This week is National Child Passenger Safety Week! It’s a great time to brush up on the laws and best practices that are recommended to keep your child safe. Why should you care? Motor vehicle crashes are one of the leading causes of serious injury and death for children in Wisconsin. Many of these injuries and deaths can be prevented.

What do you need to know?

Wisconsin Law: Children must be in a rear-facing car seat, in the back seat, until they are BOTH 1 year old AND 20 pounds.
Best Practice: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children stay rear-facing until they are at least 2 years old. Research shows children are 75 percent safer when they are rear-facing. We encourage you to follow this guideline.

Wisconsin Law: Children must be in a forward-facing car seat with a harness, in the back seat, until they are BOTH 4 years old AND 40 pounds.
Best Practice: Children are much better protected when restrained in a harness, than in a seat belt alone. New car seats on the market allow for higher harness weights of up to 50-80 pounds, so it is possible to keep them safer longer.

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Summer is the most dangerous time of year for children, which is why it’s also known as “trauma season.” These are the top five injuries that land kids in Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin’s Emergency Department every summer and how to avoid them. Keep your kids happy, healthy and out of the Emergency Department this summer!

1. Falls
Did you know that falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury for children?
To prevent falls at home:

• Always strap children into high chairs, swings and strollers.
• Remember that children can fall from windows opened as little as five inches.
• Never rely on window screens to prevent falls.
• Never let children play alone on fire escapes, high porches or balconies.
• Use safety gates at the top and bottom of stairs.
• Keep hallways and stairs well lit and clear of clutter.
• Make sure there is a safe surface under playground equipment. Safe surfaces include mulch, pea gravel and shredded rubber at least nine to 12 inches deep and extending at least six feet in all directions around equipment.

2. Poisonings/Ingestions

• Teach your child to recognize and avoid poisonous plants like poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac, which can cause an allergic reaction if they come in contact with the skin.
• Teach your child not to eat or touch any plants or flowers without asking you first. Many plants such as wild mushrooms and berries might look edible, yet they are poisonous. Even pretty flowers in the garden like azaleas, daffodils and rhododendron are toxic.
• In the garage, store dangerous chemicals like pesticides, gasoline, lighter fluid and  cleaners out of your child’s reach in a locked cabinet or garden shed.
• Keep chemicals in their original containers and add a Mr. Yuk™ sticker so your child knows the product is poisonous.
• If using pesticides, keep kids and pets away from the area until the pesticide has dried, or as long as recommended on the label.

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Two recent serious car accidents in our community in the past several weeks – one involving a train and the other related to high speed – have affirmed that car seats do indeed save lives. Most likely, the car seats that saved those two children’s lives now will need to be replaced. But what if the crash was less severe? How can you tell if the car seat still is usable or needs to be replaced?

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommends that child safety seats should be replaced following a moderate or severe crash in order to ensure a continued high level of crash protection for child passengers. Child safety seats do not automatically need to be replaced following a minor crash. Minor crashes are those that meet all of the following criteria:

• The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site.
• The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged.
• There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants.
• The air bags (if present) did not deploy.
• There is no visible damage to the safety seat.

I recommend parents and caregivers check with their child seat manufacturer with regard to their child restraint. Many car seat manufacturers recommend child safety seats be replaced if they have been involved in a car crash. Look in the car seat owner’s manual for your manufacturer’s statement of their policy. And, it’s good to know that some insurance carriers may reimburse for the replacement of a new car seat if it was in a crash. Check with your insurance carrier handling the crash for more details.

If it turns out you need to buy a new car seat, please make sure it’s installed correctly. Go to Bluekids.org or chw.org/carseats to find the nearest car seat check event or fitting station near you.

– Jane Howard, injury prevention event coordinator, Children’s Health Education Center