car seats

While recognizing that driving a car is very serious business, officials hope that these signs will be more than one-time reminders to drivers. In addition to making people laugh, they hope these attention-grabbing signs will be family conversation starters, and help create more long-term safe driving habits.

So no more guessing about recalls. We all have other things to worry about. No fuss, no muss. Complete and mail the registration card – it’s a small, but important step in making sure your child is riding as safely as possible.   

Following the largest car seat recall in U.S. history last year, Safe Kids wants you to know how to protect your child.

Heatstroke is a condition that occurs when the body isn’t able to cool itself quickly enough and the body temperature rises to dangerous levels. Children are at great risk for heatstroke because a child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s. When the internal body temperature reaches 104 degrees, children’s organs start to shut down. And when it reaches 107 degrees, the child can die.

Having that technical training changed my life. I know more about car seats and continue to learn every day. That knowledge makes me comfortable talking to parents about car sear safety, which is so important.

One of my favorite parts of my job is talking with the EMTs, nurses, doctors, and other public health professionals who have recently become Child Passenger Safety Technicians. Their faces light up when they describe the feeling of wearing the CPST “hat” and working with colleagues and families in their communities. They appreciate the value of spending a little extra time assisting families to make sure car seats are used and installed correctly and that everyone is buckled up, every ride every time.

Before you pack up the car and bundle up the kids, put the turkey and pies in the oven – or whatever else is on your list before you go – here are five quick tips to help you and your family stay safe for the holiday.

Our new study helps answer some of the questions parents have about when to switch from a booster seat to just a seat belt. We surveyed 1,000 parents of children ages 4 to 10 and found that an alarming number of parents are allowing kids to use a seat belt alone before they are big enough. In fact, 7 in 10 parents do not know that a child should be at least 57 inches (4’9”) to ride in a car without a booster seat.