St. Mary To Host Child Car-Seat Check

LANGHORNE, PA — Nervous that the car safety seats your little ones ride in may not be secure? Well, St. Mary Medical Center wants to help.

The hospital, which is observing National Child Passenger Safety Week from Sept. 23-29, is partnering with local law enforcement for a "seat check" event on Saturday. The event will be from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at Playwicki Farm in Feasterville.

At the event, technicians from St. Mary will be on hand to help determine if children are in the right seats for their age and size and to make sure car seats are installed and being used correctly. They'll also be able to provide the most recent updates to car seat use guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), two out of every three car seats are improperly installed, or do not fit the child’s height and weight requirements.

"There is no question that when installed and used properly, car seats and boosters save lives and prevent injuries for our most precious cargo, our children," said Shane Ryan, St. Mary’s community traffic safety liaison. "In Pennsylvania, from 2013 to 2017, 82 percent of the children under age 4 who were involved in crashes and restrained in a car seat sustained no significant injury. It is absolutely critical that parents follow the recommended guidelines to keep their children as safe as possible."

The new NHTSA guidelines suggest parents:

• Keep children in rear-facing car safety seats for as long as possible.
• Put children in forward-facing car safety seats from the time they outgrow rear-facing seats — for most children through at least 4 years of age.
• Use belt-positioning booster seats from the time they outgrow forward-facing seats — for most children through at least 8 years of age.
• Ensure lap and shoulder seat belts for all who have outgrown booster seats.
• Do not allow children younger than 13 years to ride in the front seats of vehicles.

"We all want to do what is best for our children and keep them safe," said Ryan. "Every time a child is improperly restrained in a car, it’s a gamble on that child’s life and not worth the risk. Take the time to get the car seats inspected and buckle up, every time."

For more information about National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week, or to register for a car seat inspection, visit www.stmaryhealthcare.org/safekids.

Photo courtesy St. Mary Medical Center