Program Partners:
Use these social media posts to connect with parents and caregivers in your community:
Click on the “+” sign next to each heading below to view the content.
Boosters are for school-aged kids! Your vehicle seat belt is designed for an adult rider, and the booster seat helps a school-aged kid use the seat belt safely and correctly. Get more booster and car seat help: https://bit.ly/4agjokI
Car seats and booster seats are not all the same. Some are light weight, others heavier and there are many models to choose from. NHTSA’s 5-Star Ease-of-Use Ratings allow caregivers to compare certain features to make informed decisions when selecting a car seat or booster seat: https://www.nhtsa.gov/car-seats-and-booster-seats/car-seat-ease-use-ratings
Q: How do booster seats protect children? A:
Get more car seat information and safety tips: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/
A booster seat raises and positions a child so the vehicle’s lap and shoulder belt fit properly, keeping the lap belt snug across the hips and upper thighs and the shoulder belt across the child’s chest. When will your child be able to ride safely in the vehicle seat belt without a booster? Get answers/watch this video: https://bit.ly/3Y5W0jw
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/
Compartmentalization. Adjustment and Fit. Safety Vest and Seat Mount. Learn more about child passenger safety on school buses. Watch videos on this YouTube playlist: https://bit.ly/3VtQZ2D
Attention Child Passenger Safety Technicians! For FREE online courses, including courses that can be used toward completion of the CPST Community Education requirement, check out https://carseateducation.org/
About 35 kids die in hot cars every year. Learn how to prevent more tragedies with a free online course that is available in English and Spanish: https://carseateducation.org/general-education
Are you using Car Seat Basics in your program? Yes! No? Program coordinators are using this online learning to prepare CPST candidates prior to the certification course, as the educational component for car seat distribution programs and in diversion programs. Try this free online learning for yourself, visit the Child Passenger Safety Learning Portal: https://carseateducation.org/
Instructors: Are you hybrid-ing? To get started on earning your Instructor hybrid endorsement, visit: https://www.cpsboard.org/trainings/hybrid-curriculum/
Q: When should you move your child from a rear-facing to forward-facing car seat? A: When the child uses a rear-facing car seat until reaching the maximum weight or height allowed by the car seat manufacturer.
Get more care seat information and safety tips: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/
Have you heard of the pinch test? Don’t let the name confuse you. The pinch test helps you keep your child safe in a car seat. The car seat harness should be snug against the child. If you can pinch a horizontal fold in the webbing at your child’s shoulders, the harness is still too loose.
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.
There are more than 30,000 certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians across the country and in U.S. territories. Find one near you: https://bit.ly/373SIC5
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
Since 1998, more than 960 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://carseateducation.org/general-education
In cases where a caregiver unknowingly leaves his or her child in a vehicle, often a distraction such as a call from work, stress or a change from the normal routine triggers the driver into ‘auto-pilot’ mode. Put the phone away, place an item related to the child in the front seat, and set reminders that will help you reach your child’s destination. Learn more/share free safety resources: https://www.cpsboard.org/heatstroke-prevention/
29 children lost their lives in a hot vehicle in 2023. Their caregivers didn’t believe it could happen to them. Auto-pilot can cause caregivers to fail to remember tasks between home and work, like dropping off a baby. Learn ways to prevent this tragedy, such as placing an item related to the child in the front seat. Get started here: https://carseateducation.org/general-education
25% of children who died of heatstroke in 2023 gained access to an unlocked vehicle. Often young children can get into a vehicle but are unable to get out. Lock your vehicle doors, even if you don’t have children in your care. You never know who might find their way inside. Learn more: https://carseateducation.org/general-education
25% of children who died of heatstroke in 2023 gained access to an unlocked vehicle. Often young children can get into a vehicle but are unable to get out. Lock your vehicle doors, even if you don’t have children in your care. You never know who might find their way inside. Learn more: https://carseateducation.org/general-education
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/
DYK: When a child is properly restrained rear-facing, the head and neck move together with the car seat, allowing forces in a crash to be spread across the shell of the car seat. This protects the child’s head, neck and torso and reduces the risk of neck and spine injuries.
