Kids in the Car

[brainandspinalcord]

Just a tip to get your child's car seat checked, usually clinics or hospitals have times when they'll do it for free. carseat.org has more info and links to organizations too:

A recent press release from the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute is bringing attention to the increased risk of death or injury to children through the use of car restraints that are the wrong size or are improperly secured.

Considering that automobile accidents are one of the main sources of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, understanding how to properly secure your child becomes a vital bit of knowledge.

full review here:
http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/blog/2008/07/poor-car-restraints-risk-kids-lives/

[Gary Anderson]

Not in Scotland hospitals don't check carseats. The onus is on the parents to have the correct equipment fitted to their cars.

Mind you, despite the rules/regulations, I still regularly see kids sitting in the front seat without proper boosters seats who could easily slip under a seatbelt.

Obviously these parents dont think much of their childrens safety.

[Jilly]

Hospitals and clinics dont check them here in New Zealand either. Im not sure who does, but there are organisations who will check them.

We get people here who dont buckle their children in too, and there are heavy penaltys from the police if they get caught, not to mention the highest penalty ever if they lost a child because of it.

In NZ a child has to be in an approved carseat until they are 5 years old. After that they can use an adult seatbelt without a booster seat.

[Gary Anderson]

Same here Jill. A child requires a car seat, then a booster seat and it all depends on the height of the child. Some kids up to 12 still need a booster seat to ensure the adult seatbelt fits them correctly. Of course, as in a lot of things, you get parents who disregard this.

I say you only get one chance at being a good parent. The least you can do is ensure their safety. Mind you, when I see the capers of some parents, leaving kids unattended, strapping 6 year olds into front seats, I do sometimes wonder why they ever became parents in the first place.

Thankfully, it is not a worry I have - nor am I likely to have. However, if you don't want the responsibility then dont have the child.

[brainandspinalcord]

I wouldn't say parents do these kinds of things because they don't love their children or don't care if they are safe. I think it's more ignorance combined with disbelief that something as life altering as a SCI could happen to their child because of it.

[Jilly]

You are right. People have a 'it wont happen to me' attitude about such things. But it does happen doesnt it....To anybody...