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CITY, ND – (NewsDakota.com) 17 children in the Valley City area are riding safer following their participation in a car safety seat checkup sponsored by City/County Health District and the North Dakota Department of Health. 

The checkup was held on Wednesday, June 29th at the Essentia Health parking lot located across from the Valley City Children’s Center.

At the checkup, certified child passenger safety technicians assisted parents in properly installing their car seats and safely securing the child in the seat. Technicians reviewed labels on the car seats to be sure the restraint was appropriate for the child’s age, weight and height and they checked the seats for recalls and expiration dates. 

Technicians then worked with parents and caregivers to install the car seats tightly in the vehicle, using either the seat belt or LATCH system.  Parents were shown how to safely secure the child in the car seat, including appropriate harness slots, chest clip positions and harness adjustments.  

4 seats were rear-facing only (infant) seats; 3 were rear-facing convertibles; 7 were forward-facing and 3 were booster or seat belts.  4 of the 17 had no misuse.  9 had errors related to how the car seat was installed in the vehicle. 

Errors included car seat too loose, tether strap not used or attached to wrong hook, lower anchor hooks upside down, use of both LATCH & seat belt. A child was present in 9 of the seats where we could assess for proper securing.  Of those, 6 had errors, including harness too loose, harnesses threaded wrong or in wrong slots for child.  Several seats had aftermarket accessories that were not approved by the car seat manufacturer. 

The North Dakota Department of Health recommends the following “best practice” guidelines for buckling up children:

Rear-facing until at least age 2.
Forward-facing in a car seat with a harness until the child reaches the harness’s highest weight limit allowed by the manufacturer.  
Boosters – When children have outgrown the harness in their forward-facing seat, they may be moved to a booster.  However, they should be at least 40 pounds and at least four years of age.  Keep the child in the booster until the seat belt fits them correctly – usually about 4’9” tall.
Seat Belt – Children should use a seat belt when it fits over their body correctly.  The lap and shoulder belt should be snug, with the lap belt placed across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt across the shoulder and chest.  Shoulder belts should never be placed behind the back or under the arm.  
Children 12 and under should ride in the back seat.

For more information, contact Sarah Hansen, City-County Health District. 701-845-8518