September is Baby Safety Month and September 15-21, 2019 is dedicated to Child Passenger Safety Week. The goal is to raise awareness for all parents and caregivers about correct usage of child restraints in the car. Families are gearing up for school carpools, long drives to sports practices, and road trips to pumpkin patches across the country! These experiences in the family car should be positive memories that last a lifetime; however, car crashes are the number one killer of children 1 to 12 years old in the United States. Contributing to this devastating stat is the fact that 3 out of 4 car seats are not used correctly. It’s clear no parent wants to put their child in danger, so it’s time to reassess the safety precautions we take when families hit the road. But it’s easier said than done.
According to a recent study from Volvo Car USA:
- 92% of parents feel overwhelmed when researching child safety products
- 71% of parents find the number of car seat choices overwhelming
- Less than half of parents are regularly checking the boxes on essential safety measures once they have a seat
- Only 35% of parents check the car seat expiration date
- 50% of parents check to see if a child has outgrown the seat
- Only 35% remove a child’s coat before putting them in the seat
