Free Car Seat Safety Clinic Wednesday at Uptown Fire Station

There is not a parent among us who would intentionally place their precious child in a dangerous situation.  However, hundreds of parents right here in Butte are placing their kids in danger every time they strap them into an improperly installed child safety seat.  It kind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

According to safekids.org, road injuries rank as one of the leading causes of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States.  While this is a horrifying fact, they have also found that correctly used child safety seats can reduce the risk of death by more than 70%, but more than half of child safety seats that are in use are not installed correctly.

WHAT IS A PARENT TO DO?

Safekids.com tells us that there are 4 things you need to know about car seats:

• BUY THE RIGHT CAR SEAT.  And make sure it is a backwards facing seat until your baby is at least 2 years old.
• INSTALL YOUR SEAT CORRECTLY.  Know whether to use the seat anchors or seat belt.  Know how both function.
• GET THE RIGHT FIT.  A properly fit harness can increase your child's safety significantly.
• KNOW WHEN TO CHANGE SEATS.  Know the heighth and weight limits for your child's safety seats.

This certainly is a lot to take in, especially for new Moms and Dads, but there is help out there.  Wednesday afternoon there will be a free child safety seat safety clinic at the Uptown Fire Station.

The clinic will last from 11am until 1pm and will be on a first-come, first-served basis.