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According to Cohen Law Group which stands among the top law firms in the country “Child safety seats provide the optimal protection against the leading cause of preventable injury and death to children – car crashes”. However, correctly installing and using car seats, booster seats, and seat belts can be challenging. In fact, more than 90% of car seats are not used correctly, with more than half having multiple points of critical misuse – which can prove deadly in a crash.

Read on for tips to find out if you are using the right seat correctly.

1. Select the Safest Seat

Price does not correlate with safety. The safest seat is the one you can use correctly every time – that fits your child, your car, your needs and your budget. Remember, the most expensive car seat used incorrectly is much more dangerous than an inexpensive car seat used properly.

2. Become Best Friends – with the Manual

Trust vehicle and car seat manufacturers to tell you the correct way to use their safety systems; they contain the best information when it comes to your child’s safety in the car.

3. Get a Professional Opinion

A nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) can check the installation of your child safety seat, show you what to do, and answer your questions.  To find a technician, visit www.safercar.gov/parents

4. Rear Face as Long as Possible

As per the best Chiropractic in Atlanta “Rear facing is the safest way for children to travel as rear-facing is 5 times safer because in a crash, a rear-facing car seat cradles and moves with the child to reduce the crash forces to a child’s fragile head, neck, and spinal cord”.

5. Facing Front – Use the Tether

Always use the Top Tether of the LATCH system with any forward-facing car seat, to substantially reduce the movement of a child’s head in the event of a crash.

6. Take Up the Slack

Always keep the child’s harness straps snug, straight, flat, and at or below the child’s shoulders for rear-facing seats, and at or above the child’s shoulders for forward-facing seats.

7. Don’t Let the Clip Slip

The harness chest clip keeps the straps positioned correctly and should be positioned over the child’s sternum, level with the armpits.

8. Position the Seat at the Correct Angle

Always refer to the manufacturer’s instructions to determine the correct angle for your child’s seat to avoid having the child’s head tilt forward and obstruct breathing.

9. Take the Right Path

Make sure the LATCH strap or vehicle belt is routed through the correct path to secure the child restraint. Install the car seat tightly with no more than 1 inch of movement at the belt path.

10. Leave the Bulk Off

Remove bulky clothing or blankets before harnessing the child in the seat. A coat adds space between the child and the harness system, resulting in more slack. Cover your child after the harness is already adjusted.

11. Wait to Graduate

Stepping up to the next stage in car seats too quickly is a step down in safety.

• Rear face as long as possible – a minimum of age 2.
• Forward face with a 5-point harness from age 2-7 and until the child is ready to use a booster correctly.
• Once the forward facing 5-point harness is outgrown, use a booster for children until age 8-12. Boosters position the seat belt properly on child’s body, because a poorly positioned seat belt is a major source of injury to spinal cord & abdominal organs.
• A vehicle lap-shoulder seat belt alone can be used only when the belt fits the child correctly, not before age 8.

12. Booster Until Kids Pass a 5-Step Test

A child is ready to ride without the booster once they can pass this 5 step test:

1. Child sits comfortably all the way back in the vehicle seat with their knees bent at the edge of the vehicle seat.
2. Shoulder belt fits evenly across the torso, not cutting into the neck or face.
3. Lap belt is low on the hips, touching the tops of the thighs (not on the abdomen).
4. Feet are on the floor.
5. Child can remain seated comfortably this way for the entire ride. Find further advice and consultation at birthinjuryadvocate.com/defect-lawsuit/kernicterus-jaundice/.

13. The Back Seat is the Best Seat

Airbags are designed to inflate with tremendous force and can cause serious injury or death to children. Children under 13 years of age should be seated in the back seat of the vehicle. NEVER place a rear-facing car seat in front of an airbag.

14. Watch Out for Projectiles

In the event of a collision, when the vehicle comes to a stop, all unrestrained objects continue to move at the same speed the vehicle was moving. Even a small object, such as a sippy cup, moving at 30mph can really injure someone. Consider soft toys instead of heavy ones and putting things in the trunk when possible.

