The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that car seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by 71% for infants and by 54% for toddlers in passenger cars. That’s why Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital (JHACH) staff members are collaborating with community organizations to teach caregivers about car seat safety and help reduce motor vehicle-related injuries and deaths in children.

“Our hope is always that the caregivers will never need us again, and can use the car seat correctly on their own,” says Petra Vybiralova Stanton, JHACH’s injury prevention program manager. “If they are ever in doubt, they should have their car seat rechecked. We are here if they need us.”

Anyone with a car seat can attend a safety training class. It is a 30-minute weekly class held at JHACH’s main campus and the Panda Cares Center of Hope resource center. Classes are also held monthly at local fire departments and outpatient centers.

Stanton says child passenger safety technicians are certified and must complete continuing education classes every two years.

“Attending continuing education classes is important because the car seats and vehicles change constantly,” Stanton says.

Stanton says watching the caregivers become empowered with the knowledge is so rewarding.

“I love it when the light bulb goes off for the families!” Stanton says.

Adam Chrisman, a fire inspector at Cedar Hammock Fire Rescue, is a member of Safe Kids Florida Suncoast. Safe Kids is a coalition of health and safety experts from various backgrounds working to decrease preventable childhood injuries in the Tampa Bay area. Led by a Johns Hopkins All Children’s team, the coalition serves five counties in the Tampa Bay area: Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Sarasota and Manatee. Each county elects officers who annually review childhood injury data to develop strategies to combat specific childhood injuries. 

Chrisman became a certified child passenger safety technician in 2009. He teaches car seat safety classes monthly at his fire department and coordinates classes at various fire departments and community organizations. Chrisman says there is a sign-up page for caregivers on JHACH’s website.

Chrisman says the class includes a video that covers car seat safety for all ages. Then, the child passenger safety technician demonstrates how to install a car seat correctly and helps caregivers get familiar with all the parts. Next, the caregivers put the car seat in themselves to ensure they understand.

“Our goal is not to install the car seat for the caregiver,” Chrisman says. “Our goal is to have them do it so they can feel comfortable. They can always come back for help, but we want them to have the knowledge.”

Chrisman says child passenger safety is one of the top injury concerns for kids. He has seen firsthand what happens when a car seat is not attached to the car during an accident.

“Caregivers don’t know what they don’t know,” he says. “The information needs to come from people they trust. I greatly appreciate Johns Hopkins’ work supporting our Safe Kids coalition. Without their support, we couldn’t do as much as we do.”

JHACH occupational therapist Laura Francis is a certified child passenger safety technician. Through the Wheelchair/Equipment Clinic, she evaluates children with various disabilities and recommends the best car seats for them. Then, she assists the caregivers as to how to put it in their car.

“You see the relief in caregivers’ faces when the children are correctly seated, and they know that they’re safe,” Francis says. “We’re helping them to transport the children safely wherever they need to go.”

Francis says there is a wide variety of adaptive car seats. There are often more features than in an off-the-shelf car seat.

“It’s a little more complicated than a typical seat,” Francis says. “There are different harnessing systems and different headrests. Two-step safety harnesses also help ensure children with poor safety awareness stay in their seats.”

Tara Paustian, the family resource center coordinator of JHACH’s Panda Cares Center of Hope, says classes are held once a week in the center.

“After caregivers participate in the class, they feel more confident that their child will be safe,” Paustian says. “Putting a car seat in seems easy, but it’s essential to do it properly and ensure it is secure. It’s crucial to get the message out there. We need to ensure that all kids are in the proper seats to be safe.”

Learn more about car seat safety classes.