WFMW: Car Seat Safety

This morning I learned about a car-seat safety program that I had never heard of or contemplated the need for before. Now that I know about it, it certainly works for me! Of course, no one wants to think about emergency scenarios, but by thinking of them, we can be better prepared if the worst should happen. This morning was one of those times that I thought, "Of course! Why hadn’t I thought of that before?" The program is called CHAD: Children Have An iDentity. Here is what it says on the back of the sticker I received:

"This safety seat child identification program has been developed as the result of a traffic crash involving a 13-month-old boy named Chad. The babysitter who had been driving was killed. Chad was injured, but no one at the scene knew his identity. Only because an emergency room nurse recognized him could his parents be quickly located and his injuries be treated. To ensure rapid identification of your child in such an emergency, please fill out this sticker and place it on the right corner (child’s right) under the cushion or center back of your child’s safety seat." More info can be found here. (Click on safety programs, then CHAD.)

The sticker contains places for the child’s name, birth-date, address, parent’s names and contact information, physician name and number, and emergency contact info other than a parent. Even without the sticker, I think this is good information for any parent to place on their child’s car-seat in case the child is ever in an accident and the driver is unconscious. For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, click here.

I heard about this program at the library. We went to a bigger library for story-time than the one we normally go to, because they were hosting members of the police department for car-seat safety inspections. I have read many places the statistic that something like 7 out of 10 car-seats are not properly installed, so when Bug-a-Boo was first born, I had his infant seat inspected. I hadn’t found anyplace convenient to have his convertible car-seat inspected, so I jumped at this chance. Also I had a couple questions. For example, Bug-a-Boo is large for his age. Every car-seat guide I have seen says that a child should be in a forward-facing car-seat with a harness until they are 40 pounds AND 4 years old. At that point, they should switch to a booster which works with the seat-belt until age 7 or 4’9" tall, whichever comes first. Well, Bug-a-Boo just turned 2 a couple months ago and is 35 pounds. He will surely be 40 pounds before his 4th birthday, so what do I do? Nothing I found said anything about "AND/OR – whichever comes first." They all said "AND". I have searched car-seats and found that the ones with the harness either accommodate up to 40 pounds or cost a hefty amount. ($250 for a Britax which goes to 50 pounds or $400 for one that goes above that) If that is necessary for his safety, I am willing to pay it, but I wanted to sure before shelling out that kind of dough for an extra 10 pounds. In case any of you have wondered, the inspector said to go by weight, not age – basically whichever comes first. When he hits 40 pounds, she suggested that he go to a high-back booster used with the car’s seat-belt. She gave me her business card and offered to inspect it for us when we get to that point. I plan to try that out, then only if the booster doesn’t seem to secure him enough, think about the expensive car-seats.

On another note, there were three police officers and one librarian working at the inspection site. One of the police officers was in full uniform and was, frankly, rather intimidating looking. I thought it was a great chance for Bug-a-Boo to get some positive interaction with a police officer, so he is not afraid of them. Now I just have to find someone in a full fire-fighter uniform so he can have a positive interaction with them. (Did you know that it is not uncommon for young children and toddlers caught in a burning building to run away and hide from the firemen trying to rescue them, because they are scared by the uniform and mask? That’s why many pre-schools tour fire-departments and have the kids meet a fireman in full uniform in a safe situation.) Actually, the same library is having a fire-safety day for that specific reason. It’s right around the time baby girl is due, so I plan to either take him or hopefully have someone take him.

Finally, I want to take just a second more of your time to brag on our library system for one more thing. Maybe your library is the same way and you, like me, didn’t know it. Bug-a-Boo has had a cold, and whether because of that or some other unknown reason, he was a bit grumpy after story-time. I really wanted to check out a couple books to help him with preparing for and adjusting to being a big brother, but he started fussing, and I didn’t think I could. As I checked out the couple board books he had picked out about trains and trucks, I mentioned this to the librarian. One kind lady helped me distract him while another ran and found a couple great ones for me. She even made sure that they were about a boy who was getting a baby sister! She said that anytime, even if I didn’t know specific titles or authors, I could call ahead and say, "I need ____ (up to 5) picture books about _____ (insert topic)," and they will find and pull them for me, even putting them down at the drive-up window for me to pick up! How cool is that?