Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths in children ages 14 and younger, yet statistics show that approximately 80 percent of child safety seats are improperly installed.
And it may surprise you to know that children between 40 and 80 pounds and less than 4’9’’ tall should use a booster seat when riding in a motor vehicle, because adult seat belts can cause serious or even fatal injuries if the child is too small.
Dean Foundation has been educating and training Dane County residents on the correct use of child safety seats for more than a decade. Our Every Ride a Safe Ride car seat rental program for infants, toddlers and young children makes car seats available at minimal cost and also provides free car seat inspections. Every year, we educate thousands of children, parents and teachers about passenger safety through presentations at schools, libraries, health fairs, camps, parades, malls, car seat checkpoints and other community events. The costumed character Buckle Bear encourages preschoolers to wear seat belts and teaches them about car safety.
Dean Medical Center also offers the Crash Helmet program, which features a comical yet lovable character who helps older children understand how important it is to wear a bicycle helmet to minimize or prevent serious injury when biking.
For more information about these programs, please call Sherri Faust at 608-827-2327 or send her an e-mail at sherri.faust@deancare.com.
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