Infant Seat Safety - Keep them REAR Facing!

 I hope that parents gained some helpful knowledge from my last two articles on shopping cart safety,part 1 and part 2. Today’s article will focus on the basics of car seat safety, specifically infant seats. We all love our children and want to keep them as safe as possible. Car seats can be confusing. Rear facing, forward facing, booster, convertible, high back. There are so many terms to learn, so let’s break it down with some basic facts.

The safest place for a child is in the back seat of a car, in the middle position; or, in the case of a mini- van, the middle row. This position offers the most cushioning in the event of a crash. Sitting next to a window when the car gets hit on that side means your body is inches from contact with the collision. Sitting in the middle of the seat gives you a few feet of space that acts as a cushion as the car is impacted.

The safest way to sit in a car is rear facing. If we could all sit rear facing while driving, accident related deaths and injuries would be reduced significantly. This is because in a frontal crash, the impact is spread over the entire length of the back. Think about when you come to a short stop and the seat belt presses into your chest. When rear facing, the same force is spread out over a much larger area so the damage is much less. Plus, infants and young toddlers have very soft and undeveloped chest bones, so if they are facing forward in a frontal collision, or even a short stop, the belts pressing into their chest and abdomen can do a lot of damage. It also prevents that head snap you get when you stop short or are in a frontal collision. Instead of snapping forward, their heads get pressed into the back of the soft, cushioned seat.  

During car seat installation demonstrations, parents ask me how soon they can turn their infant around. They are excited about being able to see the child and interact with him during a trip. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends keeping your child rear facing as long as possible, up to the weight limit of the seat. The current age, which used to be at least 1 year, has been moved up to at least 2 years. Keep in mind that when your infant is too heavy for the infant carrier seat and you purchase the next car seat called a “convertible”, most of those can also be installed rear facing up to a higher weight range, such as 35 pounds.   

Need more proof? Here are two videos that demonstrate that great differences between rear facing and forward facing during a frontal collision. (In case you are wondering, frontal collisions account for over 70% of serious collisions, which is why we seat our children for optimal safety in that type of crash)  

This first video is a computer animation showing the difference in body movement between rear and forward facing. 
 

This second video is an actual crash test with dummies in both rear and forward facing positions

The child on the left is facing forward, the child on the right is rear facing, during a simulated frontal crash. Look at the difference in the movement of the head, neck, arms and legs.

 

These shocking videos show how much safer your child will be staying rear facing as long as possible.

Some common questions or complaints I hear about keeping a child rear facing: 

1. “But his feet are so long, he has to bend them while sitting rear facing, isn’t that dangerous? No! There is no health risk associated with sitting with bent knees, and it does not affect the safety of the car seat.
2. “But he cries when he can’t see me and it’s hard for me to console him” Would you rather him cry out of annoyance, or you be the one crying if g-d forbid he was injured in a crash?
3. “My child gets motion sickness facing backwards.” Most kids who get car sick facing backwards will also get car sick facing forward.

Again, keep your child rear facing as long as possible. In some European countries, it is a requirement until ages 4 or 5. Check the manual that came with the infant seat or convertible. It will tell you the maximum child weight for the rear facing position. Make a commitment to keep him backwards until that weight and you are assuring him a safer trip!

Stay tuned for the next article which will focus on convertible forward facing seats and booster seats.

St. Moritz Alert

Many people are using a cleaning spray called St. Moritz. It is highly toxic and is causing serious burns and injuries to children who encounter it. Please keep all chemicals locked up and out of reach of your children!

Infant dies after falling from shopping cart.

Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said a three month old infant died after falling from a grocery shopping cart Tuesday.

Police say the infant was secured in his carrier but not secured to the seat in the cart when the carrier tipped over.

That's because, they say, there was nowhere for the carrier to latch onto.

The incident happened in the Kroger parking lot on Forsyth Road.

Jones calls it, "a terrible accident," and says the three month old was in an infant carrier on the top of a shopping cart when the cart hit a speed breaker.

Macon Police say a Kroger employee who was friends with the child's mother, was pushing the cart when the infant fell. The three were on their way out of the store just before 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Dr. Jason Smith with Primary Pediatrics says they see at least ten accidents from shopping carts every year, and he says when it comes to the buggies, always err on the side of caution.

"We also see a lot of accidents like this that happen where car seats fall from an elevated spot, whether it be a counter top or something else," says Dr. Jones, "And just, you know, a reminder to definitely make sure that we're not putting it at a high spot and that includes a shopping cart."

