A‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ student post this as a discussion post, please reply with

A‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍ student post this as a discussion post, please reply with 1 reference. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of pediatric injury, death, and disability. Each year over 5,000 children die as a result of a motor vehicle accident (Garzon Maaks, 2020). The best way to modify child motor vehicle accident outcomes is through the use of child vehicle restraint. As primary care providers, it’s important to educate parents, children, and teen drivers. When educating teen drivers, it’s important to discuss distraction, substance use, risk-taking behaviors, and relative driving inexperience (p.336). Passenger restraint systems include car seats, booster seats, and seatbelts. Following the CDC guidelines to ensure children are properly buckled for their appropriate age, height, and weight. For children birth until two to four years of age: infants and toddlers need to be buckled in a rear-facing car seat, with a harness, in the back seat of the vehicle, until they reach the maximum weight/height limit of their car seat. Doing so offers the best possible protection. Also, check the car seat manual and labels on the car seat for weight/height limits. It’s important never to place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat. If children are in the front seat there is an increased risk especially with airbags that can injure or kill young children (CDC, 2021). Forward-facing car seat: Once the child outgrows their rear-facing car seat, the next step is to move them into the forward-facing car seat. Again, it’s important to follow the recommendations/guidelines of the CDC and car seat manual. Forward-f‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍acing car seats still need to be harnessed in the back seat (CDC, 2021). Booster seat: Children that outgrow the forward-facing car seat, then need to be buckled in a belt-positioning booster seat with a seat belt, in the back seat, until the seat belt fits properly without a booster seat (CDC, 2021). Seat belt: when determining when a child no longer needs a booster seat; the seat belt needs to fit properly. The lap belt goes across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt is across the center of the shoulder and chest (not on the neck/face or off the shoulder). The use of a seat belt without a booster seat typically does not occur until between nine and twelve years of age (CDC, 2021). When it comes to properly installing car seats/booster seats; there are common mistakes that parents may make. In the hospital that I work at, upon discharge of a newborn the nurse discusses car seat safety and make sure parents properly place the newborn in the car seat prior to leaving the hospital. Also, parents can present to the local fire department to make sure their car seats are properly installed. Common mistakes in installing or using child safety seats include the following: Safety belt not holding the seat in tightly and/or not in locked mode Harness straps not snug and/or routed correctly Harness retainer clip not at armpit level Locking clip not used correctly Car seat recalled and not repaired (includes booster seats) Infants placed rear-facing in front of an active airbag Children turned forward-facing before reaching 2 years of age and 20 pounds (Stanford Children’s Hea‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍lth, 2021).