Keeping children safe in automobiles was the focus of the Sept. 25 “Seat Check Friday” educational event held at the former National Guard armory in Charleston.
Sponsored each year by the Mississippi State Department of Health, the event highlights September as national Child Passenger Safety Month. This year, the week of Sept. 20-26 was observed as national Child Passenger Safety Week.
In the shop area at the rear of the armory building, officials arranged 50 child safety seats and booster seats that were offered to the public at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis.
From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., participants drove by the shop area to either request a free seat or to have their existing car seat inspected for proper installation and fit.
Parents or other caregivers had to bring their child with them to receive a free seat. MSDH staff on site selected one of the three styles of car seats on hand — infant, high back and booster — that best fit each child. Those staffers also installed the seat in the vehicle.
Some 120 people attended the event, and 42 of 50 available seats were installed, explained Alyshia McAllister, a community health educator with MSDH.
Charleston Mayor Sedrick Smith said he was “proud” that the city could facilitate this opportunity to educate local adults and parents on the proper sizing and installation of child safety seats.
“Having a safety seat properly installed and properly positioned in a car could mean the difference between whether a child dies or is safe” during an accident, the mayor added.
To learn more about child passenger safety or health promotion education and/or activities, contact McAllister at Alyshia.McAllister@msdh.ms.gov.
For more child car seat tips and recommendations, visit the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration at www.nhtsa.gov/therightseat.
Representatives of Safe Kids Worldwide and Diaper Bank of the Delta also were in attendance in Charleston Friday. Safe Kids offered child safety literature while the Diaper Bank gave away diapers, baby wipes and other supplies.
