Parents and Kids Fair - The Montreal Children's Hospital promotes the correct use of children’s car seats

Thursday, March 29, 2012 - 09:50
QUEBEC CITY, March 26, 2012 / CNW Telbec / - From March 29th to April 1st, 2012, the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec(SAAQ) is inviting soon-to-be parents  and parents of young children to attend a seminar entitled "Children’s car seats: how to safely buckle your child up for life!".
 
The 30-minute seminar will be given in collaboration with The Montreal Children's Hospital, and will take place on the Parents and Kids Fair stage at the following times:
 
  • Thursday, March 29th at 12:30 p.m.;
  • Friday, March 30th at 1:30 p.m.;
  • Saturday, March 31st at 1:30 p.m.;
  • Sunday, April 1st at 1:30p.m.
Half of children are not safely buckled into their car seats
 
Each year in Quebec, roughly 1,150 children aged 9 years old or younger die or are injured in motor vehicle incidents. Car seats are the solution to this problem. When properly used, care seats reduce the probability of death and serious injuries by up to 70%. According to a survey conducted by the SAAQ in 2011, as many as half of children are not adequately protected by their car seats due to improper installation. In order to ensure adequate safety, a child should be secured in a car seat, which should be securely fastened to the vehicle seat, and the car seat should correspond to his or her weight and height.

Information kiosk
 
Parents and soon-to-be parents who wish to obtain more personalized information on car seats are invited to pass by the SAAQ’s booth. Ms. Suzanne Sanschagrin and Sylvie Turbide, regional road safety coordinators, will be on hand to review how to properly install a child’s car seat and what safety hazards to look for to ensure adequate passenger protection. They will also be available to answer parents' questions and offer resources for car seat installation verification. The SAAQ hopes to promote road safety for young children on board passenger vehicles.

The Montreal Children's Hospital
 
Lisa Grilli, Trauma Coordinator at The Montreal Children’s Hospital will also be on hand at the SAAQ’s booth at the Parents and Kids Fair. She will explain the possible consequences of improper car seat installation in the event of a motor vehicle incident, which may include head injury. Parents will thus be able to grasp the importance of taking the time to properly install their child’s car seat.