Free child car seat check events are happening locally over the next few months for parents, parents-to-be and caregivers. Whether this is your first time installing a car seat in preparation for the arrival of a new baby or you’ve done this many times, installing car seats correctly can be tricky.
Only one in four car seats are installed correctly according to national data. That’s in part because every car seat and vehicle is different and as your child grows, how they sit in your car will change.
Event details
Car seat check events will take place at AAA store parking lot in Tukwila 17250 Southcenter Parkway, Tukwila. All events are Thursdays from 11:00am to 2:00 pm.
Parents and caregivers can get support in fitting their children securely in car seats at events hosted by Public Health – Seattle & King County and SafeKids Seattle & South King County.
- May 16
- June 20
- July 18
- August 15
- September 19
Appointments are recommended but not required. Please call 206-744-3547 or email safekids@uw.edu to make an appointment. Car seat checks take approximately 30 minutes per car seat.
Ongoing car seat check
events
There are several ongoing child safety seat check-up events in the Puget Sound
area.
Seattle Children’s Hospital offers free quarterly
car seat checks.
Check the Washington
Safety Restraint Coalition website for additional locations and schedules.
Recommendations for
child use
The American Academy
of Pediatrics recommends keeping children in rear facing seats until they are
at least two years old or until they have reached the maximum height and weight
limits of the car seat as allowed by the manufacturer.
Benefits of car seats
Correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71
percent, according to national research. Nationally, of the 461 children under
the age of 8 who died in motor vehicle crashes in 2016, one quarter were not
restrained in an infant car seat, booster or seat belt.
For more information about the child care seat check events, please contact Alan Abe, King County Emergency Medical Services Division at 206-263-8544.
Originally posted on 5/14/19
This Public Health Insider is advertising the fact that there will be free child car seat checks for parents, parents-to-be, and caregivers for the next few months in Tukwila. The article emphasizes the importance of keeping children in rear facing seats until they are at least two years old. This needs to be expressed to the public because of the 461 children under the age of 8 who have died in motor vehicle crashes, 71% were not restrained in an infant car seat, booster or seat belt. Children and babies are at greater risk of injury in crashes, which is even more the reason they need to be properly protected. In a crash, if your child is riding forward-facing, their spinal cord may stretch, which could result in a serious injury, if not death. There are many tips in regards to child safety in cars. Always put your infant in rear-facing safety seat in the back of the car, the shoulder strap must be at or below your baby’s shoulders, never put a blanket between your child and the safety straps, and know when your child is too big for the rear-facing child safety seat. These are all helpful tips that parents should greatly take interest and knowledge of considering your child’s car safety should always be a top priority. Keeping your child safe in a car is not hard to do, but is extremely important and necessary. With parents and parent’s-to-be knowing of these car seat safety tips, the percentage of infant’s car related injuries will hopefully decrease.