Children's Hospital offers free car seat check program
[ad_1]
Properly installing a car seat can be a matter of life and death. That is why one local mom spent part of her Friday at Children’s Hospital, getting her children’s four car seats checked.“Maybe like a year ago, I realized my kids car seats were not properly installed. They were wiggling around more than they should,” said Andrea Drigger, who has now used Children’s free car seat fitting station three times. About a month ago, she returned to have her daughter’s car seat faced forward. A week later they got into an accident.“If Oliver had not been, my oldest, if he had not been… If his seat was not properly installed and tightened, I mean, he could have had maybe some soft tissue damage, I’m not really sure,” Driggers said.All of her kids are just fine, but Amy Borg, the child passenger safety specialist at Children’s, says injuries from misusing car seats are common. “We have trouble getting it into the car correctly and tightly or having the kiddo strapped in properly is what we see the most misuse of,” Borg said.To put the misuse into perspective, Borg said 4 in 5 car seats aren’t installed or used properly, which is something children’s is hoping to change.“Make sure they know how to use their car seat properly, and then we make sure that it’s properly fitted into the vehicle and that parent or caregiver can make sure that they’re leaving here comfortable installing it themselves,” Borg said.To get car seats checked, Borg suggests planning on half an hour per car seat or booster. That is time that Driggers said gives her peace of mind.“Because why not be safe and make sure, especially in the — you know — the chance of an accident,” Driggers said.Driggers also wanted to remind parents that this time of the year, putting kids in car seats or boosters while wearing a coat can increase their risk of injury following an accident. It’s better to use blankets to keep kids warm or drape their coat on top of the car seat.To make an appointment with the free car seat fitting station, call 402-955-8090.
Properly installing a car seat can be a matter of life and death. That is why one local mom spent part of her Friday at Children’s Hospital, getting her children’s four car seats checked.
“Maybe like a year ago, I realized my kids car seats were not properly installed. They were wiggling around more than they should,” said Andrea Drigger, who has now used Children’s free car seat fitting station three times.
About a month ago, she returned to have her daughter’s car seat faced forward. A week later they got into an accident.
“If Oliver had not been, my oldest, if he had not been… If his seat was not properly installed and tightened, I mean, he could have had maybe some soft tissue damage, I’m not really sure,” Driggers said.
All of her kids are just fine, but Amy Borg, the child passenger safety specialist at Children’s, says injuries from misusing car seats are common.
“We have trouble getting it into the car correctly and tightly or having the kiddo strapped in properly is what we see the most misuse of,” Borg said.
To put the misuse into perspective, Borg said 4 in 5 car seats aren’t installed or used properly, which is something children’s is hoping to change.
“Make sure they know how to use their car seat properly, and then we make sure that it’s properly fitted into the vehicle and that parent or caregiver can make sure that they’re leaving here comfortable installing it themselves,” Borg said.
To get car seats checked, Borg suggests planning on half an hour per car seat or booster. That is time that Driggers said gives her peace of mind.
“Because why not be safe and make sure, especially in the — you know — the chance of an accident,” Driggers said.
Driggers also wanted to remind parents that this time of the year, putting kids in car seats or boosters while wearing a coat can increase their risk of injury following an accident. It’s better to use blankets to keep kids warm or drape their coat on top of the car seat.
To make an appointment with the free car seat fitting station, call 402-955-8090.
[ad_2]
Source link