Proof read my letter to local news station regarding their car seat segment

Connor's Mom

New member
I just watched a segment on a local news channel in regards to car seats and boosters and the new Texas child restraint law. I understand that it may be difficult to critique my letter without seeing the segment - it is not available online - but I am just wanting to get comments on the way it is written and the information I stated. Please give me some feedback. Thanks!

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To whom it may concern,

I just watched your segment regarding car seats and the new child restraint law on KVUE Midday News and it was absuolutely painful to watch!
I am a parent that is passionate about child passenger safety and commend you for running a segment on the new law but it would have been more beneficial if the person asking the questions, Melissa Gale, had been better educated on the subject. Her questions asked of the guests and the statements made by her, I do believe, might only further confuse parents regarding the differences and benefits of high weight harness car seats and boosters. Even the looks on the guest's faces show that they where perplexed by her statements and questions. She seemed to be focused on the size of the boosters and car seats themselves rather than the size of the child that is going in the seat or booster which is the most important issue to be considered when a parent is choosing a seat for their child. Also, she made a comment stating that you also needed to think about your car as well and if you have a head rest in your car you might not need a head rest on your booster seat. I found this statement to be odd especially when the guest speaker was talking about the fact that you can not use a lap belt only with a booster seat at the time. In regards to the same statement regarding head rests, her statement might lead parents to believe that if their car has head rests then choosing a seat with out head and back support, like a backless booster, would be the best choice. But, in reality seats with head and back support off further protection for the child and and most seat manufactures require that the auto that they are installed in to have back and head support as well for proper instillation and safety. And choosing a backless booster might not be the safest choice for parents due to the fact that backless boosters are the choice only for older and larger children that just need the extra lift to make them tall enough for the adult seat belt.
I think that the guests where trying to give the proper information but Ms. Gale and her line of questioning/statements where not allowing them to to do so.

Furthermore, in the videos shown during the segment of the mother placing her child in the seat and the doll in the seat, both the child and the doll where wearing large puffy coats. I think that this also sends and incorrect message to parent beings that it is very unsafe for a child to wear a large coat while restrained in the car as they compromise the safety of the child. Harness straps are meant to fit snugly against the child's chest. Winter coats and snowsuits make car seat safety difficult because they change the way a child fits into the car seat. In a crash the thicker coats, snowsuits or even thick blankets will compress, making the straps too loose and possibly allowing the child to be ejected from the seat.

Once again, I commend KVUE on attempting to make parents aware of child passenger safety and the new law. I just wished that it would have been presented in a way that would have helped parents understand the new law and ways to help keep their children safe. May I suggest that next time your station presents the subject you have your representative speak with a Child Passenger Safety Technician before the segment to suggest a few more appropriate questions. You can find a CPST through Austin's chapter of Safe Kids who are in affiliation with Dell Hospital.
http://www.dellchildrens.net/services_and_programs/safety_and_injury_prevention/safe_kids_austin/

Thank you,
Peggy Willis, Registered Nurse
 
ADS

Angela

New member
Sounds perfect to me! Is there any way to make it a bit shorter? I just feel when you're trying to get a point across it's important to make it short and sweet. They'll be more likely to read it and not just skim it that way. Way to go at educating about car seat safety!!
 

jjordan

Moderator
"absolutely" is misspelled. :)

ETA: And instead of "guest's faces" it should be "guests' faces"
and "that they where perplexed" should be "that they were perplexed"
and "booster which" should be "booster, which"
sorry, can't read further as toddler is demanding attention...
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Corrections in bold.

To whom it may concern,

I just watched your segment regarding car seats and the new child restraint law on KVUE Midday News and it was absolutely painful to watch!
I am a parent who is passionate about child passenger safety and commend you for running a segment on the new law, but it would have been more beneficial if the person asking the questions, Melissa Gale, had been better educated on the subject. The questions she asked of the guests and the statements she made might only further confuse parents regarding the differences between and benefits of high weight harness car seats and boosters. Even the looks on the guests' faces show that they were perplexed by her statements and questions. She seemed to be focused on the size of the boosters and car seats themselves rather than the size of the child that is going in the seat or booster, which is the most important issue to be considered when a parent is choosing a seat for a child. Also, she made a comment stating that you also needed to think about your car as well and if you have a head rest in your car you might not need a head rest on your booster seat. I found this statement to be odd, especially when the guest speaker was talking about the fact that you can not use a lap belt only with a booster seat at the time. Her statement about head rests might lead parents to believe that if their car has head rests, choosing a seat without head and back support, like a backless booster, would be the best choice. But, in reality, seats with head and back support offer additional protection for the child and and some seat manufacturers require the vehicle in which they are installed to have back and head support as well for proper instillation and safety. Choosing a backless booster might not be the safest choice for parents to make, because backless boosters are a more appropriate choice for older children who have already outgrown a high-backed booster, or when a high-backed booster does not fit in the vehicle properly.
I think that the guests were trying to give the proper information but Ms. Gale and her line of questioning/statements where not allowing them to to do so.

