Simple safety tips that can save children’s lives

by Jan Kerrigan, R.N. and Polly Turpin — 

The Arizona Child Facility Review Board recently reported that 48 percent of nearly 400 deaths of children between the ages of 1 and 17 years involved preventable accidents

The Arizona Child Facility Review Board recently reported that 48 percent of nearly 400 deaths of children between the ages of 1 and 17 years involved preventable accidents. Below is a list of simple, effective measures that could mean the difference between life and death.

• Children age 12 and younger should ride in the backseat.
• Children less than 40 pounds should ride in a child car seat with a harness.
• Children from 40 to 80 pounds should be in a booster seat with a shoulder/lap seatbelt.
• Babies should ride rear-facing until 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds.
• Never put a rear-facing car seat in front of an airbag.
• Harness straps should fit snugly on a child — no more than one finger should fit under the strap.
• The chest clip on a harness should be at armpit level.
• The car seat should be buckled so it cannot move more than one inch side-to-side, or move forward when pulled on at the belt path.
• Four out of five car seats are used incorrectly, so have yours checked by a trained car seat technician.
• Constantly remind teenagers to use their seatbelts.
• Kids riding on any kind of wheels (bikes, skateboards, inline skates, etc.) must wear helmets.
• Every pool needs a four-sided fence and self-locking gate.

Jan Kerrigan, R.N., (kerrigJ@azdhs.gov) and Polly Turpin (polly-turpin@mail.maricopa.gov) are with the Maricopa Country Department of Public Health.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 24, Number 3, June/July 2005.