Car seat safety
Discipline: – Nursing
Type of service: Essay
Spacing: Double spacing
Paper format: APA
Number of pages: 1 page
Number of sources: 1 source
Paper details:
I just needed a response to the post added below. I also included the instructor’s directions on responses. thank you.
Response #1
Response adds more information, resources and/or experiences to the discussion, as well as asks questions and/or digs deeper into the discussion. Uses additional references beyond initial post. Response made on different day than initial post or other response(s) and within allotted time frame.
Below is another students post which I need a response to, thanks.
Car seat safety is an important issue that needs to be talked about in our communities, as motor vehicle accidents are common today. According to Whitehead, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death amongst pregnant women (Whitehead, 2013). Fetal death from motor vehicle accidents occurs due to placental abruption or commonly from maternal death (Whitehead, 2013). According to the California Highway Patrol, it is recommended that children less than 2 years of age ride in a rear-facing car set, unless the child is greater than 40 inches tall or weighs more than 40 pounds. It is also recommended that children less than 8 years of age sit in a booster seat in the back seat of a vehicle (Child Safety Seats, n.d.). Once a child reaches the minimum height of 4’9’’ they do not need to ride in a booster seat and only require a seat belt (Child Safety Seats, n.d.). Rear-facing car seats are known for preventing serious injury from motor vehicle accidents in infants (Thornton et al., 2017).
As public health nurses we need to educate parents on the importance of utilizing rear facing car seats as well as booster seats. Some parents may not know why their child should be facing the rear of the vehicle or that they should be in a booster seat afterwards. There may be cultural or language barriers and may not even read or understand the instructions that come with the actual car seat. It is also important to make sure that they know how to properly install them. Usually upon discharge after delivering a baby, most hospitals will inspect the car seat as well as to ensure that the parents know how to properly install it in the vehicle. Public health nurses should visit family or pediatric clinics and educate parents and teach them or provide them with handouts or brochures on car seat safety and the state laws.
Those that need to be at the table would be the parents first and foremost. The parents are the ones who care for these children on a daily basis and need to be able to identify how to use their child’s car seat and the rules and regulations for them. If parents do not know the importance of using a car seat or how to use them, they are putting their child’s life at risk. I do not think that there are ethical considerations to be considered for this topic as car seats are the gold standard and legally are supposed to be used when children are in vehicles.
Child Safety Seats. (n.d.). Retrieved September 17, 2018, from https://www.chp.ca.gov/programs-services/programs/child-safety-seats
Thornton, J. D., Deb, A., Murray, P. J., & Kelly, K. M. (2017). Car Seat Safety: Typologies of Protective Health and Safety Behaviors for Mothers in West Virginia. Maternal And Child Health Journal, 21(2), 326-334. doi:10.1007/s10995-016-2117-7
Whitehead, N. (2013). Prenatal Counseling on Seat Belt Use and Crash-Related Medical Care. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 17(9), 1527-1532. doi:10.1007/s10995-011-0861-2
