Why all parents need to register their car seat today
Last year, more than six million car seats were recalled. Was your car seat one of them? And if so, have you made the repair?
In advance of National Child Passenger Safety Week (September 13 – 19), Safe Kids Worldwide is urging parents and caregivers to follow these steps to ensure their child is as safe as possible in a vehicle.
Register Your Car Seat
Registering your car seat is the best way for parents to learn about a recall in the most timely and dependable manner – directly from the manufacturer. It’s easy to do.
Option 1: Register online with your car seat manufacturer or www.safercar.gov/parents. You’ll need the model number and date of manufacture found on the label on your car seat.
Option 2: Fill out and mail in the registration card that came with your car seat. It already includes your car seat’s information. No postage required.
Find Out if Your Car Seat is Recalled
To find out if your car seat has been recalled, visit NHTSA’s website, and enter your seat’s brand name, date of manufacture and model number. Find this information on a label on your car seat.
ACT
If your car seat has been recalled, act. Contact the manufacturer to learn about the recall. If you registered in advance, you will automatically receive the repair. If you didn’t register, you can request the repair from the manufacturer. Once you receive the repair, take the time to make it.
New Research
Safe Kids released “Car Seat Recalls: What Every Parent Needs to Know,” a new study with support from the General Motors Foundation, that showed only 42 percent of parents said they returned the registration card.
Here’s an interesting finding from the study. At the beginning of the research, 80 percent of parents said the car seat registration card is important. Once parents learned that the purpose of the registration card is to notify owners of a recall, 97 percent of parents said the card is important.
The research demonstrates that we need to educate parents about the importance of registering their car seat and acting on a recall when it happens. Check out the link above to learn more about what we heard from parents.
Infographic
We created an infographic to show parents the importance of registering their car seats and acting on a recall. Check it out.
Keep Informed
To stay informed about recalls, sign up for Safe Kids Worldwide’s product recall emails. We cover many children’s products and will keep you updated about recall notices from the major federal agencies – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Resources for CPS Week
Child Passenger Safety Week is a great time for parents to check to make sure their kids are riding as safely as possible. Here are some helpful resources for you.
For our car seat safety tips, click here.
To make sure your child is riding in the right seat, check out this handy resource.
Need help installing your car seat? We know it can be a challenge. Watch the video, review our easy checklist, or look for a list of car seat check-up events.
