Safety Survey Has Good News/Bad News About Kids' Seats
11 October 2000
Nissan Quest for Safety Survey Finds Parents Take Child Seat Safety Seriously But Struggle with Proper Seat Usage
Heidi Murkoff, Co-Author of the Best Selling What to Expect Series, Offers
Advice on Car Seat Safety
GARDENA, Calif. - A new national survey of parents and caregivers conducted
by Nissan North America's car seat safety program, Quest for Safety, finds
that while 94% of parents with children 8 years of age or younger believe that
having children ride in a child safety seat is essential or very important, a
vast majority of the parents do not know the proper use or installation of the
child safety or booster seats.
Specific findings include:
* Fifty-three percent of parents do not know when a child should be
placed in a booster seat. Booster seats are for children about 40-80
pounds who have outgrown their child safety seats but are still too
small to properly use the vehicle's seat belt alone.
* Over half of parents believe that age is the primary factor in
determining proper selection of a child safety seat. Weight and height
are equally important when determining which seat is best for a child.
* One in three respondents do not know when a child should be "graduated"
out of a rear-facing safety seat. A child should remain in a rear-
facing safety seat until they are at least 20 pounds and one year old.
"Nissan takes vehicle safety seriously, and child seat safety is one of
our highest priorities. The results of the Nissan survey demonstrate the need
for parents and caregivers to increase their knowledge of child seat safety.
That's what our Quest for Safety program is all about," said Debra Sanchez
Fair, vice president corporate communications, Nissan North America, Inc.
Fortunately parents can educate themselves through informational campaigns
such as Quest for Safety and improve their child seat safety and booster seat
record. Heidi Murkoff, co-author of the best-selling series of parenting
guides that include What to Expect When You're Expecting and What to Expect
the Toddler Years, offers the following five tips for parents, to get them
back on track if they let child seat safety slip in the interest of
convenience or simply because they didn't know proper usage:
1. Acknowledge your mistakes. Don't suddenly change the rules without
explaining why and how.
2. Defer to a higher authority. Sometimes a benevolent voice of
authority -- a doctor, a teacher or a policeman can state the case for
safety more effectively.
3. Put your child in charge. Even a young toddler can be appointed the
"Safety-Belt Monitor," responsible for reminding everyone in the car
about the new rules and to "buckle up for safety."
4. Play up the positives. A booster or child seat will actually make the
ride more comfortable.
5. Make it fun. Sing a special car seat song or recite a special rhyme
every time you buckle up a child. Bring along safe diversions, such
as sing-along music and soft toys. Having "control" over the buckling
in of a toy or stuffed animal may also make a child more amenable to
his own buckling.
"While there is a greater awareness of child seat safety than in the past,
we can all do a better job. That's why I have teamed up with Nissan and their
Quest for Safety program, to give parents the information they need to help
keep kids safe," said Heidi Murkoff. "There are some things in life that are
non-negotiable, and the use of appropriate safety restraints tops the list".
The Nissan findings were obtained in a telephone survey, conducted August
18-23, 2000, as parents prepared for the start of the school year. A total of
1000 interviews were conducted with a margin of error of +/ -3.1% at the 95%
level of confidence interval. For the 207 parents with children under the age
eight, the margin of error is 6.8%. Strategy One, a research and polling
organization, conducted the study.
About "Quest for Safety"
Quest for Safety is conducted in partnership with the authors of the best-
selling What to Expect(TM) parenting books. Central to the campaign is the
free booklet, The What to Expect Guide to Car Seat Safety. The booklet is
available in both English and Spanish, and offers simple, step-by-step
instructions for parents. It answers questions parents commonly ask; from
when to switch to a front-facing seat, to what to do if a child resists
buckling up, to how long a child should stay in a booster seat.
During the past four years of Quest for Safety, Nissan has distributed
more than one million booklets to parents and caregivers nationwide. Any
person interested in receiving a free copy of The What to Expect Guide to Car
Seat Safety may call the Nissan Quest for Safety Helpline at 800-955-4500.
The What To Expect Foundation provides education and support so that
disadvantaged families can expect healthy pregnancies, safe deliveries and
happy babies.
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling,
engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing,
distribution and manufacturing.