Car seat clinic celebrates one year of safety
While infants under two years old look safely backwards Taupo’s car seat service is looking forwards to another year keeping children safe.
For the last 12 months the Taupo Car Seat Service, run through the Taupo Parents Centre, has provided free car seats checks and installations as well as run a low-cost car seat hire service for parents unable to purchase one themselves.
Car seat technician Elena Gray has helped more than 400 Taupo parents install their car seat during the last twelve months and discovered 75 per cent of all seats she checked were not installed correctly.
‘‘In 50 per cent of all of these cases the seatbelt was loose,’’ she said.
‘‘About 25 per cent were where the car seat was just unsuitable for the infant.’’
Elena said one of the biggest concerns she has as a technician, is seeing children facing forwards too early or being put into booster seats before they should be.
‘‘It is recommended children remain in rear-facing car seats until they turn two years old,’’ Gray said.
The service began when Plunket stopped offering car seat hire as part of its services last year which worried Taupo Parents Centre president Becks Attenborough.
‘‘It meant the only place people could rent car seats from would have been Rotorua,’’ she said.
‘‘There was a need in Taupo for car seats and we wanted to set up a clinic.
‘‘We got initial funding through a generous donation from Pita Pit, and 100% Lake Charitable Trust which paid for car seats and allowed us to hire a technician.’’
A car boot sale has been organised this Saturday, February 18, with all funds raised going towards keeping the car seat clinic running in 2017.
The clinic was able to purchase 40 capsule car seats, 25 convertible car seats and six booster seats but, Gray said, demand for all of their products is high.
‘‘When it comes to the convertible car seats we are all booked out and have a waiting list,’’ she said.
To hire a capsule for six months costs as little as $60 whereas toddler seats can be hired for one year for $100. Short term options are available.
The car boot sale runs from 8am-12pm at 20 AC baths Avenue.