QuassEE
09-25-2008, 01:54 AM
I've been asked by a number of Canadian Technicians to forward a copy of my parent education outline. Keep in mind that this is a discussion outline, so a lot of discussion happens outside the outline. I don't just read the outline, I look at each individual topic and alter the flow of the course depending on the group I'm speaking to, and what stages their children are at.
I'm posting this here because I would love input. It would be great to see input from not just technicians, but also from advocates and parents. If I've missed something, it's likely because I sometimes forget to state the obvious--the obvious isn't always completely obvious. Please be aware that this is a ROUGH DRAFT and there could be errors. Please call me out on any errors that you see, so they can be corrected ASAP. I'm only human, and I just typed two pages of text and modified and updated some of the content on the fly.
Section 1 - Introduction
Who am I? My name is Nicole, and I have been a certified Children's Restraint Systems Technician for six years. Here in British Columbia, the CRST course is offered through St. John's Ambulance, and SJA is the federal certifying agency. I initially became interested in child passenger safety when I was pregnant with my 3rd child, and I was trying to figure out how to fit three carseats across the back of my car. At the time, my youngest child was almost 5 and I quickly discovered that a lot had changed over that last 5 years. Fortunately not much time passed and I was pregnant with my 4th child, so I gave up my SUV and joined the 'minivan club'. I'm here today to talk about what we, as parents, can do to make our children as safe as possible in the car. According to the CDC, motor vehicle injuries are the #1 cause of death among children in the United States. The most difficult thing in hearing this statistic is the plain fact that the majority of these deaths are preventable, and would have been preventable if these children were properly restrained.
Section 2 - Address the Group
Before we get started, I would like to get an idea as to what ages of children everyone in the group has. How many of you have infants under the age of 1? How many of you have toddlers? Preschoolers? School-aged children? Older? How many of you think that your children are properly restrained? Would you believe that, in my experience, well over 90% of child restraints are incorrectly installed or used?
{Decide your area of focus below, depending on the ages of the children.}
Section 3 - Infant seats
Infant seats, or "baby buckets" as some people call them, are that first stage carseat. They generally go from about 5lbs through to either 22 or 30lbs. These seats are always rear-facing. Most children outgrow their infant seats by about 5-6 months of age, although with the new 30lb infant seats on the market some children will outgrow their infant seats much later. These seats were available in 3-pt or 5-pt belts, although we tend to only see 5-pt belt infant seats on the market today. Evidence suggests that 5-pt belts offer greater occupant protection over 3-pt belts. These seats can have front or rear-adjusters, and many people find front adjusters easier to use. These seats must comply with CMVSS 213.1 in order to be used legally in Canada. Infant seats are outgrown once a child researches the maximum weight limit OR the maximum height limit--which, as a rule, is when their head is 1" from the top of the hard seat shell--whichever comes first. Once a child has outgrown their infant seat, they can move into a rear-facing convertible seat. They should continue to rear-face, even if they have met the minimum requirements for forward-facing in their new convertible seat, until the maximum rear-facing limits have been reached. Rear-facing provides the most support and protection in a crash.
Section 4 - Convertible seats
Can start from birth, although many convertible seats are too large for newborns. Go to 30, 33 or 35lbs rear-facing, then forward facing to 40, 48 or 65lbs. Children must rear-face until a minimum of one year--this is NOT a maximum. Ideally your child should remain rear-facing until 2 years of age--or more, as long as they are under the maximum rear-facing weight limit for their restraint and still have 1" of hard shell above their heads. Once they are either too tall or too heavy to rear-face, your convertible seat can be used forward-facing. When forward-facing, the harness straps must come out of a slot or location AT OR ABOVE the child's shoulders--this is the opposite of rear-facing, in which the harness must come out AT OR BELOW the shoulders. I would recommend getting a convertible seat that gives the the most "bang for your buck"--which will be a seat that continues to harness to the highest weight available. Right now, there are convertible seats that harness to 65lbs that will allow your child to continue using the seat until age 5 or 6, depending on the seat and your child's build--read your manual, as most children outgrow these seats in height slightly before weight and how they may be used height-wise varies by manufacturer.
