Parents need more education on car and booster seat safety, advise paediatricians

OTTAWA, April 4 /CNW Telbec/ - Doctors should help educate parents on the
proper use of infant and child car seats, says the Canadian Paediatric Society
(CPS) in a new statement.
The position statement, published this week in Paediatrics & Child
Health, provides detailed recommendations for selecting, positioning,
installing and using car and booster seats. Every year, more than 2,500
children between the ages of 1 and 4 years are injured or killed in car
collisions in Canada.
“Too many young Canadian children are injured in collisions, when the
majority of these injuries can be avoided by proper use of car and booster
seats,” said Dr. Lynne Warda, chair of the CPS Injury Prevention Committee.
In Canada, 44 to 81 per cent of car seats and 30 to 50 per cent of
booster seats are not used properly. When these seats are used properly they
can reduce the risk of fatal injury by up to 71 per cent.
“Parents need to be more aware of how to choose, install and use car
seats properly, and doctors should be able to provide this guidance,” said
Dr. Charmaine van Schaik, a community paediatrician in Aurora, Ont., and
author of the CPS statement.
The top three mistakes parents make when using car seats are: not
properly securing the seat to the vehicle, not attaching the harness snugly
enough, and not positioning the chest clip at the child’s armpit level.
To help protect children, the CPS is calling on all provincial and
territorial governments to implement booster seat legislation across Canada.
Legislation already exists in a number of jurisdictions but not all provinces
and territories. The CPS also supports sales tax exemptions for car seat and
booster seats.

The Canadian Paediatric Society is a national advocacy association that
promotes the health needs of children and youth. Founded in 1922, the CPS
represents more than 2,500 paediatricians, paediatric subspecialists and other
child health professionals across Canada. Paediatrics & Child Health is the
peer-reviewed journal of the CPS.

Photos SAAQ