The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children face rear in their car seats until they're 2 years old, or until they exceed the height/weight limit of the car seat. Parents for years have been told and retold this recommendation. Most have followed it, keeping their children as safe as possible in this highly mobile society. Unfortunately, some will disregard the warning, saying the regulation is overzealous, over thought, and takes a lot of extra time for no reason.
The Internet is full of stories of parents that didn't buckle their children correctly with devastating results. It seems like that would be enough warning, right? Until you become the parent with the devastation, it seems hard to imagine what they're going through.
A mother named Holly had no idea she'd been placing her child, Cameron, in the car seat wrong. "I was that mom that would share pictures like the one above on social media sites and never was corrected," she writes on her blog. "I was that mom that would allow friends and family to take my children places and assumed they were safe in the car. I was that mom that would put hundreds of miles on the car without a care in the world assuming everything was perfect..."
In 2014, Holly and Cameron's life took a devastating turn. Her son Cameron was just under a year old when her now ex-boyfriend ran a stop sign. Cameron was ejected through the windshield; he was facing the wrong way in his car seat and was improperly buckled. Cameron was pronounced dead in the road's ditch, but was resuscitated and spent 16 days in the ICU, having 8 surgeries in the first three days. It was all for nothing, however, as he passed away the day after Mother's Day. Holly is now using her story to help other parents avoid making the same mistake.
Regulations for safety devices are sometimes a hassle. Granted, there are times when it seems like the people using the device aren't the ones making the rules, but there has to be at least a little trust that the additional protection is there for a reason.
Take the extra time to buckle your child correctly and adhere to any other safety precautions. No one who has lost a child has thought back and said, "well, at least I saved a few seconds."
Burnett Legal Group represent injured victims of car accidents in Nebraska and Western Iowa. If you or someone you love has been injured or you have questions or need legal representation, Call Burnett Legal Group at (402) 810-8611 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation.