---
title: The Importance of Car Seat Safety to Prevent Injuries
description: Car seats reduce the risk of death in an accident by 54%. Take the time to master car seat safety.
image: http://www.spinalcord.com/hubfs/theimportanceofcarseatsafety.jpg
---
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# The Importance of Car Seat Safety to Prevent Injuries
Author: [Spinal Cord Team](https://www.spinalcord.com/meet-our-authors)
Publish Date: December 08, 2020
Every new parent has struggled with a car seat, and many report that their car seat battles leaving them questioning their own competence. Don't give up the fight. Those few moments you spend doing battle with a pile of plastic and metal really can save your child's life. [Car accidents](https://www.spinalcord.com/blog/10-startling-car-accident-statistics) are a leading cause of death and [serious injuries](https://www.spinalcord.com/spinal-cord-injury) among small children, but [car seats reduce the risk of death in an accident by 54%](http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/child_passenger_safety/cps-factsheet.html). In 2004, car seats saved 451 lives. One of those 451 could be your child this year, so take the time to master car seat safety and make it your religion.
## **How Car Seats Save Children **
If you have heard it once, you've probably heard it a thousand times: “No one wore car seats in my day, and we all turned out ok.” But anecdote is not data. There are more cars on the road, driving at faster speeds for longer distances, than ever before. This makes the roads of today significantly more dangerous than those of just 20 years ago. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration points to a 67% reduction in the risk of serious injuries when parents put their children in well-fitted car seats.
Your child's body is not as durable as your own. Much of a baby's skeleton is made of soft cartilage that will eventually turn into bone. This makes her more vulnerable to injuries during a crash, particularly since her organs are not as well-protected as those of an adult. Some other factors that make car crashes particularly dangerous for children include:
- Developing brains and spinal cords; brain and spinal cord damage are more dangerous in children, whose brains and bodies are still developing.
- Children's smaller size, which makes it easier for even a relatively light bump to your car to send them flying.
- Children's lower self-control; an adult knows to sit still in his or her seat. But your child may squirm in his car seat or booster seat if he is not properly secured, making him more vulnerable if you get into a crash.
## **Why a Good Car Seat Is Not Enough **
Many parents spend endless months researching their new baby's car seat, only to install it and then completely forget about it for months—or even years. While a good car seat is vital for protecting your child in the event of a crash, it is not enough on its own. Even the best car seats cannot force you to properly install them or buckle your child in, so be sure to check for these common errors:
- A car seat that is either too big or too small for your child, offering less security.
- An improperly positioned car seat; even a secure, quality car seat will offer only limited protection to a newborn in the front seat of the car or who is facing forward.
- A car seat base that is not flush against the seat and securely fastened.
- A car seat that is not fully and securely attached to its base.
- Car seat buckles that are not fully buckled, or that are too loose to provide any real protection.
## **Why Do Parents Incorrectly Use Car Seats (or Not Use Them at all)?**
As with most parenting mistakes, few parents make car seat errors because they want to hurt their children. In most cases, they simply don't understand the severity of the risk they are accepting. But [car accidents](https://www.spinalcord.com/blog/10-startling-car-accident-statistics) are common, and almost everyone will experience one at some point. [There are more than 10 million accidents each year, with 3 in 1,000 producing fatalities. ](http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneybuilder/2011/07/27/how-many-times-will-you-crash-your-car/#5a438c350f99)For children, accidents are even more dangerous, since it takes very little force to send a child flying forward through a windshield.
Some parents are unwilling to fight with their older children over car seats, and tell themselves that an ill-fitting car seat is better than no car seat at all. But in some cases, a car seat that doesn't fit is actually more dangerous, because your child can become trapped in the straps or strangle when she slips downward. Buckle your child every time. Not only is it the law; it is the single most important thing you can do to keep your child safe.
