Programs: Child Passenger Safety >> Parents and Care Givers

Safe Kids Sonoma County provides opportunities to help parents and caregivers learn about safety in and around cars. Safety seat instruction manuals can be difficult to understand and follow. See the links below for information on how to select a car seat and install it properly.

Motor vehicle crashes are not the only child passenger safety issue. In 2006, KIDS AND CARS reported 568 incidents where children were left unattended in or around motor vehicles. These incidents involved 696 children and 205 of the children died.

Forty-nine percent of the deaths were from back-over's, when drivers do not see a child behind their cars. Twenty-three percent were from heat stroke after being left alone in a car or by a child getting in the car and not being able to get out. Eight percent of the deaths were caused by an unattended child setting the car in motion.

Please see the safety information section to learn more about how to prevent these tragedies.

Events

• Child Car Seat Safety classes,sponsored by Safe Kids Sonoma County, are offered once a month at Kaiser Permanente. The two-hour classes target soon-to-be parents. Parents learn about crash dynamics, child passenger safety laws, and how to select the appropriate child safety seat and properly install it.

Safe Kids Child Car Seat class flier

NOTE: The California Parenting Institute also offers car seat classes twice per month (one in English, one in Spanish). The two-hour classes cost $20, but qualifying families from low-income households can receive a voucher for a free car seat.

California Parenting Institute class flier

• Car seat check up events are held by Safe Kids Sonoma County partners about four times per year in the county. Parents sign up for an appointment with a certified car seat technician and learn how to install their child’s car seat properly. Often, free car seats are available for low-income families attending the event.

• Child Passenger Safety resources are available throughout Sonoma County. The following document show all of the places in the county where parents can make appointments to get their child’s car seat checked, as well as car seat education and distribution programs.

  Child Passenger Safety Resource Sheet-bilingual
  

• Health fairs provide the opportunity for Safe Kids Sonoma County to be a visible resource for parents. At these events, we distribute child passenger safety information and educate parents on child safety in and around cars.

Legislation and Policies

Safe Kids Sonoma County advocates for legislation and policies that help keep children safe. Currently we are working to strengthen the booster seat law. For more information, click on the links below:

• Booster seat Laws
• Proposed Legislation
• Link to 5-step test for booster seat safety

Hospital policy

All infants discharged from the hospital are required to have a car seat.

Documents

See our Resources section for a list of helpful documents on child car safety.