One Car Safety Seat example essay topic

240 words
"Motor vehicle crashes continue to be the leading cause of death in children one to 14 years of age" (Biagioli). The Children's Safety Center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is educating Marylanders about the state's new child safety seat law. Effective October 1, 2003, all children younger than six years of age, regardless of weight, and all children weighing 40 pounds or less, regardless of age, must be secured in a federally approved child safety seat (Johns). There are many different choices you have to suit your lifestyle that will also protect the life of your child. No one car safety seat is "safest" or "best".

The "best" car safety seat is one that fits your child's size and weight, and can be installed correctly in your car, and that you will use every time you drive (American). "If used correctly, child safety seats are 71 percent effective in reducing infant deaths in passenger cars and 54 percent effective in reducing toddler deaths" (Biagioli). "To properly fit a child in an auto seat belt, three elements must be present: (1) the child's legs should bend over the edge of the seat with the buttocks against the seat back"; (2) the shoulder portion of the belt should be over the cent of the chest; and (3) the lap belt should be tight over the upper thighs or the pelvis" (Biagioli).

Bibliography

American Academy of Pediatrics. Car Safety Seats: "A Guide for Families". 2003.
8 October 2003.
Biagioli, Frances. "Proper use of child safety seats" American Family Physician. ProQuest. May 15, 2002.
Johns Hopkins University. New Child Safety Seat Law Effective October 1. September 25, 2003.
October 9, 2003.