Hoping to get some help - doing a bulletin board at work

I work in a daycare and am doing a bulletin board for parents on general carseat safety. The goal is to keep it as simple, straightforward, and as non-overwhelming as possible. My plan is to start with a "most common use/installation mistakes" kind of blurb and then expand on each one a little more in depth - that way they can read beyond the most important stuff if they choose, but not feel like stuff is being crammed down their throat (esp stuff like ERF and EH that likely NONE of them have ever even heard of!).

I've been searching like mad to find educational sources vs anecdotal sources to make the information more valuable/reliable to our parents ... especially since I'm not a tech or professional "in the know" in any way, just a parent with an avid interest. They might literally only have a few minutes to look at the board so I can't overwhelm them with paragraphs - and pics/diagrams would be great! However, I'm having a hard time coming up with a list of the most common mistakes first that is also fairly current (and most preferably Canadian). Is there a direct source stating the number of incorrectly installed/used carseats in Canada?

Can anyone point me in the right direction? I would be forever indebted! :thumbsup:

bumping this up in hopes that a Canadian tech has some info that might work.

What province/territory are you in? The basics of course are the minimum legal requirements, so let's start with the appropriate links for printouts stating those in your region.

Also what age range are we looking at here? Mostly infants and toddlers, preschool, or school aged? Or the whole range?

-Nicole.

Thanks ladies for offering to help one overwhelmed woman!

I'm in Ontario.

We have children from 3 months to 6 years, but typically they come to us starting at about 1 year so I would say that about 99% of them are FF, and most of our 3 year old 40lbers (or less) are in boosters. I see a TONNE of misuse that are generally accepted as the most common around here (harness tightness, loose installations, improper harness heights, etc) so I was thinking of doing a big chunk on ERF (esp for our parents on maternity leave with older siblings in the building) and keeping children harnessed until at least the minimum legal requirements (and hopefully longer since a 3/4yr old are rarely ready or mature enough). I work in the JK/SK room so I actually have weighed all of the children (and do a few times a year for educational purposes) and realize that most of our boostered kids aren't even meeting the legal weight requirements!!!!

However, having said all of that I literally have to start small and focus on what might be most relevant/useful for OUR parents and put my energy in there instead of overwhelming them with a little bit of everything and scaring them off!

In general, a section on ERF and a section on proper use of harnessed seats (and connected to that, booster readiness info).

If I were doing a bulletin board, I'd probably head it with:

"Every step towards the adult seatbelt is a step DOWN in safety."
or even some snazzy comment about using boosters too early.

Then, I'd split the board into three:

REAR-FACING
(Newborn - at least 2 years)

FORWARD-FACING
(At least 2 years - age 6+)

BOOSTERS
(Boosters are for BIG KIDS, ages 5+)

or some such.. that way if people aren't actually reading, this should catch their attention. It's accurate, but goes against what parents think is still valid.

Then in each section, some big photos (eg. a 3 year old rear-facing, a newborn rear-facing; a baby forward-facing with a frowny face next to it, or cross over it, a 6 year old forward-facing harnessed; a baby or toddler in a booster with frowny, a 6 year old in a booster) and some quick text, highlighting the minimums and the laws.

-Nicole.

I am curious to see if anyone is able to provide a link to good, comprehensive, "official" info in Ontario. I've looked before myself. The best I've been able to find is what they have on the Transport Canada website. (http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-childsafety-car-index-873.htm - click on each stage. These are available individually as handouts on request to TC). It isn't awesome, but it's pretty good. Probably not quite what you need for your purposes though. I got my doctor's office to hand out these sheets to new parents (at the appropriate stages). It was the only decent handouts from an "official" source that I could find.

Having said that, I'm in Ottawa and our local volunteer organization has a very good pamphlet that we hand out at clinics. Unfortunately it isn't on their website... but I'm going to email them about maybe putting it there right now! When I have time I'm going to look into getting that into more places like doctor's offices. Problem is the organization can't pay for all that printing.

sparkyd said:

I am curious to see if anyone is able to provide a link to good, comprehensive, "official" info in Ontario. I've looked before myself. The best I've been able to find is what they have on the Transport Canada website. (http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/safedrivers-childsafety-car-index-873.htm - click on each stage. These are available individually as handouts on request to TC). It isn't awesome, but it's pretty good. Probably not quite what you need for your purposes though. I got my doctor's office to hand out these sheets to new parents (at the appropriate stages). It was the only decent handouts from an "official" source that I could find.

Having said that, I'm in Ottawa and our local volunteer organization has a very good pamphlet that we hand out at clinics. Unfortunately it isn't on their website... but I'm going to email them about maybe putting it there right now! When I have time I'm going to look into getting that into more places like doctor's offices. Problem is the organization can't pay for all that printing.

