Seat Kids Safe ~ {Giveaway} child car restraints

Giveaway brought to you by NRMA Insurance & Kidsafe Australia -Safety Campaign  -

This is NOT a Child Car restraint review !

Baby Car seats / child car restraints haven’t changed too much since we brought our eldest, adopted son, home as a 13 month old in 1994. We bought the best money could buy for our precious son and the baby shop fitted it.

The laws were not so strict about toddlers and preschoolers, but I was. I think our son was still in the same 5 point harness car seat till he started school at 5 yrs , then he went into a booster. I would not let friends take him for play dates unless they had a child restraint. When I worked we had a child restraint seat for each car.

The laws governing child car restraint have changed a few times over the last few years . While 90% people are aware of the current National laws for keeping 0-7 yr old restrained , their child car restraint seat may be, unintentionally, incorrectly fitted (Yes, some ignore it anyway) .

Last year , 70% of child car restraints inspected by Kidsafe needed an adjustment. I find it hard to believe and shocking that figure is so high. Four months ago we attended a professional check of car seats organised by our local council . We were surprised that we needed to remove the car seat retainer/locking clip. A Locking Clip normally helps ensure proper and effective car seat retention but wasn’t required in our case.

Making sure child restraints are exactly right can be tricky for parents to determine, so why not let Kidsafe do this for you, for free.

Dec 2007

One guy (a local car restraint professional) also said we didn’t need to bother with the restraints after they turned seven (a month ago). I am keeping them restrained as my twins are at only at 10%  (115cm) & 25% (118cm) height percentiles for their age - no where near the recommended 145cm. It is far safer and no trouble to keep them in correctly fitted child restraints, in my opinion.

I have had friends begrudge the money paying for car seat safety checks , even when it is for the safety of their kids. As well as grumbling about paying for new seats after a minor accident. 

A good friend works as a nurse in a busy Sydney Children’s hospital, Accident and Emergency, she was very vocal speaking OUT to our playgroup mums when she heard people talking about putting siblings 'out' of child restraints for a new baby and into booster seats or a seat belt. Tragically, she had seen children lose their lives due to incorrectly fitted seats or an absence of car safety restraints.

Fortunately, we rarely changed vehicles and still own the same car we bought the twins home in. Every time you remove seats or change cars you are advised to have them checked. When the twins were born we also purchased the best available at the time for 0-4 yrs (Given we also wanted them to last as long as safely possible). 

Sept 2011

We've had their child restraint seats professionally checked a few times over the years .The local hospital provided a free service 2-3 times a year to have a professional check car restraints. It was reassuring to drive away with the certainty that my children were seated safe. It took less than 10 mins a seat, for peace of mind for parents or carers .

Simple mistakes such as having the restraint at the incorrect height or a twisted harness may lead to a child being injured. When I was asked Tuesday for my assistance, in the form of a post, to help promote child safety when traveling in cars I was keen to participate.

A team working with NRMA Insurance and Kidsafe Australia have offered free restraint checking days in QLD and NSW . Encourage your friends and get the word out. Their goal is to educate parents and carers through these free restraint checking days.

They need your help in spreading the word to help keep children safe on our roads. Tell your family and friends to help spread the message about these important events to other parents and carers.

Parents can have their child restraints professionally checked and adjusted to make sure their children are seated safely – in just minutes and for free. 

GIVEAWAY

As part of the campaign I have Two child car restraints (rated three stars and above on the Australian Standards Restraint rating site: crep.com.au), as prizes to give away to my readership base:

• 1x 6 months – 4 years rearward/forward facing restraint (Safety 1st) 
• 1x 4 years – 7 years forward facing restraint (Infa-Secure) 

The seats will be delivered to the competition winners (one prize/one seat per winner)

Enter by leaving a comment telling me  ...

How do you keep children happy in the car ?

Terms and Conditions.

1. Only Australian Residents are eligible to enter.
2. Entries not answering the question will be deemed invalid. The winner will be chosen by originality and creative merit, not by chance. Judges decisions are final and no correspondence will be entered into.
3.There will be two winners - one seat per winner , please indicate in comments which seat you would prefer.
4. Entries - Open 8/8/2013 - Close 11.59pm 22/8/2013 AEST. The winners will be notified by email, and posted to mylittledrummerboys.blogspot.com.au after they reply - Winners have 7 days to respond or a new winner will be drawn.
5. The Prize is not transferable, changeable or redeemable for cash.
6. Prizes sent out by PR firm directly will not be replaced in the event that they are stolen, lost or damaged or delayed in transit.
 
7. Subscribe to my blog  to receive MLDB updates.
8. Follow via Facebook or Bloglovin on the sidebar .

All opinions are my own.

The more parents who get their restraints professionally checked, the safer our children will be.

Winners : Katie P -  4 years – 7 years forward facing restraint (Infa-Secure)
Jody - Six Little Hearts  - 6 months – 4 years rearward/forward facing restraint (Safety 1st) 

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