Keep children safe in vehicles

  • Published
  • By Jenni Osborne
  • Health And Wellness Center
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  We've all seen articles with information like "Clifford Palmer, age 4, died when he was thrown from his father's car as it overturned"; "A 4-year-old boy injured in a car accident along with his mother and brother has died from his injuries" or "A 7-year-old was killed in a vehicle accident on LaGrange Road Friday."

These are actual excerpts taken from articles on children's deaths, not from the past year, but only for April 2008 and only in our country.

The saddest part is the comment that read "The State Patrol said seat belts and car seats may have made a lifesaving difference in the crash."

Pediatrician Steven Parker states "Nothing - repeat nothing - is more likely to cause your child to die than a motor vehicle accident."

Improperly fitting seat belts (most commonly seen at age 4-8 years) greatly increase the risk of intra-abdominal, spinal cord and vertebral injuries during an accident. The reason is that the seat belts tend to ride on the belly and not the hips (booster seats correct this). In case of an accident, serious injury to the abdominal organs or spine is more likely to occur.

Eielson has several Nationally Certified Child Safety Technicians that are available to help you learn more about car seats, not only for your infant, but for all children under 4'9" tall. Appointments are available through the Health and Wellness Center (HAWC) for the second Wednesday of every month. Please call 377-6662 to set up an appointment. If you would like to have one of our Techs give a presentation to your group, again, you can call the HAWC or e-mail us at hawc@eielson.af.mil.  

We would like to see more articles that say, "a child who was strapped into a safety seat in the back seat of the Blazer ...has been released from the hospital." Don't wait until someone you love is hurt before you learn the safest way for your children to travel. Call us, we are here to help.