Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week (September 17th – 24th)

In 2021, Transport Canada reported 57 fatalities and 5,303 injuries for children 0-14 years of age.

With Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week here (September 17-24) CYBEX Canada is on a mission to build awareness and help educate parents on the importance of car seat safety to help bring the fatalities and injuries as close to zero. 

Earlier this month, CYBEX hosted their annual Car Seat Safety Summit where a roster of industry experts, including President for Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada (CPSAC) Katherine Hutka, Senior Policy Advisor for Transport Canada, Natalie Fraser and Manager for Transport Canada, Zuzanna Strom spoke about the importance of car seat safety. The summit welcomed special guest safety advocate, Eran Jones a New Brunswick mother whose life had been transformed after two of her children and another family member were killed in a car collision caused by a reckless driver. In tandem with the CPSAC, Erin has dedicated her life to advocate for more education and updated legislation around car seat safety. 

Throughout September, CYBEX Canada is partnering with retailers to deliver education to parents and help them pick the right seat for their child with the CYBEX car seat guide, in addition to hosting car seat clinics with certified technicians so parents can seek complimentary guidance on how to install their car seat correctly. 

Car Seat Safety Tips! 

Tip #1: Select the right seat for your child’s age and size. Do not transition your child to the next stage of car seat until they have outgrown their current stage seat: Rear Facing > Forward Facing > Booster > Vehicle Seat Belt. 

Tip #2: A Secure installation moves less than 1 inch. Make sure you test for tightness at the car seat belt path. Testing anywhere else on the car seat may show movement that is actually expected and okay. 

Tip #3: Find the right harness height. When read-facing the harness should be positioned at or below the child’ shoulders. When forward-facing the harness should be positioned at or above the shoulders. And do not forget, the chest clip should be positioned at the child’s armpit level. 

Tip #4: Make sure the harness is snug. You Should not be able to vertically pinch harness webbing together between your finger when testing near the child’s shoulders. 

Tip #5: Use the tether. When properly installed, the use of the tether can help reduce the distance a child’s head moves in a crash by 4-6 inches. Using the tether could be the difference between a brain injury or no injury at all. 

Three different types of car seats for children. Rear-Facing, Forward-Facing and Booster.

Right Fit From The Start: Safety is not one size fits all. To ensure optimal protection, it is important to make sure your child meets all requirements for their car seat: weight, height, age, and stage of development.

• Rear-Facing: 4 – 50 lbs., 17 – 49 Inch., 0 – 3 Years Safe Rear-Facing Travel: CYBEX recommends that children travel in rear-facing car seats for as long as possible, ideally up to the age of four. When a child is properly restrained rear-facing, the head and neck move together with the car seat, allowing the crash force to be spread across the shell of the car seat. This protects the child’s head, neck, and torso, reducing the risk for a neck and spine injury.

• Forward-Facing: 22 – 65 lbs., 28- 49 Inch.,  2 – 7 Years Transitioning to Forward-Facing: When the time comes to transition your child to a forward-facing position, we recommend keeping them in a 5-point harness until they reach the maximum weight or height limit

• Booster: 40 – 120 lbs., 38 – 60 Inch., 4 – 12 Years Enhanced Safety High-Back Booster Seats:  Booster seats play an important role in your child’s car seat journey and help older children stay safe when they have outgrown their harnessed seat but are not big enough for the seat belt alone. A booster raises the child up in the seat so that the seat belt can be appropriately fitted into the right position on the child’s body.