Driving DANGEROUSLY

Study: Parents find car seats to be a hassle, don’t use them properly

Car crashes are a leading cause of child death, but car safety seats — a proven method of protecting children — are often seen as a “hassle” for parents, according to a new study from the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

Half of parents in the study, published in February in the journal

Academic Pediatrics, reported at least one behavior that went against car seat recommendations from the American

Academy of Pediatrics.

That included not always using a child car seat or allowing their child to travel without buckling up.

“Car seat hassles are common, but I want to emphasize that this is the one time in life you don’t want to be in a rush.”

Dr. Michelle Macy

Reasons car seats were viewed as a “hassle” ranged from the child being uncomfortable to the bother of having to buckle a child up for multiple trips throughout the day. For each additional hassle a parent encountered there was a 14% increase in the odds that a child was not consistently using a car seat and an 11% increase in the odds of a child traveling unrestrained, the study found.

While numbers have declined since 1975, car crashes account for 1 in 4 unintentional injury deaths for children under 13, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

“Car seat hassles are common, but I want to emphasize that this is the one time in life you don’t want to be in a rush,” said Dr. Michelle Macy, a pediatric emergency medicine specialist at Lurie Children’s, associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and one of the study’s authors. “Take the time to buckle up your child properly every time you get in the car. Make it the expectation. Don’t be flexible. Be flexible on green beans, not car seats.”

When seats fall short

Injuries sustained in motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 10. Extensive evidence finds that young children are best protected when they use the recommended child safety seat for their age and size and follow guidelines published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Keep children safe by buckling them up every trip, Macy said. Be sure the seat is secured in the vehicle so there is not more than 1 inch of movement from side to side and from front to back.

“If you can pinch 1 inch of fabric in between your fingers in the car seat’s strap that’s too much,” she said.

That extra space creates movement, which can result in injury to the child. To create a tighter fit, remove bulky clothing and blankets.

The safest car seats are rear-facing with five-point harnesses, recommended for infants and toddlers.

“Each move to a different car seat is less safe,” Macy said. Do not rush to get to the next level if your child is not big enough for forward-facing or booster seats.

What are the guidelines?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends using:

• Rear-facing car safety seats as long as possible.

• Forward-facing car safety seats from the time children outgrow rear-facing seats through at least age 4 for most children.

• Belt-positioning booster seats from the time children outgrow forward-facing seats until they are tall enough to fit in an adult seat belt, around 4 feet 9 inches and between ages 8 and 12 for most children.

• Lap and shoulder seat belts after booster seats.

Awareness about proper car safety seat use is low in the United States, Macy said.

“There are several places to turn to for information, but the common default is what is required by law,” she said. “Sadly, there a difference between what is legal and what is safest by evidence from the American Academy of Pediatrics.”

If you are confused or need more information, visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Child Passenger Safety website (safekids.org and click on “car seat checks”) to find a technician who can provide guidance, which can be given by phone or video chat if necessary.