Section 5 - Combination seats
These seats are forward-facing only, and can be used as a booster later on. Now that we have higher weight convertible seats, we don't see as many combination seats. We currently have some combination seats that harness to 47 or 48lbs, and one recent addition that harnesses to 65lbs. At least one other 65lbs limit forward-facing combination seat will be on the market in the coming months. If you are passing down your child's convertible seat to a younger sibling, a combination seat can be an excellent option to continue to keep your older child harnessed. It is not essential to have a combination seat, as many convertible seats will continue to suit your child's needs until they are ready for a dedicated booster. Because a dedicated booster is relatively inexpensive down the road, and because carseats do expire, you may want to purchase a dedicated booster closer to when your child will need it.
Section 6 - Booster seats
Booster seats should ideally not be used before the age of 5. Although they may seem to fit well in a booster, most young children are still not mature enough to sit properly in a booster seat until about school age. There are two types of dedicated boosters--backless, and full-back. Older shield boosters are now expired or expiring, and do not provide optimal occupant protection. Backless boosters should generally be used with older children, who can sit well in the vehicle and do not need additional side support. They can only be used with headrests or high seatbacks, since they do not offer any head support. Full-back boosters do offer additional head support and many offer side impact protection wings for even more support. Some even utilize LATCH in order to restrain the seat when unoccupied. Boosters themselves are not restraining devices, they are positioning devices. If your child isn't mature enough to sit properly in the car, a booster will not be effective and you should investigate a higher-weight harnessed seat.
Section 7 - Expired, crashed, recalled or used carseats
Carseats expire. Yup. It's not just some conspiracy by the carseat manufacturers, attempting to get us to buy more seats...there is reason to believe that the plastic used in manufacturing seats breaks down over time, and in extreme conditions. In addition, advances in child passenger safety are constantly being made, and carseats are constantly being updated to be safer and more user-friendly. You really wouldn't want to be using a carseat that was made 20 years ago, would you? Carseats have gotten significantly safer over the years, and expired seats should be destroyed in order to ensure they're not used for a child. Most seats expire after six years, although some seats do have alternate expiry periods. Please consult the owner's manual to determine the seat's expiry.
Section 8 - The adult seatbelt
How often do you hear parents brag about how their child is big enough for the seatbelt in their vehicle? Every step towards the adult seatbelt is a step DOWN in safety. Most children do not fit the adult seatbelt until somewhere between age 9 and 12 or a height of 4'9" to 5'2". The "five step test" can help parents determine when their child is ready for the adult seatbelt. Does the child sit all the way back against the seat? Do their knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat? Does the shoulder belt cross between the neck and arm? Is the lap belt low, crossing the hips and touching the thighs? Can the child stay seated appropriately for the whole trip? If you answer "no" to any of this criteria, the child is not yet ready for the adult belt.
Section 9 - Summary
I want to take this opportunity to talk about some common mistakes. Two of the main mistakes we see are: carseats not installed tightly enough (including seatbelts not locked) or children not harnessed correctly. Your carseat should be installed with less than 1" of movement along the beltpath. It is also legally required to tether all forward-facing carseats. You do not tether rear-facing carseats unless you have a seat and vehicle that permits the use of rear-facing tethers. It's normal for rear-facing seats to have movement along the seatback area, they just need to be tight at the beltpath. Children should be harnessed at or below when rear-facing, with no ability to pinch any slack in the harness belt. They should not wear heavy jackets under the harness, as material can compress in the even of a crash. Forward-facing children should be harnessed at or above their shoulders, again with no slack in the harness. Chest clips need to be at armpit level--they're chest clips, not belly clips! If you have LATCH/UAS in your car and have heard that the centre seat is best--be aware that most manufacturers do not allow you to use those LATCH anchors for the centre seat. Centre seat installs should generally be done with the seatbelt and not LATCH. Make sure that the restraint you're using is appropriate for your child... and most importantly, DO NOT rush your children into the next stage of carseat. Every step towards the adult belt is a step down in safety.
If I could stress one thing to help reduce carseat errors, it would be to read your manuals. Read the manual that came with your child's seat at every stage of use, and read the seatbelt section in your vehicle manual. It could safe your child's life.
Additional Q&A?
What is better, LATCH or the seatbelt?
