Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Aiming to help parents learn how to correctly install their child’s car seat, East Windsor Township officials have arranged for several sessions to show them how to do it.
Parents can attend informational sessions on June 14, July 22 and Sept. 14 at the Police Department and Municipal Court building on One Mile Road, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
A fourth session will be held Aug. 1 in conjunction with the township’s celebration of National Night Out at the East Windsor PAL headquarters on Airport Road.
“It is important to install (car child safety seats) correctly,” Mayor Janice Mironov said at Tuesday night’s Township Council meeting.
As many as three-quarters of car child safety seats are improperly installed, Mayor Mironov said.
“I think parents will get an opportunity out of it,” Councilman John Zoller said of the pending sessions. “There is a right way to install it, but so many people do it the wrong way.”
Councilman Perry Shapiro suggested distributing fliers to publicize the four sessions.
Under state law, children who are under 8 years old and less than 57 inches tall must be placed in a child safety seat in the back seat of the car. There are different standards, depending on the child’s age and weight.
Children under 2 years old and weighing less than 30 pounds must sit in a rear-facing car seat that has a 5-point harness. As the child grows – both in age and in weight – he or she may be placed in a forward-facing car seat and ultimately in a booster seat.
Upon reaching 8 years old and 57 inches tall, a child may sit in the car and be secured by a seat belt. A child safety car seat is no longer needed.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death of children over the age of six months in the United States, according to the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety.