## **Rules for Car Seat Safety **
If you want to do all you can to protect your child from death, serious injury, and trauma after a car crash, follow these simple tips:
- Keep your child in a rear-facing car seat until she is at least 24 months old, or until she exceeds the weight recommended by the seat manufacturer. Keeping your child rear-facing through age three offers even more safety benefits, so don't rush your little one to graduate to a forward-facing seat too quickly.
- Children should remain in a car seat with a harness until age seven.
- Children ages 8-12 will likely need booster seats to remain safe.
- Children should not sit in the front seat until they weigh more than 90 pounds.
- Children should not sit in any seat that has an air bag until they weigh more than 90 pounds, so ask your mechanic about deactivating any rear airbags you have.
- Put car seats in the back seat of the car. The center seat is statistically the safest location, but side seats are acceptable if you have multiple car seats or your middle seat does not have an appropriate buckle.
- The car seat base should be fully secure, and flush against the seat. If it rocks or moves, it is incorrectly installed. ***Your local fire department can help you install the seat.*** Some pediatricians also offer assistance with car seat installation.
- The straps should fit snugly against your child's body, with the buckle flush against your child's chest—not at his stomach or chin. If you can pinch the harness straps together, it's too loose.
- If the seat has two buckles, both must be buckled at all times.
- Your child should not be permitted to move the shoulder strap under her arm or unbuckle a portion of the car seat.
Check online regularly to see if your child's car seat has been recalled, and read car seat reviews before selecting a brand. Remember also that car seats expire six years from the date of manufacture, so a used car seat may be safe, but a car seat from three children ago likely won’t be. Check the label on the car seat for an expiration date. If no such label is visible, don't use it.
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true
### Spinal Cord Injury
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"articleBody" : "The spinal cord is a vital part of the human body. As the vehicle responsible for carrying messages from the brain to the rest of the body and back again, even the smallest interference can be detrimental. Following a traumatic spinal cord injury, this bundle of nerves can become bruised, also known as a contusion. Because of the nature of the nervous system, any interference can constitute a serious spinal contusion, but these facts will help you dissect all of the information from the medical professionals.\n\nWhat Is a Spinal Contusion?
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\nMuch like any other bruise, a contusion can cause bleeding from local blood vessels and inflammation which, rather unlike bruises on other parts of the body, can have serious negative impacts on the spinal cord itself. Because the “blood must clot to stop the bleeding”a bruise results from contusions also increase cardiovascular risks.
\nFor example, the swelling a contusion can cause will often disrupt nerve impulses that travel from the brain to the body through the spinal cord, and the severity of this will depend upon the level of injury. Unlike a concussion, a contusion would not cause unconsciousness or a ‘blackout’, but instead cause the patient to feel a numbness or tingling in the extremities.
\nA contusion can cause spinal compression, which happens when there is pressure on the spinal cord. This can go on to cause an array of physical symptoms such as loss of sensation in the feet, inability to use the hands and loss of sexual ability. It must be noted that not all contusions cause spinal compression, and not all spinal compression is caused by a contusion, although they do often connect this way.
\nWarning Signs of a Serious Spinal Contusion to Watch For
\nFirstly, doctors will try and establish what area or limb the injury has affected. Spinal contusions most often “affect the upper extremities bilaterally and also sometimes involve the lower extremities,” according to Dr. Wong, an orthopedic physician.
\nSymptoms include “numbness, tingling, [or] electric shock-like sensations and burning in the extremities,” (American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2016). Generally falling into the category of “spinal trauma” there are many symptoms which are similar to other forms of spinal trauma and spinal cord injury. Below are some symptoms of spinal trauma:
\n\n- Spinal shock — or the "loss of feeling or movement below site of injury" (Columbia University Medical Centre, 2016) that can last between hours and weeks
\n- Loss of bladder or bowel function
\n- Difficulty breathing
\n- Muscle spasticity
\n- Difficulty understanding speech
\n- Problems with attention
\n- Memory challenges
\n- Heart rate and blood pressure problems
\n
\nUnfortunately, it is sometimes challenging to identify which symptoms are due to a spinal contusion, and which ones are the result of a spinal cord injury directly. It can sometimes require a few days or weeks for the body to recover from spinal trauma and reveal if any permanent damage is left from the accident that caused the SCI.
