skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Seven in Ten Fail to Secure Children Correctly in Car Seats

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 14, 2010   

PHOENIX - With families piling into vehicles for summer vacations, Arizona parents could use a little help with the car seats. Pediatrician Kathy Judy has been trying to understand why car crashes are still the number one killer of children, and has come up with at least one reason: the incorrect use of car seats.

About 70 percent of the time, she says, parents install car seats wrong or buckle their children up incorrectly. If the seat can be moved, from side to side or front to back, by an inch or more, Dr. Judy says it's not safe.

"Even when I tried to put our car seat in, then I went to the police department and they said, 'Oh this is way too loose.' And they buckled it down so much tighter, even."

Getting children situated in the straps safely is just as important. According to Dr. Judy, the five-point harness seats work well, but most parents place the chest clip way too low.

"Those shoulder straps need to be at or below the shoulder, and the chest clip needs to be at about the level of the armpits."

Dr. Judy says many parents don't realize that booster seats should be used until a child weighs 80 pounds and is 57 inches tall.

"Every day that I'm counseling parents in clinic, there's not a day that goes by that there's not somebody who's not putting their child in a booster."

She acknowledges that we've learned from the "old days" that kids flopping around in the back seats of vehicles is an unsafe practice.

"I think we've come a long way from, you know, 25 or 30 years ago when we didn't have any car seats, but we still can do better."

At most police stations, she says, someone is willing to check and install car seats for free. If not, the website www.seatcheck.org will point parents to the nearest child safety seat inspection site.



get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Many factors affect a customer's bill amount, including energy usage, weather, and the number of days in a billing period, according to Arizona Public Service. (Jason Yoder/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021