RHINELANDER, Wis (WJFW) – Car seat safety is a top priority for the Oneida County Health Department.
A common misconception that car seats are dependent on a child’s age.
Breanne Vos is a public health nurse with the Oneida County Health Department, and she’s also a certified car seat technician. It’s her job to ensure parents know how to choose the proper car seat for their child, based on height and weight. She says it’s her goal, “To make sure you’re putting them in the correct and safest car seat.”
Vos says, “at minimum, people should follow state regulations, but for best practices, check the manufacturer’s instructions.”
Those instructions are laid out in the owner’s manual of the car seat and can also be found on stickers located on the car seats.
Vos says, “Stickers that actually tell you, the weight and length or height limits for rear-facing and forward-facing. And then some of the car seats actually show you where the shoulder straps are actually supposed to be positioned for your child.”
This information can be confusing, which is why parents and other caring for children can turn to local resources for help. Vos says Oneida County has a program where, “A grant where we’re able to provide car seats to families who aren’t otherwise able to afford one, and we provide education and installation.”
For those who aren’t residents of Oneida County, Children’s Wisconsin has locations throughout Wisconsin and provides education and car seat installation check as well.
Ashley Mahnke is a child passenger safety technician with Children’s Wisconsin. She says, “Parents are really surprised to learn that car seats have expiration dates.”
Expiration dates can be found in the car seat owner’s manual, printed on the base of the seat.
Mahnke continued, “The plastic shell of the car seat and the harness may deteriorate over time and it may affect how the car seat is used or operates during a crash.”
For more information about child safety seats and vehicle safety visit the Safe Kids Wisconsin website here.