Technician Lisa Harvey checks the fit of her son James' seat. (photo: Rachelle Parker)
In recognition of National Public Health Week, April 4-11, the Butte County Public Health Department provided services geared toward safety at a number of different events. The theme for National Public Health Week this year was "Safety is NO Accident: Live Injury-Free."
Here in Oroville, on the last day of National Public Health Week, the focus was on children at a car seat safety event for parents held at the Southside Community Resource Center. I spoke with Ann Dickman, Public Health Nurse and Child Passenger Safety Technician Instructor. Dickman says if she had her way, new parents would have a second trimester to-do list that included: buying a new car seat, making an appointment for a fitting, and learning how to install and use the seat.
Dickman says that four out five car seats nation-wide are misused. The figure for Butte County at 73 percent is just slightly better.
"This is why we don't install the car seat for you," Dickman says. "When we do that we make you a slave to our availability. Our goal is to make you the expert."
Waiting until the last minute may force some low-income parents to consider purchasing a used car seat. This is not the safest option for many reasons, some of which are:
- The seat could have been part of a safety recall.
- The seat could have been stressed in an accident.
- The seat may be missing the owner's manual.
For all of these reasons and more, new parents are encouraged to call their local public health department early for a low-cost car seat. If you qualify, you can purchase a brand new seat for $25. In some cases, you can be given a car seat at no cost, such as the program for American Indians at Feather River Tribal Health and North Valley Indian Health.
I observed as Caroline Wimberly, Child Passenger Safety Technician, was re-certified under the Kids in Safe Seats (K.I.S.S.) protocol. In addition to being tested on installation procedures, the technicians must complete six hours of classroom time.
"The reality of a car seat is that they are crash protection and crashes are violent events," Dickman says.
She says she knows it may be hard for a parent to even consider this fact while the baby is still growing, but the earlier parents address this difficult issue, the safer their child will be.
