Child Seat Safety

To the Editor:

On behalf of Newtown Youth Services I want to thank Officer Sink of the Newtown Police Department for speaking to our New Mom support groups on Friday, March 16, 2001 about car seat safety. His presentation was extremely informative and everyone learned a lot. In addition he was outside for three hours meticulously checking car seats for proper installation. No car seat that he checked was installed correctly, until he reinstalled it. I know those moms are thankful for now being able to safely drive their small children.

Too often we only improve our safety after a tragedy has occurred; it was nice in this incidence to have improved the safety of car seats before such a tragedy. I urge all parents to take a second look at the installation of their child’s car seat and check the following: (1) if the seat is firmly installed and belt webbing does not loosen when rocked from side to side, if a metal locking clip is installed on the seat belt, (2) if the harness straps stay on their child’s shoulders, (3) if their older children up to ages 8 and 10 years old are riding in booster seats, and (4) if their younger children under age 1 and/or under 20 pounds are riding rear facing at a 45 degree angle? Thanks to Officer Sinko we gained insight about the proper installation of car seat safety.

Sincerely,

Addie Sandler

Newtown Youth Services Counseling Intern

41-A Main Street, Newtown                                       March 20, 2001