Halifax, NS—September 19-25 is Child Passenger Safety Week (CPSW) in Atlantic Canada. This week is an opportunity to highlight the importance of safely transporting children, as motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and serious injury for children in Canada. This year, Child Safety Link is launching new videos to help families find car seat and booster seat information in an accessible way.
This new suite of resources offers videos as well as posters and print resources in 9 languages: English, French, Mi’kmaq, Arabic, Nepalese, Mandarin Chinese, Somali, Swahili and Tigrinya.
The video: “Is Your Child in the Right Seat,” walks the viewer through each of the stages of car seats and booster seats, from the first ride home with a new baby, to determining when a child can safely use the adult seat belt.
Additional resources were developed including multilingual posters and a “How-to guide” to support community partners in providing child passenger safety information to families. Packages have been mailed out to family resource centres and First Nations health centres across Atlantic Canada to support their injury prevention work.
Tyro Setlhong, diversity and inclusion coordinator at IWK Health explains: “Although unintentional injuries on the road can affect all families; some families face additional barriers to accessing information about car seats including literacy or language barriers. Providing accessible resources that reflect the diverse needs of families in Atlantic Canada helps us to meet the inclusion and equity goals of IWK Health.“
“Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death in children,” explains Katherine Hutka of Child Safety Link (CSL). “When used correctly, car seats and booster seats reduce the risk of fatal injury by up to 71%. We know that families need support to better understand which seats to use and how to use them to keep their children safe.”
Dr. Annette Elliott Rose, IWK Vice President, Clinical Care & Chief Nurse Executive explains:
“We want every family to have access to information to help them choose and use the right seat for their child at every age and stage. With the support of our community partners, families will now have better access to this information in multiple languages.”
As part of Child Passenger Safety Week 2021, Child Safety Link will be sharing these videos as well as additional information on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube each day.
Parents and caregivers are invited to visit www.childsafetylink.ca to find child passenger safety information for every age and stage of child, including helpful fact sheets on every stage of car seat, checklists and instructional videos.
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Media contact:
Becky Chapman
IWK Communications & Public Affairs
rebecca.chapman@iwk.nshealth.ca
Katherine Hutka
Health Promotion Specialist - Child Safety Link
Phone: (902) 470-7324
Email: Katherine.hutka@iwk.nshealth.ca
About IWK Health: IWK Health is the Maritime region's leading health care and research centre dedicated to the well-being of women, children, youth and families. In addition to providing highly specialized and complex care, the IWK provides certain primary care services and is a strong advocate for the health of families. The IWK is a global leader in research and knowledge sharing, and a partner in educating the next generation of health professionals. Visit www.iwk.nshealth.ca for more information.
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