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Don’t Chicken Out

All questions are great questions. Don’t hesitate to ask a Child Passenger Safety Technician your car seat questions today! Learn more about car seat safety and watch installation videos: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/

How about a booster?

Don’t make the mistake of transitioning your child out of a booster too soon. In addition to following your state’s laws, keep in mind the following:

• Can your child keep their back against the vehicle seat without slouching?
• Can your child keep their knees naturally bent over the edge of the vehicle seat?
• Can your child keep their feet flat on the floor?
• Does the lap belt lie snugly across the upper thighs, low on hips, not the stomach?
• Does the shoulder belt lie snugly across the shoulder and chest, and not across the neck or face?

Children who have outgrown their car seat with a five-point harness will need a booster seat to fit properly in an adult seat belt. According to the CDC, booster seat use reduces the risk for serious injury by 45% for children age 4–8, when compared with seat belt use alone. Keep older children riding safely in a booster seat until they can pass this five-step test:

1. Back rests against the vehicle seat
2. Knees bend at the edge of the seat
3. Lap belt is positioned on the tops of thighs
4. Shoulder belt sits between the shoulder and neck
5. Child can stay this way the entire trip

Remember this teaching aid that CPST-I Sue Emery invented to show kids—and caregivers—the benefits of boosters and proper belt fit? Sue would teach that the weight-x-speed force on a child’s tummy is like squeezing a Twinkie—the outer cake might stay whole, but the insides are never quite the same again. Effective!

A booster seat raises and positions a child so the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belt fits properly. CPS Technicians can help you decide if your child should be in a backless or high-back booster.

Instructors: Are you hybrid-ing? To get started on earning your Instructor hybrid endorsement, visit: https://www.cpsboard.org/trainings/hybrid-curriculum/

Have you heard? Car Seat Basics is being used in car seat distribution programs and social services settings. The online educational tool also is being used by transportation providers and car seat manufacturers. Group delivery is free! Group admins can assign users to the training and monitor their progress. Visit cpsboard.org/trainings or contact [email protected] to learn more.

Car Seat Basics is a free online training that takes about 60 minutes to complete. Learn to keep children safe in cars as they grow by completing all or specific modules on rear-facing and forward-facing car seat use, as well as booster seat and seat belt use. Proof of completion will be provided after completion of all modules. Get started here: https://www.cpsboard.org/trainings/car-seat-basics/

Are you interested in learning more about car seat or booster seat use? Try Car Seat Basics, an interactive, evidence-based online learning. It’s free, too! Total completion time is about 60 minutes. Get started here: https://www.cpsboard.org/trainings/car-seat-basics/

Sign up your group for free e-learning: Children in Hot Cars (available in English and Spanish). Learn what we can do to keep kids safe in an around vehicles in our communities. To register you group for this evidence-based interactive heatstroke prevention training, email [email protected]

Show Some Love

Properly secure those huggable kiddos in the right seat at the right time and use the seat the right way! Learn more: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/

#PopQuiz: Do you know about the Pinch Test? With the harness buckled and tightened and chest clip placed at armpit level, pinch the harness strap at your child’s shoulder. If you are unable to pinch any extra webbing, you’re good to go. Get more tips and free resources in the Ultimate Car Seat Guide: http://www.ultimatecarseatguide.org

FF Seats: Car seat misuse is far too common. Double-check these points to make sure your forward-facing child is riding safely.

A sure-fire way to upset your kid? Change her car seat to FF before she reaches the max height/weight limits for RF.

Keep your child passengers safe by following these steps. Need more info? Watch car seat installation videos: https://bit.ly/3S8j3Gv

Kids count on you to keep them safe in the car. Be sure they are in the right car seat and booster seat, and make sure you are using them correctly. Learn more: https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/right-seat

Want a free resource for expectant parents? Download and share this flyer about the importance of buckling up while pregnant: https://bit.ly/2XIMVTy

When it comes to choosing a car seat, caregivers have a lot of choices. Need help choosing the BEST car seat for your child? Get tips/info: https://www.safekids.org/tip/buying-right-car-seat

Rear-facing car seats are designed to support and protect the head, neck and torso of an infant and a young child in a crash. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends children under the age of 1 should always travel in rear-facing car seats, and continue doing so as long as possible until they reach the weight or height limit allowed by the car seat manufacturer.

