Car and Road

This is National Childhood Injury Prevention Week, which means it’s a great time to brush up on a few of the easiest things parents can do to keep their kids safe. When it comes to safety for your children, you already know the basics: buckle up, wear a helmet, learn to swim, look both ways. Here are some lesser-known – but just as important – tips to help keep your family safe.

We were delighted recently when our partners at Safe Kids China asked us to visit and conduct a child passenger safety certification course in Shanghai. Our goal was to teach and certify health and safety professionals in Shanghai about the benefits of using child safety restraints in the car.

Only an estimated 2-3 percent of the population in China have or use car seats. But things are starting to change. A newly passed law will go into effect soon in Shanghai that will require children under 4 to ride in car seats. This is huge step in the right direction.

Every 10 days, across the United States, a child dies while unattended in a hot car. It only takes a few minutes for a car to heat up and become deadly to a child inside. As summer temperatures rise, more kids are at risk – the death toll this summer has already exceeded 20.

As parents, we often have conflicted feelings about safety: On the one hand, we can sometimes be too cautious, overestimating our child’s level of risk of a particular danger. And at the same time, we can completely dismiss certain hazards, assuming our child would never be affected. This is especially true of one particular kind of accident. 

Diary of a teen driver.

"I lost my best friend because we didn't buckle up."

No one starts their day anticipating getting into a car crash. But teens like Presley teach us that it only takes one time riding in a car without bucking up for a life to be changed forever.