The American Association of Pediatrics has a list of rules when it comes to kids and shopping carts, but Dr. Smith says it's best to keep infant carriers in strollers that have a latch that will hold that carrier in place.

"If you're not able to do that, I always tell parents here to put it inside the actual basket of the cart. It's just a safer place for it to be," he says.

Macon Police also describe what happened as a tragic accident and say so far no charges are pending.

Bibb County Corner Leon Jones says the infant was immediately taken to Coliseum Northside Hospital and later to The Medical Center of Central Georgia, where he was pronounced dead at the pediatric intensive care unit around 4:03 p.m.
Bibb County Corner Leon Jones says the infant was immediately taken to Coliseum Northside Hospital and later to The Medical Center of Central Georgia, where he was pronounced dead at the pediatric intensive care unit around 4:03 p.m.

Kroger's Atlanta division issued this statement: "Our deepest sympathy and most sincere, heartfelt thoughts go to the family during this time, and Kroger is fully cooperating with the local investigation."

Horrible Story

This is a very relevant story, especially in lakewood. I see young children jumping around the back of moving cars all the time.

MARICOPA, AZ - Police have identified a 3-year-old boy who died Monday night after falling out a window of a moving vehicle in Maricopa.

At a Tuesday press conference, Maricopa Police Chief Melvin identified the young boy as Quincy Tyrese Chapman-Gray.

According to LaTricia Woods with Maricopa Police, the incident happened around 5:30 p.m. on Anthony Boulevard near Bowlin Road.

Initial reports indicated the boy fell out of the rear passenger window of the Ford Explorer onto the roadway.

According to initial information from Woods, the boy's two older siblings, ages 4 and 5, were also in the back seat, and all three children were not wearing seatbelts.

But Melvin said Tuesday police are not sure where the child was located in the car and they are doing a reconstruction of the accident to learn more about what happened.

The boy was transported to Maricopa Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.

Police were interviewing the boy's mother, 40-year-old Angelica Chapman, late Monday night. Chapman was reportedly driving the SUV at the time of the incident.

According to Melvin, Chapman's children are not in the care of their parents at this time.

Police said Tuesday an active investigation is underway.

Further details have not been released.

http://www.abc15.com/dpp/news/region_central_southern_az/maricopa/pd%3A-3-year-old-falls-out-of-moving-car%2C-dies-in-maricopa

Suggestions?

Please post any suggestions you may have for safety articles you would like to see on this blog.

Shopping Cart Dangers

One of the most horrifying calls I ever had as an EMT involved a two year old boy who had fallen 3 feet from a shopping cart, landing head first onto the concrete floor below. The child’s injuries were horrific and he is not expected to ever make a full recovery.

I feel compelled to write this article to help parents get educated on the potential dangers of children who ride shopping carts. The following facts are from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission:

· An annual average of 21,600 children 5 years old and younger were treated in US hospital emergency rooms for shopping cart injuries during the years 1985-1996

· A detailed analysis of the incidents during 1995 and 1996 showed that 66 percent of the fall victims were treated for head injuries (11,000 per year).

The ONLY safe place for a child in a shopping cart is in the child seat, properly secured with the buckle. A visit to any local supermarket will reveal 2, 3 even 4 children standing in the back of the cart, hanging off the side, even lying down on the cargo area under the cart. I routinely witness young children climbing, jumping and swinging on carts, often with no parent in sight.

A quick lesson in physics: An object that weighs 30 pounds (your child), that falls 3 feet (distance from shopping cart to ground), will hit the ground with 475 pounds of force. Or to put it another way, it would be the same as hitting the child over the head with 15 cinderblocks. This makes it abundantly clear that shopping cart safety is no laughing matter. I understand it is difficult to control 3-4 children when shopping, however other solutions must be explored. Not a day passes without some story about someone dying in a tragic accident. With so much in this world out of our control, let’s control the things that we can. Keep our children safe

One last note – if you have your child in an infant carrier, and must put him in the shopping cart, DO NOT place the car seat on top. Place the car seat securely inside the cart. The seat is not strapped in and with its high center of gravity, can fall off the cart with even the slightest jolt.

The Safety Jew Has Arrived

I am the Safety Jew.

Living in Lakewood New Jersey has given me the opportunity to witness many safety issues, especially regarding children.

I will be here to spot them, analyze and share my experience as an EMT to keep you and your kids safe!