If your child’s feet or legs reach the back of the vehicle seat before they reach the height limit of their car seat, don’t be concerned. Research by the American Academy of Pediatrics has shown children are not at an increased risk for leg injuries, and riding rear-facing provides the best protection from injuries to the brain, neck and spinal cord.

Want to know more? Rear-Facing Car Seats for Infants and Toddlers: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Rear-Facing-Car-Seats-for-Infants-Toddlers.aspx

Shopping online can be convenient, but it also can pose unexpected dangers for kids. Counterfeit or copycat car seats have been popping up more as caregivers are increasingly shopping online. Vendors sell these counterfeit car seats at a fraction of the regular retail price, and often they are made of substandard materials and fail to meet federal safety standards set to protect children when in a crash.

Be aware if:

• Stickers on the car seat are in a foreign language or have spelling or grammatical errors.
• The labels don’t have U.S. height and weight requirements for the seat (i.e. pounds and inches), a model number or manufacture date.
• The car seat doesn’t include a statement about compliance with federal motor vehicle safety standards.
• The car seat does not come with a registration/recall card to be completed and mailed in with postage paid by the manufacturer.
• The price seems too good to be true.

If you have a counterfeit car seat:

• Discontinue use.
• File an unsafe product complaint report with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Learn more about counterfeit car seats: https://www.saferidenews.com/resources/unsafe-products/

When checking the car seat harness for tightness, conduct the pinch test on top of the shoulder (not under). Tightening the harness to make it contact at the torso may never happen.

What drives this space is the child’s torso width but also where the buckle is placed relative to his/her body. If you try to make contact here, you probably will have a very upset child because he or she is in there too tight.

Car seats adjust to meet the needs of growing kids. Remember to regularly check and adjust your child’s car seat as he or she grows. Review your instruction manual for information on correct fit and seat adjustments.

Nothing warms your heart as much as the comfort that comes from knowing your child is buckled in safely while you travel. Unsure if your car seat is installed correctly? Get help. Find a Child Passenger Safety Technician near you and schedule a free car seat check appointment: https://bit.ly/373SIC5

#PopQuiz: Does your car seat have a snug fit? Do the “inch test” to find out. A properly installed car seat shouldn’t move more than one inch front to back or side to side when pulled at the seat belt path. Get more tips and resources in the Ultimate Car Seat Guide: http://www.ultimatecarseatguide.org

Continuing to use a seat belt while pregnant is an excellent choice. Learn why: https://bit.ly/3JMgwOP

Don’t Get Tangled: It doesn’t take a superhero to get it right! If you have questions about harnessing your child, talk to a Child Passenger Safety Technician today! Find a Tech near you: https://cert.safekids.org/get-car-seat-checked

Don’t Chicken Out: All questions are great questions. Don’t hesitate to ask a Child Passenger Safety Technician your car seat questions today! Learn more about car seat safety and watch installation videos: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/

What’s the best car seat? Get answers to all of your questions and watch installation videos: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/

Are you responsible for transporting children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews and want to learn more about using car seats and boosters correctly? Take an hour and complete Car Seat Basics, a FREE e-learning: https://www.cpsboard.org/courses/car-seat-basics/

How strong are you? Not strong enough. You’d need 500 pounds of restraining force to hold onto a 20-pound child when a car traveling at 25 mph comes to a sudden stop. Use an appropriate car seat, every trip.

If you need an assist sorting through the car seats available for use, check out NHTSA’s Ease of Use Ratings: https://www.nhtsa.gov/ratings

Have your car seat inspected and have one less thing to stress over. To find an inspection station near you, visit https://bit.ly/2xys3NS

Kids learn from our example. Make sure you teach them about safety from the very beginning by buckling up before every trip. DYK: 92% of children are restrained when the driver is. Only 68% of children are restrained when the driver is not buckled up.

