Once you have welcomed your child into the world, and you’re all set to leave the hospital, the journey begins - and it really is a learning curve.
One of the most important and basic skills to get right early on is installing your baby’s car seat correctly, but it seems that specific training may be required to help new parents get this right.
This certainly seems to be the case, if a study by experts from the Oregon Health and Science University is anything to go by.
According to the team, recent research showed that 95% of parents make at least one mistake when installing their child’s car seats. Even more worrying is the fact that 91% of these errors were deemed ‘serious’.
Given how correct car seat installation and safety can potentially save a child’s life, this is a very alarming finding.
As part of the study, the team looked at data from 291 families discharged from hospital with healthy newborns, between 2013 and 2014. The parents were asked to install their car seats and place their babies inside, and qualified technicians then came and assessed their efforts.
With the majority making at least one error, the most common mistakes included loose harnesses and incorrect reclining angle.
Considering that 15% of the parents had been shown what to do by the technicians beforehand, and 83% of that group still made at least one mistake, it’s clear that a new approach to teaching parents about car seat safety is required.
Indeed, research leader Dr Benjamin Hoffman is now calling for a programme whereby every new parent is shown how to fit a car seat by a certified expert in the field.
“Car safety seats are much more difficult to use correctly than they should be…Vehicle and car seat manufacturers must work together to develop systems that are easier for consumers to use and understand,” observed Dr Hoffman.
For information on car seat safety, check out this link.
