Car Seats Still Rule When It Comes to Child Safety

June 7th, 2012

Car seats, car seats, car seats.  We take an extra minute or two to make sure that our children are securely and properly restrained in car seats before we turn on the ignition and depart for the next destination, but that extra minute helps avoid the risk of increasing injury to our children should we be involved in an car accident.  So concludes researchers at CHOP’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention, who studied 1,000  1 to 8 year-old children involved in auto accidents.  Regardless of  varying measurements in both weight and size, children properly restrained in the correctly suited child safety seat or booster were not at an increased risk for accident-related injuries.  The results were published in the December issue of the journal Pediatric.  With childhood obesity rates on the rise and automobile accidents being the leading cause of death and injury for all children, this study serves as further support that the appropriate and well-fitted child car safety seat or booster is necessary to make sure our children are not at increased risk in the event of an accident.  You can learn more about children and car safety at www.chop.edu/carseat.