Child Safety Link Recognizes National Child Passenger Safety Week
September 15-21 is Child Passenger Safety Week (CPSW) in Atlantic Canada. This week is an opportunity for Child Safety Link and its Atlantic Canadian partners to highlight how we can best protect children from injury in motor vehicle collisions. This year’s theme, “The Right Seat, the Right Time, Every Ride,” will focus on the basics of keeping children of all ages safe when riding in the family vehicle.
“Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death in children in Canada,” explains Katherine Hutka of Child Safety Link (CSL), the injury prevention program at IWK Health. “When used correctly, a safe car seat or booster seat reduces the risk of fatal injury by up to 71%. We know that families need support to better understand which seats are safe to use and how to use them correctly to keep their children safe.”
CSL would like to emphasize several important points for parents and caregivers to consider when choosing a car seat or booster seat for the safe transportation of their children:
- Always make sure your child is safely buckled on every ride in a car, truck, SUV or van.
- Make sure your child’s car seat or booster seat meets Canadian standards for safety. Look for the National Safety Mark on your seat.
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- Make sure the car seat or booster seat is appropriate for your child’s age and stage. Read all labels and instructions to ensure that your child is within the height, weight, and age limits for the seat.
- Don’t rush your child into the next stage of seat before they are ready.
- Use the seat according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Always follow the labels and instruction manual for your seat and install and use your seat according to the manufacturer’s directions. If you no longer have the manual, you can request a copy from the manufacturer.
As part of Child Passenger Safety Week 2024, CSL will be sharing key tips for keeping your child safe in the car, on Facebook and Instagram each day.
Parents and caregivers are invited to visit www.childsafetylink.ca to find child passenger safety information for every age and stage of child, including downloadable fact sheets on every stage of car seat, checklists and instructional videos. Many of these resources have been translated into additional languages including French, Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqey, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Nepalese, Ukrainian, Russian, Farsi, Dari, Somali, Swahili, and Tigrinya.
Caregivers with questions can call our car seat support line at 1-866-288-1388 (toll-free in Atlantic Canada) or 902-470-7036, or email childsafetylink@iwk.nshealth.ca.
Child Safety Link would like to thank the Insurance Bureau of Canada for their invaluable support in helping spread this life-saving information to families in Atlantic Canada.