Child Car Seat Program

Health Education will check child seat installations on Fridays

Did you know that 4 out of 5 Child Car Seats are installed incorrectly? Click HERE for a PDF flyer on how you can have your car seat install checked by trained professionals.

We have Certified Child Car Seat Technicians to assist you in installing your safety seats.
Please call 419-774-4544 for an appointment. Park in the front of the building. See Health Promotion/Education for assistance after entering the building.

New Car Seat Recommendations
As of March 23, 2011 - From our partners with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration comes the latest Car Seat recommendations:

NHTSA has released a new guideline on child restraints categorizing by age rather than by type of child seats in order to keep pace with the latest scientific and medical research and the development of new child restraint technologies. Under the new guidelines, NHTSA is advising parents and caregivers to keep children in each restraint type, including rear-facing, forward-facing and booster seats, for as long as possible, using the weight limits of the car seat, before moving them up to the next type of seat.

Please go to the NHTSA websites (below) for a copy of the complete guidelines:

Child Safety
Which car seat is the safest for your child?

www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Child+Safety/4+Steps+for+Kids:+Rear-Facing+Seats

www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/Booster-Seats

March 21, 2011: NHTSA Releases New Child Seat Guidelines

www.nhtsa.gov/Driving+Safety/Child+Safety

New Car Seat Recommendations for Children
Downloadable PDF

www.nhtsa.gov/DOT/NHTSA/Traffic%20Injury%20Control/Articles/Associated%20Files/4StepsFlyer.pdf

Check the Law in Your State

www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws/childsafety_laws.html

Recommendations For All Ages

• Select a car seat based on your child's age, height, and weight.
• Keep your child in the proper car seat for as long as possible.
• All children under 13 should ride in the back seat.
• Follow the car seat manufacturer's instructions and your vehicle owners manual on how to install.

Did you know that Ohio has a law requiring children to be in boosters seats?
Once your child is over 40 pounds and more than a four years old, they must then be in a booster seat until 8 years old or 4' 9" tall.

Click this link for the PDF that describes Ohio's booster seat law.

Ohio Law says children must be in an approved child passenger safety seat until age four and forty pounds. They must then be in a booster until 4' 9" tall or 8-years old. Ohio law says All occupants 15 and under must be restrained by a child safety seat, belt positioning booster, or lap and shoulder belts.

Child Car Seat Links:

Federal ratings of car seats for safety and ease of use.
www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CSSRating/Index.cfm

traumalink.chop.edu/carseat/pc/index2.html
Users should click on the first option to launch website.

Excellent website with lots of information on car seat manufacturers.
www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Check to make sure your child's seat has not been recalled.
www.seatcheck.org/recalls.html
You will need to know the car seat name, model, and date of manufacture.
These are required by law to be on a white label permanently affixed to your seat.

We were pleased to get the following note from one of our readers about Child Passenger Safety and the information we provide here:

"My daughter was severely injured in a car accident a few years back and since then we've come up with the idea to start a car safety program at our library. As a mother, her passion and dedication to creating and researching for this program has been something I can be truly proud. This is not something that would have been possible without her.

After a few weeks of researching for what my daughter and I considered to be the very best car safety resources on the internet, we found the Mansfield/Ontario/Richland County Health Department's “Child Passenger Safety Week” page. We both thought the idea of having a week dedicated to child passenger safety was an absolutely outstanding way to promote and educate people about the importance of keeping children safe on the road.

Towards the end of next week, we will be holding a car safety presentation at our educational booth where we will pass along the materials we have collected including pamphlets and printouts and we will also be showcasing several fantastic child passenger safety webpages we have come across. Each of the following were immensely helpful in putting together our program materials on our quest to spread awareness and educate others:

Auto Safety (http://kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/outdoor/auto.html)- A fantastic resource explaining the importance of child safety seats and numerous other vehicle safety resources

Car Safety: Child Safety Seats (http://www.cheapcarinsurance.net/car-safety-child-safety-seats/)- An in-depth and useful resource on child safety seats and a ton of external resources to other great car seat websites and articles

Child Safety (http://www.nhtsa.gov/Safety/CPS)- A great website filled with resources and information on child passenger safety

 Also, I'm pleased to announce that we will be showcasing RichlandHealth.org's “Child Passenger Safety” page! Child Passenger Safety is incredibly important and Mansfield/ Ontario/Richland County Health Department went above and beyond by dedicating an entire week in September to making sure our kids are safe. It's information like this that parents can get a lot from to hopefully prevent this from happening to anyone else. So, on behalf of my daughter and I, we thank you."

(Name withheld by request)

In honor of Public Health Week, the American Public Health Association has created a 2 minute video on Public Health's Retyurn on Investment. See it linked on the main page Welcome (below in the middle).