay in this position comfortably throughout the entire trip. Children should continue to ride in the back seat until they’re at least 13 years old.
The Perry County Health Department is working to keep you healthy where you live, work and play. For more information about any program or service offered by the Perry County Health Department, contact us at 740-342-5179 or visit us online at perrycountyhealth.info and follow us on Facebook.
Deborah Raney is the Director of Health Education at the Perry County Health Department and is a weekly contributor to The Perry County Tribune.
September 22, 2020 at 12:33AM
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Car seats and booster seats available to the community - Perry County Tribune
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