Television News Segment

I saw a segment on the local news today and got so excited! They interviewed someone from SafeKids Coalition. She showed a kid about 2 yrs old, FF in a Britax properly installed and tightly harnessed.

I was excited until she emphasized that children should be RF until 1 year AND 20 lbs without one word about "to the extent of the seat" or that RF longer is safer. Then she said the youngest child should be in the center because it was the safest.

She did say kids should not be in a booster til 40 lbs. and should be in one til 4'9".

I can think of at least 5 people who I am glad DID NOT see this, as they would have been calling me saying
"See! We're right and you're wrong."

I think I'd call Safe Kids---she's going against THEIR recs.

Susan

:yeahthat:

:yeahthat:X 2

I've been thinking about contacting our local media (press or tv) to spread the word about ERFing.

Esp. because the one local pediatrician is telling parents to FF their children way before 1 y/o. He told me to FF my DS at 4 months old! I knew at the time 1 y/o AND 20lbs but wasn't aware of ERFing yet. I told him no "We have convertible seats." My DS had his 15 month check up and I was relieved to get an accurate weight 26lbs (clothes and shoes) on their scale. (I don't trust my digital so much) The LPN asked "Why are you so concerned?" I stated his one CS only RF till 33# the other 35." He feels soooo heavy. She stated "Well you can turn him forward, his legs are touching the back of the seat too." Then I politely explained I'm a CPST.....ERF.....no documented cases of broken legs but torn spines...I will keep him RF as long as possible. I shot them down real quick.

Next month is our children's fair at the mall and I'm praying that my son's pediatrician is present this year. I'm setting up a CPS table w/ our ambulance company. I'm esp. going to make sure I have some hand outs about ERF and booster seats. He was at the fair 2 yrs ago when I was PG with my DS. I'll have a copy of the AAP guidelines for him too.:evil grin:

They were on TV again on Saturday, at carseat checks, all morning (like every 15 minutes). This time, the same chick says when a kid hits 40 lbs, they have to go in a booster, no mention of HWH seats. Especially sad when the mom interviewed said she wished she could keep her kid harnessed til high school! Then the same girl and a guy both said that all carseats in AZ expire after 5 years because of the heat. (I have a 2001 FPSE with 8 yr expiration.) And they showed a kid in an OLD harnessed booster, emphasizing that he was properly harnessed without mentioning expiration due to DOM.

But aside from those things , there was a lot of good information. (I dvr-ed almost the whole thing so I could just watch the carseat check segments. Yeah, I'm a nerd!)

I got a good email back from the director after I nicely asked about the issues I had with the above comments.

Dear...

Thank you for your email. I have forwarded your email onto J. You are correct. Best practice and the current recommendations from AAP is to keep children rear facing to the upper weight limit of their child safety seat. Thank you so much for being an advocate.

When a segment is being filmed live, the technician has 1-2 minutes depending on the segment to convey the information. This is a challenge ~ we can't always spew out everything that we would like. We always have "little things" we wished we had said. And yes, as you pointed out, many manufacturers have or will have product that allows harness use to a higher weight limit. The best part of this is there will be product that is affordable.

You can continue to use your Safe Embrace to the manufacturer expiration date. (Yeah!) Arizona does not have any special requirements for the safety seats. We follow the recommendations set forth by the safety seat manufacturer or the Juvenile Products Manufactures Association.

It matters not which child goes in the center. The child safety seats should be placed where the seat fits the best in the vehicle and is convenient for the parent. Frequently with 2 children, the seats are placed in the outboard seating positions (by the door). If the seats can be placed side by side it is parent dependent on who sits where. I have been doing this for 12 years and have never heard the "least protected" child should sit in the center.
(I sent her back some links from here.) If a booster is being used, a lap/shoulder belt must be present and with many vehicles that is not the case although this is changing.

I once again encourage you to get involved with Safe Kids. Safe Kids of Maricopa meets even months on the third Thursday from 0830-1000 at 150 S. 12 Street in Phoenix. These are open meetings. Your passion would be welcomed with open arms.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and thank you!
T