Back Seat Drivers Wanted--Must Be under the Age of 13; State Farm(R) and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia(R) Encourage Parents to Celebrate Their Children's Vehicle Safety Milestones--From the Child Seat to the Driver's Seat.BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- As children graduate from crawling to walking, from highchair to dining room chair, and from tricycle to bicycle bicycle, light, two-wheeled vehicle driven by pedals. The name velocipede is often given to early forms of the bicycle and to its predecessor, the dandy horse, a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrust of the rider's feet upon the ground. , parents celebrate as each milestone is reached. However, in the case of vehicle safety milestones, parents may miss them, or graduate their children too soon. Early graduation Graduation is the action of receiving or conferring an academic degree or the associated ceremony. The date of event is often called degree day. The event itself is also called commencement, convocation or invocation. can put a child's safety at risk. State Farm(R) and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the largest and oldest children's hospitals in the world. "CHOP" has been ranked as the best children's hospital in the United States by U.S. News & World Report and Child Magazine in recent years. (R) know that vehicle crashes can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. So to help keep kids safe from the child seat to the driver's seat driv·er's seat n. A position of control or authority. , they encourage parents to consider graduation season as a time to evaluate and decide if their children are ready to move to the next vehicle safety milestone. "This is an exciting time of year for many families as children hit milestone moments at schools," said Flaura Winston, M.D., Ph.D., pediatrician pe·di·a·tri·cian or pe·di·at·rist n. A specialist in pediatrics. and crash injury researcher, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "State Farm and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia remind parents that as children mark their next level of independence, they also face different dangers in their larger worlds." Good Neighbor Safety Commitment "Child passenger safety is a serious issue and in our effort to continue our education campaign, State Farm hopes to add a little kid-friendly fun by encouraging parents to celebrate vehicle safety-related milestones," says Susan Hood, claims vice president, State Farm. "In turn, these celebrations will make a lasting impression that will help shape the habits of our future drivers and ultimately make the roads safer for everyone." Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children older than the age of one, and many of these unnecessary injuries and deaths can be prevented through the use of age- and size-appropriate restraints and rear seating for children less than 13 years. In order to protect children as they grow, State Farm and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia recommend that parents evaluate and enforce their children's safety restraint needs at the following milestones:
-- Preschool (approximately 3 - 5 years old) --
-- If the child is under 4 years old and weighs less than
40 pounds, he/she should ride in a child safety seat
that has a 5-point harness system. At 40 pounds, move
him/her from a forward-facing child safety seat to a
belt-positioning booster seat. The lap belt should
rest comfortably below the hip bones, and the shoulder
belt should be snug, and cross the center of the
child's shoulder. The child should remain in the
booster seat until he/she is about 8 years old or 4'9"
tall.
-- Elementary School (approximately 5 - 11 years old) --
-- If the child is under 8 years old and under 4'9" tall,
he/she should remain in a booster seat using a
lap-and-shoulder seat belt. If the child is older than
8 years old and over 4'9" tall, move him/her from the
booster seat to a vehicle lap-and-shoulder seat belt
in the back seat.
-- Middle School (approximately 11-14 years old) --
-- All children should remain in the back seat until the
age of 13.
-- High School (approximately 14-18 years old) --
-- It is generally appropriate for teens to ride up front,
but only if they are using lap and shoulder seat belts
correctly. Whether the teen is a driver or passenger,
he/she must use proper safety restraints at all times.
Parental Influence Paves Way for Lifetime of Vehicle Safety Habits Parents play a critical role in shaping behavior and forming good habits good habit Healthy habit Clinical medicine A behavior that is beneficial to one's physical or mental health, often linked to a high level of discipline and self-control Examples Regular exercise, consumption of alcohol in moderation–if at all, a properly . First, parents must make child passenger safety practices non-negotiable Non-Negotiable 1. A term relating to the price of a good or security which is firmly established and cannot be adjusted. 2. A term relating to a good or security whose ownership is not easily transferable from one party to another. Notes: 1. . Second, parents must demonstrate proper safety habits by always buckling buckling Mode of failure under compression of a structural component that is thin (see shell structure) or much longer than wide (e.g., post, column, leg bone). Leonhard Euler first worked out in 1757 the theory of why such members buckle. up themselves since children tend to mimic the behaviors of those closest to them. Lastly, positive reinforcement positive reinforcement, n a technique used to encourage a desirable behavior. Also called positive feedback, in which the patient or subject receives encouraging and favorable communication from another person. promotes positive behaviors. Everyone, especially children, appreciate recognition for their accomplishments. In fact, it's a sure-fire way to guarantee repeat positive behavior. State Farm and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia provide these tips to help parents celebrate their children's graduations from one safety-related milestone to the next:
-- Show the Way - to help children understand what safe behavior
is, parents should explain vehicle safety practices to kids
and then demonstrate them. For example, congratulate children
when they get into their safety seat and explain why they need
to wear restraints and how it protects them.
-- Be a Role Model - as parents put on their seat belts, they
should make kids aware that they also use safe travel
behavior, every trip, every time - no matter if the trip is
around the block.
-- Involve the Child - When a child has outgrown his/her
forward-facing safety seat, let the child help choose his/her
new booster seat, one of his/her first grown-up decisions.
Also, an older child can learn how to buckle himself/herself
into a booster seat, just like a big kid.
For more information on the risks to child passengers and how to properly restrain children in cars, please visit www.chop See channel op. 1. CHOP - channel op 2. (language, tool) Chop - A code generator by Alan L. Wendt <wendt@CS.ColoState.EDU> for the lcc C compiler front end. Version 0.6 is interfaced with Fraser and Hanson's lcc front end. .edu/carseat or www.statefarm.com/KidSafety.htm. About State Farm State Farm(R) insures more cars than any other insurer An individual or company who, through a contractual agreement, undertakes to compensate specified losses, liability, or damages incurred by another individual. An insurer is frequently an insurance company and is also known as an underwriter. in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and is the leading U.S. home insurer. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 76,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. and Canada. State Farm also offers financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. products. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 22 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com(R) or in Canada statefarm.ca(TM). About The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric pediatric /pe·di·at·ric/ (pe?de-at´rik) pertaining to the health of children. pe·di·at·ric adj. Of or relating to pediatrics. hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric health care professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital A children's hospital is a hospital which offers its services exclusively to children. The number of children's hospitals proliferated in the 20th century, as pediatric medical and surgical specialties separated from internal medicine and adult surgical specialties. has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research Pediatric Research is one of the most respected peer-reviewed medical journals within the field of pediatrics in the world. It is the official publication of the American Pediatric Society, the European Society for Paediatric Research, and the Society for Pediatric program is among the largest in the country, ranking second in National Institutes of Health funding. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 430-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit www.chop.edu. |
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