Buckle Up for Life Releases New Holiday Traditions for Child Passenger Safety
National Injury Prevention Program from Cincinnati Children’s and
Toyota Helps Protect Children During Busiest Travel Season of the Year
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Every family has their own holiday traditions – it’s one of the reasons
this time of year is so special. On the cusp of the busiest travel
season of the year, Buckle
Up for Life, the national injury prevention program from
Cincinnati Children’s and Toyota, is releasing “New Holiday Traditions
for Child Passenger Safety” to help keep kids safe this holiday season
and beyond.
According to AAA, nearly 42 million Americans will take a holiday road
trip this Thanksgiving. Millions more will hit the road between then and
the New Year. While cars and trucks are safer than ever, crashes are
still the leading cause of death for children. Car seats can prevent or
greatly reduce injuries in the event of a crash, but they must be
installed properly – an alarming three out of four are not.
“Whether you’re traveling far this holiday season or staying local, no
trip with small children is complete without a properly installed car
seat,” said Gloria Del Castillo, child passenger safety expert at
Cincinnati Children’s and senior outreach specialist for Buckle Up
for Life. “Our goal with these traditions is to offer simple
ways to make child passenger safety a part of every family’s routine –
during the holidays and throughout the year.”
Buckle Up for Life’s New Holiday
Traditions for Child Passenger Safety
-
Make it a family affair. The holidays are a wonderful time to
gather with family near and far. However, older generations may have
had different approaches to keeping kids safe in cars. If relatives
help chauffeur children, make sure everyone understands the latest
practices for car seats, booster seats and seat belts. -
Ban re-gifting. It may be tempting to accept a used car seat,
but this is one item that should never be re-gifted. It’s not bad
manners – it’s safety. You can’t necessarily know the history of the
seat and a past crash or even normal wear-and-tear may have
compromised its ability to protect your little one. -
Remember that car seats expire, just like Thanksgiving leftovers. Many
families are surprised to learn that car seats – like food – have a
shelf life and must be replaced. Establish a new habit this year: when
you clean out your refrigerator after Thanksgiving, check the
expiration date on your car seat too. -
Booster seats – they aren’t just for the holiday table. We all
know booster seats can help young children enjoy special meals this
time of year with the rest of the family. But don’t forget about
booster seats for your car – all year round. Children under 4’9”
should always sit in these special seats, which raise them up so that
seat belts can protect them correctly. -
Look forward to the New Year, but make sure young children look
back. This is one of the most common questions that perplexes
parents and caregivers – when do I turn the car seat around to face
forward? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children
remain in rear-facing car seats until age two,
or until they exceed the height or weight limit for the car seat.
“We know the holidays are a happy – and hectic – time, especially when
traveling with children,” said Jennifer Pelky, vehicle safety engineer
at Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America and
certified child passenger safety technician. “We want all families to
embrace these traditions and make child passenger safety a habit this
holiday season and year-round.”
For additional child passenger safety tips and advice, including
animated car seat installation videos, visit BuckleUpforLife.org
or follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@BuckleUpforLife).
About Buckle Up For Life
Buckle Up for Life is a national injury prevention program for
families, created by Toyota and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical
Center in 2004, to help keep child passengers safe. The program teaches
parents and children about the proper use of car seats and seat belts
and provides free car seats to families in need. Through partnerships
with the leading pediatric hospitals in the country, Buckle Up for
Life has reached more than 23,000 people in 14 cities, including New
York, Memphis, Phoenix, Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Las Vegas, Los
Angeles, Philadelphia, Orange County, and San Antonio – and expands to
new cities each year. In one city alone, the program nearly tripled the
use of proper car seats in participating families. Toyota has provided
funding for over 40,000 car seats for families in need.
About Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center ranks third in the nation
among all Honor Roll hospitals in U.S. News & World Report’s
2015 Best Children’s Hospitals. It is also ranked in the top 10 for all
10 pediatric specialties. Cincinnati Children’s, a non-profit
organization, is one of the top three recipients of pediatric research
grants from the National Institutes of Health, and a research and
teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.
The medical center is internationally recognized for improving child
health and transforming delivery of care through fully integrated,
globally recognized research, education and innovation. Additional
information can be found at www.cincinnatichildrens.org.
Connect on the Cincinnati
Children’s blog, via Facebook
and on Twitter.
About Toyota
Toyota (NYSE:TM), the world’s top automaker and creator of the Prius, is
committed to building vehicles for the way people live through our
Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands. Over the past 50 years, we’ve built more
than 25 million cars and trucks in North America, where we operate 14
manufacturing plants (10 in the U.S.) and directly employ more than
40,000 people (more than 32,000 in the U.S.). Our 1,800 North American
dealerships (1,500 in the U.S.) sold more than 2.5 million cars and
trucks (more than 2.2 million in the U.S.) in 2013 – and about 80
percent of all Toyota vehicles sold over the past 20 years are still on
the road today.
Toyota partners with philanthropic organizations across the country,
with a focus on education, safety and the environment. As part of this
commitment, we share the company’s extensive know-how garnered from
building great cars and trucks to help community organizations and other
nonprofits expand their ability to do good. For more information about
Toyota, visit www.toyotanewsroom.com.
Contacts
for Buckle Up For Life
Amy Schultz, 646-805-2825
Amy.Schultz@finsbury.com