Get more car seat information and safety tips: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/
Make sure your child is in an appropriate car seat. Check the car seat instruction manual or car seat labels for the manufacturer’s recommended age, weight and height use requirements. Learn more: https://bit.ly/33Rrumg
Don’t fall for this common car seat myth. If your child’s legs extend over the car seat in the rear-facing position, not to worry—this is not a safety hazard. There is no data to support the myth that a child’s legs are more susceptible to injury in a crash when rear-facing.
The truth is children within the weight and height limit of their seat in rear-facing mode are safer riding this way, because their head, neck and spinal cord are better protected.
Do your child’s feet touch the back seat? This is a very common concern, but it’s OK! Children are very flexible. Injuries to the legs are rare for children in rear-facing car seats. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3E5ufzz
#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
Safety Connection’s Virtual Resource Center is a Technician’s best friend. The CPST page has all the resources you need for recertification. Locate CEU and Community Education webinars and schedule a seat check observation for recertification all in one location. Links to enter your recertification data are also available straight from the webpage. Bookmark the page and visit today: https://carseateducation.org/cpst-resources
Employers and community organizations play a pivotal role in child safety. When organization employees transport children, safety must be a top priority. Safety Connection’s Employer/Community Organizations Resource page offers free training to ensure employee staff members understand how to use safety equipment, such as car seats, booster seats and seat belts, while transporting kids. Free courses are available for individual use, too. Organizations also can create a group delivery account to monitor and promote course completions. Check out the course listings and available resources: https://carseateducation.org/organization-resources
Safety Connection’s Virtual Resource Center houses the American Indian/Alaskan Native resources page. This webpage provides child passenger safety resources to meet the unique needs of tribal communities. Visitors to the page can request culturally appropriate child passenger safety curricula to use in their communities, locate a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician, schedule a Virtual Car Seat Check or research tools to build a safer tribal community: https://carseateducation.org/aian-resources
Attention parents/caregivers: Safety Connection’s Caregiver Resources are intended just for you! Schedule your virtual car seat inspection and work with a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician who will guide you, step-by-step, through the proper use and installation of your child’s car seat. Is your child ready for a booster seat or a seat belt? Schedule a Booster Seat or Seat Belt Fit appointment. The Technician will help you recognize key points in determining if it is time to make the transition. Visit: https://carseateducation.org/caregiver-resources
Child Passenger Safety Instructors have many responsibilities when conducting a CPS course or event. Whether you are delivering a certification course, an update class to Technicians or conducting a community education event, setup, delivery and content are each critical components to making your efforts successful. Visit the Safety Connection Resources page to locate curriculum support resources, including certification course administration guidance, webinars, promotional tools and tips and tricks to developing a successful educational event: https://carseateducation.org/cpst-resources
Lead by example: buckle up, put the phone away and be an attentive driver. Be the driver you want your child to be. Get info/safety tips: https://www.nsc.org/road/resources/dih/driveithome
To learn more about seat belt safety, visit: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/seat-belts/
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.
We know that the tether reduces forward head movement by 4-6 inches in a crash. But do you know where to find your tether? You can schedule a free virtual car seat appointment with Child Passenger Safety Technician here: https://carseateducation.org/caregiver-resources
Did you know your forward-facing car seat should be installed with the tether? Child Passenger Safety Technicians can help you learn how and show you how to correctly install and use your seat. Learn more: https://www.nhtsa.gov/campaign/right-seat
LATCH stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children.
The LATCH system of attaching car seats to vehicles is found in most vehicles manufactured after 2002. It consists of two lower anchor points and one top tether anchor point that accept attachments found on a car seat. LATCH provides another safe way to install a car seat. But with almost all car seats, LATCH and seat belts should not be used together.
Learn more about LATCH and car seat installation: https://bit.ly/3zZM0vn
DYK: A tether is used to reduce how much your child’s car seat pitches forward. Without a tether, the forward motion in a crash can cause a child’s head to hit the back of the front seat. Because there is limited space behind the rear seats in pickup trucks, there are often challenges for tether anchor design.
Always check the vehicle owner’s manual to ensure correct use. Get more safety tips and watch car seat installation videos: https://www.cpsboard.org/car-seat-safety/