Why not add another skill set and see how you can impact your community through child passenger safety? Become a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety Technician: https://cert.safekids.org/become-tech

How do car seats and seat belts protect children? Here’s the scoop!

Remember this teaching aid that CPST-I Sue Emery invented to show kids—and caregivers—the benefits of boosters and proper belt fit? Sue would teach that the weight-x-speed force on a child’s tummy is like squeezing a Twinkie—the outer cake might stay whole, but the insides are never quite the same again. Effective!

Did you know many child passenger safety technicians can meet with you virtually to discuss car seat use and installation? To find a technician near you: https://bit.ly/3jfRvkt

Learn more about car seat safety at cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety

Stop with the excuses! Buckle up — every seat, every time. Seat belts save lives.

A sure-fire way to upset your kid? Change her car seat to FF before she reaches the max height/weight limits for RF.

Since 1998, more than 900 children have died of vehicular heatstroke. It’s important for everyone to understand that children are more vulnerable to heatstroke and that all hot car deaths are preventable. Educate yourself and everyone you know: https://www.cpsboard.org/trainings/kids-in-hot-cars/

Educate yourself and everyone you know about the dangers of kids and hot cars with free online training from the National Safety Council: https://bit.ly/3uZq7gn

Educate yourself and everyone you know about the dangers of kids and hot cars with free online training from the National Safety Council: https://bit.ly/3uZq7gn

Educate yourself and everyone you know about the dangers of kids and hot cars with free online training from the National Safety Council: https://bit.ly/3uZq7gn

Get answers to National Digital Car Seat Check Form FAQs: https://bit.ly/3HKfbrk

What’s that old saying? Practice makes perfect! Well, that saying applies to the National Digital Car Seat Check Form and all new users. Practice as much as you’d like before heading out to your next seat check event. Create a free account: carseatcheckform.org

Learn how to create a National Digital Car Seat Check Form account, get answers to frequently asked questions and watch tutorial videos: https://www.cpsboard.org/ndcf/

#PopQuiz: Does your car seat have a snug fit? Do the “inch test” to find out. A properly installed car seat shouldn’t move more than one inch front-to-back or side-to-side when pulled at the seat belt path. Get more tips and resources in the Ultimate Car Seat Guide: http://www.ultimatecarseatguide.org

RF Seats: Car seat misuse is far too common. Double-check these points to make sure your rear-facing child is riding safely.

We want to hear from you! How do you encourage caregivers to keep their child rear-facing until they reach the maximum weight or height limits of the car seat?

Don’t underestimate the importance to buckling up. Make sure everyone in your vehicle is buckled up – every trip, every seat! #BuckleUpAmerica

You are a role model. Research shows that children are more likely to wear their seat belts if their caregivers buckle up. Protect them by protecting yourself.

According to NHTSA, when the driver is buckled, children are restrained 92% of the time. But when the driver is not buckled, children are restrained only 68% of the time. Buckle up, and make sure All of your passengers are buckled up too! For more information on car seats and boosters: https://ucsg.safekids.org

Kids learn from our example. Make sure you teach them about safety from the very beginning by buckling up before every trip. DYK: 92% of children are restrained when the driver is. Only 68% of children are restrained when the driver is not buckled up.

How do car seats and seat belts protect children? Here’s the scoop!

If your child is ready to use a seat belt, ensure the seat belt fits correctly: The seat belt should lie across the upper thighs and be snug across the shoulder and chest. Remember that seat belts should never rest on the stomach area or across the face.

Stop with the excuses! Buckle up — every seat, every time. Seat belts save lives.

Using a top tether with a forward-facing car seat can reduce forward head movement 4-6” in a crash. When installing a forward-facing car seat, attach the top tether whenever possible.

What’s THAT? A tether is a part on the car seat that is used to secure the top of a forward-facing car seat against the vehicle seat by attaching to the tether anchor in the vehicle.

Tethering a car seat can help to make the car seat more stable and can reduce the potential for head and neck injuries in a crash. Learn more: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/

It’s Better with Tether: Always use a tether with a forward-facing car seat that is installed with your vehicle’s seat belt or by using lower anchors as long as it is permitted. Check the car seat manual and the vehicle owner’s manual.