SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) “If the car seat is used appropriately and used for what it is meant to used for it is a wonderful safety device.” Janet Brooks, the Child Advocacy Manager at Primary Children’s Medical Center says it’s when the car seat is used for purposes other than transportation that accidents occur. “We would recommend that if the car seat is removed from the vehicle that it is placed somewhere on the floor”
A study presented this week at the American Academy of Pediatrics meeting shows infants left in their car seats on countertops, tables, and other surfaces caused the most accidents. Most of the victims had head injuries and broken bones from their falls.
Brooks says soft surfaces can also present a problem, because car seats tip over and babies can suffocate. “It is very disturbing to see these kinds of accidents happen. We know that if we take extra precaution with our children we can prevent approximately 90-percent of serious accidents from happening.”
One of those precautions is making sure kids are buckled into their car seats, in and out, of the car. “We see parents walking down the hall of the hospital swinging the infant carrier with the baby in it, with no harness on them.”
Brooks also says keeping infants in their car seats long after you have arrived at your destination causes other problems as well. “We take them from the vehicle, we place them in stroller, and from the stroller into the house, and the doctors are starting to see a lot of cases of infants with little flat heads.”
Physical therapists call it container syndrome. Babies develop weak muscles and flat heads cause by spending too much time on their backs. ‘When not sleeping, lets have a little tummy time so the baby is well developed and not restrained all day long.”
For more information contact Primary Children’s Medical Center at 801-662-cars