Furthermore, in the videos shown during the segment of the mother placing her child in the seat and the doll in the seat, both the child and the doll where wearing large puffy coats. This also sends an incorrect message to parents, because it is very unsafe for a child to wear a large coat while restrained in the car, as they compromise the safety of the child. Harness straps are meant to fit snugly against the child's chest. Winter coats and snowsuits make car seat safety difficult because they change the way a child fits into the car seat. In a crash the thicker coats, snowsuits or even thick blankets will compress, making the straps too loose and possibly allowing the child to be ejected from the seat. The harness must be fastened first, and the coat or blanket can be added on top afterwards to keep the child warm.

Once again, I commend KVUE on attempting to make parents aware of child passenger safety and the new law. I just wish it had been presented in a way that would have helped parents understand the new law and ways to help keep their children safe, rather than potentially furthering the confusion of many. May I suggest that next time your station presents the subject, you have your representative speak with a Child Passenger Safety Technician before the segment to suggest a few more appropriate questions? You can find a CPST through Austin's chapter of Safe Kids, which is in affiliation with Dell Hospital.
http://www.dellchildrens.net/service...e_kids_austin/

Thank you,
Peggy Willis, Registered Nurse
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
One suggestion I might give is to start and end with some positive comments. Maybe put in some comments about how well they have portrayed carseat usage in previous news segments or how much you like to watch their news station. Just put some positive things in so that the reader feels compelled to read your negative comments.
 

Connor's Mom

New member
One suggestion I might give is to start and end with some positive comments. Maybe put in some comments about how well they have portrayed carseat usage in previous news segments or how much you like to watch their news station. Just put some positive things in so that the reader feels compelled to read your negative comments.

Well, that might be a difficult one, lol. This particular station tends to have poorly done car seat segments because they tend to use the same anchor as today because she is a mother of a small child. :rolleyes: I also don't normally watch this station's news but watched today to see how they addressed this segment.


Yes that is it, but is there video there that I am just missing? That appears to be just a blurb informing us of the segment that was going to be on the Midday News. :confused:

Thanks ladies for the grammar corrections, lol.
 

Stacy

New member

That segment was just a disaster! The host was totally clueless. Everyone seemed confused. I don't think they prepared for this segment at all. The one in the middle who seemed to be a CPST should have written down some questions for the host to ask her. I mean, "Is that a smaller seat?" is not helpful to parents. To be fair they did get one or two good questions in there. But even I felt a bit confused watcing this, lol. They had a great opportunity to really educate people on this and they blew it.

Maybe the CPST should have just done this segment alone, demonstrating the different seats with those dolls.
 

MomToEliEm

Moderator
I watched that video and it really didn't seem organized at all. I don't like that on that link to the video that the first frozen image is of a doll in the booster seat with the shoulder belt under the dolls arm. I think the segment would have been much better with the guests up near the booster seats demonstrating the differences and proper use. In the video, it doesn't appear to really even show the booster props. Hopefully parents who are still confused after that segment and will go to the carseat check they talked about to learn more.
 

Connor's Mom

New member
OK, I sent my email with your corrections and sugestions. Now I will just see if I get a response back.

That segment was just a disaster! The host was totally clueless. Everyone seemed confused. I don't think they prepared for this segment at all. The one in the middle who seemed to be a CPST should have written down some questions for the host to ask her. I mean, "Is that a smaller seat?" is not helpful to parents. To be fair they did get one or two good questions in there. But even I felt a bit confused watcing this, lol. They had a great opportunity to really educate people on this and they blew it.

Maybe the CPST should have just done this segment alone, demonstrating the different seats with those dolls.

I watched that video and it really didn't seem organized at all. I don't like that on that link to the video that the first frozen image is of a doll in the booster seat with the shoulder belt under the dolls arm. I think the segment would have been much better with the guests up near the booster seats demonstrating the differences and proper use. In the video, it doesn't appear to really even show the booster props. Hopefully parents who are still confused after that segment and will go to the carseat check they talked about to learn more.

See! I felt the sameway!
I had it recorded and watched it several times because I was so confused as to what she was trying to say. The poor guests just looked shocked, lol. I think that they where trying to show common misuse with the dolls down front - a doll in a backless booster with only a lapbelt and a doll in a HBB with the shoulder strap tucked behind it - but that was not pointed out as they panned over them. :rolleyes:
 

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