Transcription:
Car Seat Safety for Older Kids

Amanda Wilde (Host): This is UK HealthCast, a podcast from UK Healthcare. I'm Amanda Wilde. We often think of car seat safety only in terms of newborns and infants. Today, we're going to explore safety tips for older kids with Sherri Hannan, Safe Kids Fayette County Coordinator. Good to have you here, Sherri.

Sherri Hannan: Thank you. This is an exciting topic to talk about.

Amanda Wilde (Host): Well, with 20 years experience, you can for sure answer all our questions about car seat safety.

Sherri Hannan: I sure hope so.

Amanda Wilde (Host): What is the typical age range that kids should be placed in car seats? As I mentioned, we only think in terms of newborns and infants a lot of the time.

Sherri Hannan: Well, transitioning through the different stages of child passenger safety, we don't want to rush that process. So, we don't want to ever make a parent feel like that this should be something that happens very quickly. We want parents to make sure that they utilize the upper weights and height limits of the seats that they have for their children. Stay until they outgrow either one of those and then transition to the next phase of child passenger safety.

Amanda Wilde (Host): I want to talk about those height, weight considerations. Is there a typical age range we should be looking at?

Sherri Hannan: Well, you always want to follow the instruction manual for the car seat that you're using and making sure that it is the appropriate child restraint for your child based on their age, height, and weight. Typically, we want to see young children, infants through young babies stay rear facing until upwards of at least maybe two years old and about 30 pounds. But again, follow those upper weight limits for the height and weight of the seat. And then, when the child can then forward face, we have newer seats that go to 50 even up to 65 pounds forward facing with a harness. So again, staying as long as possible with the harness seats before transitioning to what we would say would be the third phase, which is booster seat use, staying in that booster seat until the child reaches the height that they would fit anatomically correct in an adult-size lap and shoulder belt that's in the vehicle.

Amanda Wilde (Host): So, what is the danger of taking kids out of the car seat too early and putting them in an adult seatbelt?

Sherri Hannan: Well, the child restraint is the device that we have that's going to protect children in a motor vehicle crash. So, we want to make sure caregivers are using the seat correctly and that it's being installed correctly in the event of a car crash, that is the safety device that is going to protect the child; keep them from being ejected; decrease, hopefully, injury and risk of death. So, car seats have a function, but the outcomes are all going to be based on if we are using the car seat correctly.

Amanda Wilde (Host): So, the danger would be having them in an incorrect car seat situation. And then, if there were an accident, there would be all kinds of injury that we are preventing by putting them in the correct car seat.

Sherri Hannan: Correct. There's reasons why we say a child should rear face for upwards of two plus years, just because we know that, an infant, their head is disproportionately large based on their body size. So if we turn that infant around forward facing too early, with the forward fling that happens in most crashes in the forward direction, that can extend the neck, the spinal cord and cause injury. So, there is evidence about why particular instructions are given, so that it's going to protect the child passenger. A harness seat is going to be safer for the child, before they transition to a booster seat. So, we know that as the child goes through these different stages of child passenger safety, they've become a little less protected. So, we want to, again, slow down the process, not being a rush to get a child into just using the lap shoulder belt that's in the vehicle. Restraints work. They are effective in decreasing injury, decreasing the risk of a child fatality in a motor vehicle crash.

Amanda Wilde (Host): So, taking a child out of a car seat too early can really be an error that is dangerous. What are other common mistakes parents of older children make with regard to car seats?

Sherri Hannan: Probably in relation to car seats would just be, again, not utilizing them as long as they can, based on the heights and weights of the child restraint. But when we have kids that can start to come out of a harness seat riding a booster, which is some of those a little bit older kids, we still have a problem with belts being out of position, that the child will sometimes, because the belt is out of position, it's uncomfortable, they will put that shoulder portion of the belt behind their back or under their arms, and they lose that upper body protection that the shoulder belt would give in a crash to restrain the upper part of the body back. Instead, they're flung forward and they can hit the front seat. The side passengers, the window, kiss their toes and have a lot of very severe injury just because the belts are not in the correct position.

Amanda Wilde (Host): So, proper placement is critical. If an older child resists being in a car seat, what can parents do to convince them or keep them calm about that process?

Sherri Hannan: Well, I would strongly encourage every caregiver to do what is best practice for their child while they are occupants in a vehicle. Making sure that you follow your state's laws. You don't want to do anything that's going to go against the laws. And so, we need to know whatever our state laws are. But I think every parent wants to do the very best for their child, so just making sure that they're in the correct restraint that's going to protect them. We certainly don't want to put our children in an underprotected situation, so referring to child passenger safety technicians for help if you have any of those folks nearby who are trained and have some expertise in child passenger safety issues. I know it's a big deal for a lot of kids to want to ride in that front passenger seat, but we also want caregivers to be firm to say, you know, "Not 'til you're like 13 years old should you ride in that front passenger seat because the backseat is the safest place for young passengers to ride."

Amanda Wilde (Host): And that's kind of what we have to fall back on. This is the safest thing we can do for our children.

Sherri Hannan: Yes. And then, when they do come out of car seats and booster seats, hopefully that has been ingrained in them. And they will, as they become more independent, always wear their seatbelt, always reinforcing that message, telling your child to buckle up every ride every time. Because, once they start getting bigger, they go places with other people, it becomes sometimes a choice that they're going to buckle up if they're not in the car with you. So, just making sure that, as a parent or a caregiver, that we are following the law that we're following best practices. Car crashes can be very severe. And so, seat belts, car seats are the things that are going to protect passengers in the vehicle, and they need to be used every ride, every time.

Amanda Wilde (Host): Every time. Yeah. It is the law, I think, in every state that kids need to be in car seats, though the laws vary a bit from state to state. The other confusing part is that we have many options and styles to choose from, which now you have explained like children, those are used in different stages.

Sherri Hannan: Right. Always just look at the labels on a restraint to make sure that your child fits within those height and weight limits. You want to use the correct seat. You want to use it correctly. You want to make sure the child can ride in that car seat correctly, where harnesses need to be placed, how tight those harnesses need to be, is correctly installed with either the seatbelt or your lower anchors and tethers. It's not an easy process, but certainly following directions, reaching out again to trained child passenger safety technicians in your area, they're there to help you, car side, to learn how to use your seat for your child in your vehicle.

Amanda Wilde (Host): Where do we find those passenger safety technicians?

Sherri Hannan: Well, probably you could just Google online, but I coordinate the Safe Kids Program and we have what we call fitting stations here in the Lexington Fayette County area where people can call and get an appointment. They can bring their car seat and we will assess any incorrect use. We'll make changes if we needed to change direction, we needed to educate the caregiver on how the car seat needs to be installed. So, they can make that appointment, they can come see us and get that individualized educational session so that hopefully at the end of that time in about 20 or 30 minutes, they feel empowered to use their seat the correct way. We'll hopefully be able to share that information with other people that may be transporting their child so that the child has a safe ride in every car each and every time.

Amanda Wilde (Host): Great strategies and such useful information. Sherri, thank you for this conversation.

Sherri Hannan: Thank you.

Amanda Wilde (Host): For more information, visit safekids.org. If you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social media and thanks for listening to UK HealthCast, a podcast from UK Healthcare. Until next time, be well.