Click to expand...

I don't consider this to be good info as I have huge issues with the way the MTO CPS websites are worded (the root cause of why I became passionate about CPS issues) but it is the official info for Ontario.
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/smartlove/

selinajean said:

I don't consider this to be good info as I have huge issues with the way the MTO CPS websites are worded (the root cause of why I became passionate about CPS issues) but it is the official info for Ontario.
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/safety/smartlove/

Click to expand...

Yeah, "good" and "comprehensive" were the key words in my post.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that if I were doing something like the OP is (which is awesome, by the way), I would be putting an emphasis on the no-snowsuits/bulky coats issue for this time of year. I know that at my son's daycare pretty much every kid arrives and leaves in their snowsuit. I think that is a big enough issue for parents to wrap their heads around let alone trying to convince them to ERF. Actually based on some reaction I've received to telling people that kids shouldn't wear snowsuits in car seats recently, I'm not sure which one people find more crazy; that my 2.5 year old is still RF or that he just wears a thin jacket in the car. :shrug-shoulders:

sparkyd said:

Yeah, "good" and "comprehensive" were the key words in my post.

Click to expand...

Right, but you are looking for official info for Ontario. Isn't the MTO it? If that is the case then I don't think that the words good, comprehensive, and official can be used together.

If there is another official source in Ontario for CPS info, which provides good information I would love to see it too. My SIL is in dire need of something "official" that will show her how to keep her children safe.

Where in Ontario are you? I have the Peel region pamphet/brochure that does a decent job at covering the main points. I have to dig it up

selinajean said:

Right, but you are looking for official info for Ontario. Isn't the MTO it? If that is the case then I don't think that the words good, comprehensive, and official can be used together.

Click to expand...

I guess that was my point in what I was saying in my first post. That I had looked for good info that I would actually want to pass on to others and couldn't find any. Ideally from Ontario or a national organization. I don't think it has to come from the provincial or federal government to seem "official", it just needs to be an organization that people will take seriously.

Then in each section, some big photos (eg. a 3 year old rear-facing, a newborn rear-facing; a baby forward-facing with a frowny face next to it, or cross over it, a 6 year old forward-facing harnessed; a baby or toddler in a booster with frowny, a 6 year old in a booster) and some quick text, highlighting the minimums and the laws.

Click to expand...

Great idea - I was thinking something along those lines would be needed. Visuals are always great.

Along those lines, is it possible to put a few video clips of crash tests on a digital photo frame?!? Is there something else similar that would work (other than a lap top)? That alone would make parents stop and look!!!

hipmaman: I'm in the Muskoka region - so not close to Peel - but I'm pleased that at least some areas have supplemental information!

I agree, the stuff from the MTO is bare bones and I'm afraid the legal minimums will only encourage parents to continue what they're already doing!

Thanks everyone for the help! I knew the topic would be difficult, but worth it if I can catch even 1 parent's attention!

Adding my 2 cents:

I think it is important to emphasize that the minimums aren't "guidelines", they are the LAW.

AND

I think it is equally important to communicate best practice.


Those would provide 2 bullet points for each stage, which could be illustrated with the "good" and "bad" pictures.

Additionally, it would be nice to add some final points about fit -
* less than 1" of seat movement
* chest clip at armpit level
* How to test the harness tightness
* Fit of seat - harness shoulder height, etc.
(This is where I get bogged down in detail, and flood the person with too much information - I have NO idea how to get all the "at-or-below" and "at-or-above" stuff into bullets!)

I'm thinking on a bulletin board - 3 main sections for each stage, with law, best practice, and then a few fine-print details about seatbelt fit?

So something like:

DID YOU KNOW?

*It is AGAINST THE LAW to put your baby forward-facing before she is 1 and 22 and walking
*It is SAFEST PRACTICE to keep your baby rear-facing until she is at least 2 or until the weight and size limits of the seat - many seats rear-face to 35 or 40 pounds.

DID YOU KNOW?

* It is AGAINST THE LAW to put a child in a booster seat before he is 40 pounds and 4 years old.
* It is SAFEST PRACTICE to keep your child harnessed to the limits of the seat - many seats harness to 65 pounds.

DID YOU KNOW?

* It is AGAINST THE LAW to put a child in a seatbelt without a booster before she is 8 or 80 pounds!
* It is SAFEST PRACTICE to keep your child in a belt-positioning booster seat until she passes the 5-point seatbelt test for fitting an adult seatbelt.

(With pictures and smaller details explained in smaller print - maybe even arrows to the pictures illustrating harness height and chest clip height?)

Kat