Use child car seats

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 286, 16 May 1989, Page 10

Use child car seats

In New Zealand each month one or two children die in car accidents and each day two or three are admitted to hospital.

If the country was swept with some new childhood disease as severe as this, the panic amongst parents would be incredible. So why, every day, is it possible to see children being transported in cars carried on the front seat, on a passenger's knee or left to wobble around the backseat unrestrained? When a car stops suddenly or when it is involved in a crash, children are even more likely than adults to be injured. part of the reason is because children's heads grow faster than the rest of their bodies and they become top heavy. This means that a child is thrown about in a car head first

causing the child's life to be changed forever in some cases. To prevent your child suffering from the pain, disfiguremenUand emotional trauma, some sort of safety device should be fitted to your car and used every time the child is in the car. There are many types of child safety devices available that can be used right from birth until your child is old enough to use an adult seat belt. Because these are expensive to buy the New Zealand Plunket Society has a car rental scheme. In September 1984 the Government agreed that children should be protected by law and regulations regarding

the transportation of children were enforced. It's not uncommon to find ihe odd parent driving around with a safety device in the car with the child standing on the seat beside it. One of the main reasons for this situation is that the child is going through a stage of development when he says "no" to nearly everything and kicks up a fuss at any attempt to force an issue. A lot of people decide it is just not worth the hassle. Unfortunately, safety in the car is one of the areas where tantrums have to be risked. Children who use car safety devices from birth are more likely to regard their use as "normal" and are less likely to make a fuss.

Judith Blake Public Health Nurse