\nUnderstanding what a contusion is, and how it can come into play following a spinal cord injury is important in order to clearly appreciate your injury, understand your diagnoses, and work toward treatment and a prognosis. Doctors can sometimes use jargon that’s difficult to understand, so the more you can educate yourself about your condition, the more control you can have in your recovery and treatment.
\nIf you still have questions about the details of the spinal cord and how it may be affected from your injury, please contact us or download our guide to understanding a spinal cord injury.",
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"description":"The spinal cord is a vital part of the human body. As the vehicle responsible for carrying messages from the brain to the rest of the body and back again, even the smallest interference can be detrimental. Following a traumatic spinal cord injury, this bundle of nerves can become bruised, also known as a contusion. Because of the nature of the nervous system, any interference can constitute a serious spinal contusion, but these facts will help you dissect all of the information from the medical professionals.
What Is a Spinal Contusion?
Signs-of-a-spinal-contusion-title-image
Much like any other bruise, a contusion can cause bleeding from local blood vessels and inflammation which, rather unlike bruises on other parts of the body, can have serious negative impacts on the spinal cord itself. Because the “blood must clot to stop the bleeding”a bruise results from contusions also increase cardiovascular risks.
For example, the swelling a contusion can cause will often disrupt nerve impulses that travel from the brain to the body through the spinal cord, and the severity of this will depend upon the level of injury. Unlike a concussion, a contusion would not cause unconsciousness or a ‘blackout’, but instead cause the patient to feel a numbness or tingling in the extremities.
A contusion can cause spinal compression, which happens when there is pressure on the spinal cord. This can go on to cause an array of physical symptoms such as loss of sensation in the feet, inability to use the hands and loss of sexual ability. It must be noted that not all contusions cause spinal compression, and not all spinal compression is caused by a contusion, although they do often connect this way.
Warning Signs of a Serious Spinal Contusion to Watch For
Firstly, doctors will try and establish what area or limb the injury has affected. Spinal contusions most often “affect the upper extremities bilaterally and also sometimes involve the lower extremities,” according to Dr. Wong, an orthopedic physician.
Symptoms include “numbness, tingling, [or] electric shock-like sensations and burning in the extremities,” (American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2016). Generally falling into the category of “spinal trauma” there are many symptoms which are similar to other forms of spinal trauma and spinal cord injury. Below are some symptoms of spinal trauma:
Spinal shock — or the loss of feeling or movement below site of injury (Columbia University Medical Centre, 2016) that can last between hours and weeks
Loss of bladder or bowel function
Difficulty breathing
Muscle spasticity
Difficulty understanding speech
Problems with attention
Memory challenges
Heart rate and blood pressure problems
Unfortunately, it is sometimes challenging to identify which symptoms are due to a spinal contusion, and which ones are the result of a spinal cord injury directly. It can sometimes require a few days or weeks for the body to recover from spinal trauma and reveal if any permanent damage is left from the accident that caused the SCI.
Understanding what a contusion is, and how it can come into play following a spinal cord injury is important in order to clearly appreciate your injury, understand your diagnoses, and work toward treatment and a prognosis. Doctors can sometimes use jargon that’s difficult to understand, so the more you can educate yourself about your condition, the more control you can have in your recovery and treatment.
If you still have questions about the details of the spinal cord and how it may be affected from your injury, please contact us or download our guide to understanding a spinal cord injury.",
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"description":"The authors at SpinalCord.com come from diverse backgrounds including doctors, attorneys, medical journalist, and survivors of spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries. Each author brings with them different experiences and expertise which when combined provide clinically accurate information which is useful to all individuals in the spinal cord and traumatic brain injury communities. Within the content you will find citations to medical journals, scientific research, as well as national and local resources to provide immediate support to families in need of assistance. Content is reviewed and updated regularly with changes in the clinical guidelines, new resources, and fresh ways to understand the content such as videos and infographics. ."
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