Mother embarks on booster seat mission

STRAPPING IN: Bonnie Smith puts her six-month-old son Hayden into his carseat.

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When Bonnie Smith took her newborn son home from hospital she faced a problem many first-time parents do. Installing the carseat.

She knew she had to have a seat and that baby had to face the back but she was at a loss as to how to install it.

That encouraged her to become a child passenger safety technician and now she wants to share her knowledge with others.

To keep children safe in cars Ms Smith says there are four basic rules:

First, all babies should be rear-facing until they are at least a year old.

"This reduces the risk of serious neck or spinal cord injury," she says.

"If the child is facing forward the torso is restrained by the harness straps but the head is restrained by nothing and thrust violently forward."

The Manurewa woman says many people put children as young as two years in booster seats.

"Children should remain in a harness of some form until they are at least four.

"The forces are spread more evenly across the body in an accident. But with a three-point belt there is lower risk of ejection from the seat in an accident, and that can be fatal."

Children should be in booster seats until they are 148cm tall. Those moved out of these seats too early are more likely to suffer injuries to the spinal cord, head, liver and spleen in an accident.

If a carseat has a tether strap, used to help anchor the carseat, it is illegal not to use it.

Ms Smith says it's time more information was made available about carseats since most people don't know how to use them properly or why they are important.

"It's really important to let people know to never think of carseats as baby seats.

"They should be thought of as an extension of the car, used to keep your child as safe as possible.

"Cars are built for adults, not children, so we need to use carseats for them until they are big enough to go without."

- © Fairfax NZ News