DEAR EDITOR:

Car seat safety is a particularly important aspect for new families and existing families in the community to know about. The way your child is facing in a car seat could be the deciding factor whether they live or die. According to an National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study, most parents assume they know how to correctly install car seats, but 48% of them have installed them incorrectly. Many hospitals today make it so you cannot even leave the hospital until you are shown how to correctly install a car seat. According to the NHTSA Traffic Safety Marketing report, proper car seat use reduces the infant death rate under the age of 1 by 71% and reduces the death rate in toddlers ages 1 to 4 by 54%.

That said knowing how to properly have your children in a car seat could save their life. The rules for car seat safety are as follows: a child is supposed to be in a rear facing car seat from birth until 2 to 4 years old, depending on their weight. After outgrowing the rear facing car seat, the toddler should be in a forward-facing car seat until 5, or if they meet the maximum weight limit. Next a child should be placed in a booster seat until a seat belt fits properly, which usually happens around 4 foot 9 inches and around ages 9 to 12. Finally, the child can sit in the back seat once the seat belt fits properly.

Proper fitting of a seat belt means the child’s back and bottom are flat against the seat, the lap belt fits against the child’s upper thighs, and the seat belt crosses the center of the shoulder. A child should remain in the back seat until age 13. The Ohio Buckles Buckeyes Program is available to all counties in Ohio, for low-income families who need a proper car seat. In the last five years, there have been around 17,000 car seats provided to low-income families.

The best way to protect your child from motor vehicle injuries is to be up to date on all car seat regulations.

ALLYSON JEWEL YAUGER

YSU nursing student

Niles