15. Safety from Car Seat to Driver Seat

When parents put safety first, children notice. Starting with proper car seat use and explaining why it’s important, showing them how to buckle up as they grow, and leading by example by buckling up too, kids will be more likely to take appropriate safety precautions when it is their turn to sit behind the wheel. A safety conscious teenager is more likely to buckle up in the car with friends, insist that their friends buckle too, and is less likely to drive unsafely. They will also be more likely to continue the tradition of safety with their children, your grandkids.

By Alina Lagoviyer, CPST-I at How-To-SAFETY, a Staten Island based safety education and car seat installation service. Go to www.HowToSafety.com to learn more.

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Students are most likely to get sick when school starts because being at school puts their immune systems to the test, offers The Mayo Clinic. Young children who are in close proximity to others in large groups tend to spread organisms like bacteria and viruses that cause illness. Breaking the cycle can take some work, but it’s possible to make this a healthy school year.

Encourage Handwashing

Frequent handwashing is a great way to prevent illness. Handwashing habits are essential for school-aged children. Children should wash their hands after they use the bathroom, before they eat, and as soon as they come home from school. If they’ve been playing outside or have interacted with children who are sick, handwashing can help remove some of the germs lingering on their hands. Antibacterial wipes are another option, but they may not be as effective as washing hands with warm, soapy water.

Handwashing should be encouraged as early as possible in a child’s life so that they are already in the habit of doing so once they attend school. Make hygiene routines fun for young kids by singing songs about germs and handwashing together at the sink, or by reading books about the importance of good hygiene.

Cover Your Mouth!

Parents should always remind their children to cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing. However, children should be aware that they should never sneeze into their hands because hands touch so many other surfaces that are vulnerable to germs. Children should be encouraged to sneeze into the crook of their arm, inside of the elbow, to minimize the spread of germs. They should also be reminded to wash their hands all the way up to their elbows after they have sneezed or coughed.

Parents can purchase small, travel-sized packages of tissues for kids to carry inside their school bags or pockets at all times, in case a sneezing or coughing episode occurs outside of the classroom.

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Take a Sick Day

Rare is the student who will never come down with an illness. When kids get sick, keep them at home. A child who is running a fever should be kept home from school until at least 24 hours after his temperature has returned to normal. If a child has been infected with lice or is diagnosed with a contagious illness, such as chicken pox, pink eye, coxsackie, mononucleosis, strep throat or the flu, parents should report the illness to the child’s teacher or principal immediately so that other parents can look for symptoms in their own children.

Schools typically have guidelines indicating when it is acceptable for children to return to school, and it’s important that parents adhere to those guidelines so illnesses cannot spread around the school.

Promote Adequate Sleep and Nutrition

While adults may need between seven and nine hours of sleep a night, children often require more. The National Sleep Foundation recommends eight to 13 hours of sleep a night for school-aged children. Begin adjusting sleep schedules during the latter part of summer vacation so that children can readjust to their regular sleep schedules.

Parents should also feed children nutritious diets consisting of a variety of foods. Eating healthy food is a great way to boost the immune system. In addition to plenty of fruits and vegetables, children should be offered other nutrient-rich foods such as eggs, yogurt, beans, whole grains, and nuts (if allergies aren’t an issue, of course). Avoid processed foods and junk foods containing excess saturated fats and/or sugar, reserving such items only as special treats every so often.

Donate Cleaning Supplies

Some schools may be underfunded and might not have enough supplies to keep all of the classrooms and surfaces clean. Parents can help by donating cleaning wipes and sprays so that students and teachers can thrive in clean, healthy environments. If the child’s school supply list calls for one roll of paper towels, parents should consider sending in two or three rolls instead, being sure talk to the teacher to find out which items are needed most.

Stop (some) Sharing

Sharing develops good manners and can foster new friendships. But children should be discouraged from sharing food, drinks and other personal items. Once the item has been placed in a child’s mouth, it should not be shared. Parents should enforce this rule when children are young to avoid any issues when school begins.

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