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Contact UsSafe Kids Worldwide Safe Kids is proud to be a resource for parents. Please email us by clicking on one of the links below, and one of our safety experts will respond to your needs.
Top 10 FAQs1. Where can I get a free car seat? Please contact your local Safe Kids coalition to see if it has seats available. Some coalitions can provide child safety seats to families in need, but please be aware there could be a fee for the seat, and that fee is based on the individual coalition’s guidelines. To contact your local Safe Kids coalition, please visit In Your Area section of our website to find a coalition near you. 2. When is it ok to leave my child home alone? Developmentally, children are generally ready to be home alone around the age of 12 or 13. However, children develop at different rates, so use your own discretion, within the boundaries of the law, to determine your child’s maturity level and capabilities. For example, if you have an impulsive 13-year-old who is a big risk taker, you might be hesitant to leave him or her alone. On the other hand, a thoughtful 11-year-old who has a good track record of following household rules might be ready. 3. Are there any laws or guidelines that say when it’s safe to leave my child home alone? Most states don’t have regulations or laws about when a child is considered old enough to stay home alone or babysit another child. Some states have guidelines or recommendations, but these often come from child protection services and are administered at the county or other local level. Contact your child protective services agency for information about your specific local regulations and laws. If you need help in locating your state child protection services agency, visit the Child Welfare Information Gateway’s Web site. 4. Where can I get Safe Kids printed materials like brochures and handouts? In an effort to provide more cost-effective and practical education for parents and caregivers, Safe Kids has stopped selling educational resources and will offer them for download in the next few months. In the meantime, please visit the Safety Basics section of our website where you can download Safety Resources, as well as our YouTube Channel for safety videos produced by Safe Kids. 5. Where can I find information on transporting children with special needs? The best child safety seat for your child depends on his or her specific physical needs. In some cases, a conventional seat works. In others, a seat that offers more support and adjustability may be necessary. Some "special needs" manufacturers and their products can be found at www.snugseat.com, www.columbiamedical.com, www.britaxusa.com and www.ezonpro.com. Look at what products are available to help determine what is best, but involving your health care professional is critical. You may also benefit from consulting a specialist in transporting children with special health care needs. The National Center for the Safe Transportation of Children with Special Health Care Needs serves as a resource for families, health care professionals, transportation providers and child passenger safety advocates. The National Center has a toll-free hotline staffed by child passenger safety technicians who are experienced in resolving issues associated with the transportation of children with special health care needs. In addition, please visit the Indiana University School of Medicine Automotive Safety Program Web site. 6. What is the best child safety seat? The best child restraint is the one that’s best for you! “You” means the person who’s going to use it - parents, caregivers and especially the child! The best child restraint is:
Never place a rear-facing child restraint in the front seat if the air bag is turned on. If it is necessary to place a child in the front seat, be sure the air bag can be turned off. Always consider the needs of each passenger. Although there may be many seating positions in a vehicle, not all may be suitable for installing a child restraint. For example, the center rear seating position may not be good for installing a child restraint. Check the child restraint manufacturer’s instructions and the vehicle owner’s manual to find out if there are certain vehicle seating positions that cannot be used. As long as the child restraint fits, the center rear seating position may be safer because it is furthest from impact and intrusion from any direction. However, some center-rear positions are not usable, and many families transport more than one child. Always ask, “Who rides in this vehicle? Where will each person sit?” 7. How do I report unsafe children’s products? The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the federal agency charged with collecting and responding to public complaints about unsafe consumer products. You can report an unsafe product on the agency’s Web site. We also recommend you sign up for recalls under the Product Recalls Section of the website. 8. Can I borrow information from your website? Safe Kids Worldwide’s mission is to prevent unintentional injuries to children. Our job is to give parents the tips and tools to help keep their children safe. Since we’d like every parent and caregiver to have access to our information, educators, reporters, bloggers and others may repost or reprint our content with a few special considerations. Please make sure that the information is credited to Safe Kids Worldwide as the source or author of the content, and please provide a link back to our Web site, www.safekids.org, for more information. 9. Are there different laws for booster seats across the United States? All states and territories of the United States have child occupant protection laws in place. Because they are minimum requirements, though, most state laws do not fully represent “best practices” for safely transporting children. Laws vary from state to state, but the laws of physics remain constant. Crashes do not become less violent when we drive across state lines. To learn more about child safety laws and regulations, please visit the safety legislation section of our website. To date, 48 states (including Washington, D.C.) have some form of a booster seat law. In many states, Safe Kids coalitions were actively involved in advocacy efforts to upgrade child restraint laws. 10. Are there different types of booster seats?
Proper booster seat fit:
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