This February, Californians will join the rest of the nation in recognizing February 8-14 as National Child Passenger Safety Week. One of the best ways parents can help their children to be safe is by teaching them at an early age the proper way to buckle up, cross the street or ride their bicycles. In 1996, an average of eight children from infancy to age 14 were killed and 965 were injured each day in automobile crashes.
Parents can help save children s lives by always properly buckling up their children.
Parents should also make sure that children age one or younger are always in safety seats in the back seat. In order to avoid injury to small children, parents should never place a rear facing child seat in the front seat of a car that has passenger air bags. Parents should also insure that proper restraints are used on younger or smaller children so that safety belts fit properly. It is important to recognize, however, that not all accidents occur in cars. Children should be taught at an early age to look both ways before crossing a street, to cross at crosswalks, and never to cross against a light.