Is it dangerous to leave my stroller in the back of my minivan or SUV, unrestrained?
Discuss upcoming clinics?
Discuss becoming a CRST, if interest?
Discuss aftermarket products?
I'm posting this here because I would love input. It would be great to see input from not just technicians, but also from advocates and parents. If I've missed something, it's likely because I sometimes forget to state the obvious--the obvious isn't always completely obvious. Please be aware that this is a ROUGH DRAFT and there could be errors. Please call me out on any errors that you see, so they can be corrected ASAP. I'm only human, and I just typed two pages of text and modified and updated some of the content on the fly.
Section 1 - Introduction
Who am I? My name is Nicole, and I have been a certified Children's Restraint Systems Technician for six years. Here in British Columbia, the CRST course is offered through St. John's Ambulance, and SJA is the federal certifying agency. I initially became interested in child passenger safety when I was pregnant with my 3rd child, and I was trying to figure out how to fit three carseats across the back of my car. At the time, my youngest child was almost 5 and I quickly discovered that a lot had changed over that last 5 years. Fortunately not much time passed and I was pregnant with my 4th child, so I gave up my SUV and joined the 'minivan club'. I'm here today to talk about what we, as parents, can do to make our children as safe as possible in the car. According to the CDC, motor vehicle injuries are the #1 cause of death among children in the United States. The most difficult thing in hearing this statistic is the plain fact that the majority of these deaths are preventable, and would have been preventable if these children were properly restrained.
Section 2 - Address the Group
Before we get started, I would like to get an idea as to what ages of children everyone in the group has. How many of you have infants under the age of 1? How many of you have toddlers? Preschoolers? School-aged children? Older? How many of you think that your children are properly restrained? Would you believe that, in my experience, well over 90% of child restraints are incorrectly installed or used?
{Decide your area of focus below, depending on the ages of the children.}
Section 3 - Infant seats
Infant seats, or "baby buckets" as some people call them, are that first stage carseat. They generally go from about 5lbs through to either 22 or 30lbs. These seats are always rear-facing. Most children outgrow their infant seats by about 5-6 months of age, although with the new 30lb infant seats on the market some children will outgrow their infant seats much later. These seats were available in 3-pt or 5-pt belts, although we tend to only see 5-pt belt infant seats on the market today. Evidence suggests that 5-pt belts offer greater occupant protection over 3-pt belts. These seats can have front or rear-adjusters, and many people find front adjusters easier to use. These seats must comply with CMVSS 213.1 in order to be used legally in Canada. Infant seats are outgrown once a child researches the maximum weight limit OR the maximum height limit--which, as a rule, is when their head is 1" from the top of the hard seat shell--whichever comes first. Once a child has outgrown their infant seat, they can move into a rear-facing convertible seat. They should continue to rear-face, even if they have met the minimum requirements for forward-facing in their new convertible seat, until the maximum rear-facing limits have been reached. Rear-facing provides the most support and protection in a crash.
Section 4 - Convertible seats
Can start from birth, although many convertible seats are too large for newborns. Go to 30, 33 or 35lbs rear-facing, then forward facing to 40, 48 or 65lbs. Children must rear-face until a minimum of one year--this is NOT a maximum. Ideally your child should remain rear-facing until 2 years of age--or more, as long as they are under the maximum rear-facing weight limit for their restraint and still have 1" of hard shell above their heads. Once they are either too tall or too heavy to rear-face, your convertible seat can be used forward-facing. When forward-facing, the harness straps must come out of a slot or location AT OR ABOVE the child's shoulders--this is the opposite of rear-facing, in which the harness must come out AT OR BELOW the shoulders. I would recommend getting a convertible seat that gives the the most "bang for your buck"--which will be a seat that continues to harness to the highest weight available. Right now, there are convertible seats that harness to 65lbs that will allow your child to continue using the seat until age 5 or 6, depending on the seat and your child's build--read your manual, as most children outgrow these seats in height slightly before weight and how they may be used height-wise varies by manufacturer.
Section 5 - Combination seats
These seats are forward-facing only, and can be used as a booster later on. Now that we have higher weight convertible seats, we don't see as many combination seats. We currently have some combination seats that harness to 47 or 48lbs, and one recent addition that harnesses to 65lbs. At least one other 65lbs limit forward-facing combination seat will be on the market in the coming months. If you are passing down your child's convertible seat to a younger sibling, a combination seat can be an excellent option to continue to keep your older child harnessed. It is not essential to have a combination seat, as many convertible seats will continue to suit your child's needs until they are ready for a dedicated booster. Because a dedicated booster is relatively inexpensive down the road, and because carseats do expire, you may want to purchase a dedicated booster closer to when your child will need it.
Section 6 - Booster seats
Booster seats should ideally not be used before the age of 5. Although they may seem to fit well in a booster, most young children are still not mature enough to sit properly in a booster seat until about school age. There are two types of dedicated boosters--backless, and full-back. Older shield boosters are now expired or expiring, and do not provide optimal occupant protection. Backless boosters should generally be used with older children, who can sit well in the vehicle and do not need additional side support. They can only be used with headrests or high seatbacks, since they do not offer any head support. Full-back boosters do offer additional head support and many offer side impact protection wings for even more support. Some even utilize LATCH in order to restrain the seat when unoccupied. Boosters themselves are not restraining devices, they are positioning devices. If your child isn't mature enough to sit properly in the car, a booster will not be effective and you should investigate a higher-weight harnessed seat.
Section 7 - Expired, crashed, recalled or used carseats
Carseats expire. Yup. It's not just some conspiracy by the carseat manufacturers, attempting to get us to buy more seats...there is reason to believe that the plastic used in manufacturing seats breaks down over time, and in extreme conditions. In addition, advances in child passenger safety are constantly being made, and carseats are constantly being updated to be safer and more user-friendly. You really wouldn't want to be using a carseat that was made 20 years ago, would you? Carseats have gotten significantly safer over the years, and expired seats should be destroyed in order to ensure they're not used for a child. Most seats expire after six years, although some seats do have alternate expiry periods. Please consult the owner's manual to determine the seat's expiry.
Section 8 - The adult seatbelt
How often do you hear parents brag about how their child is big enough for the seatbelt in their vehicle? Every step towards the adult seatbelt is a step DOWN in safety. Most children do not fit the adult seatbelt until somewhere between age 9 and 12 or a height of 4'9" to 5'2". The "five step test" can help parents determine when their child is ready for the adult seatbelt. Does the child sit all the way back against the seat? Do their knees bend comfortably at the edge of the seat? Does the shoulder belt cross between the neck and arm? Is the lap belt low, crossing the hips and touching the thighs? Can the child stay seated appropriately for the whole trip? If you answer "no" to any of this criteria, the child is not yet ready for the adult belt.
Section 9 - Summary
I want to take this opportunity to talk about some common mistakes. Two of the main mistakes we see are: carseats not installed tightly enough (including seatbelts not locked) or children not harnessed correctly. Your carseat should be installed with less than 1" of movement along the beltpath. It is also legally required to tether all forward-facing carseats. You do not tether rear-facing carseats unless you have a seat and vehicle that permits the use of rear-facing tethers. It's normal for rear-facing seats to have movement along the seatback area, they just need to be tight at the beltpath. Children should be harnessed at or below when rear-facing, with no ability to pinch any slack in the harness belt. They should not wear heavy jackets under the harness, as material can compress in the even of a crash. Forward-facing children should be harnessed at or above their shoulders, again with no slack in the harness. Chest clips need to be at armpit level--they're chest clips, not belly clips! If you have LATCH/UAS in your car and have heard that the centre seat is best--be aware that most manufacturers do not allow you to use those LATCH anchors for the centre seat. Centre seat installs should generally be done with the seatbelt and not LATCH. Make sure that the restraint you're using is appropriate for your child... and most importantly, DO NOT rush your children into the next stage of carseat. Every step towards the adult belt is a step down in safety.
If I could stress one thing to help reduce carseat errors, it would be to read your manuals. Read the manual that came with your child's seat at every stage of use, and read the seatbelt section in your vehicle manual. It could safe your child's life.
Additional Q&A?
What is better, LATCH or the seatbelt?
Is it dangerous to leave my stroller in the back of my minivan or SUV, unrestrained?
Discuss upcoming clinics?
Discuss becoming a CRST, if interest?
Discuss aftermarket products?