Thoughts from Lifesavers 2010 in Philadelphia

Lifesavers 2010 is in the books.

First off, we're always thankful for the friends, colleagues and experts we spend time with at Lifesavers. You're crucial in shaping the message we deliver to parents about keeping children safe.  

Next, there were a few important themes we would like to highlight from this year's event. These represent emerging trends, needs and changes in philosophy relating to child passenger safety.  - We are starting to see real cooperation between retailers and CPS technicians in some cities.  This is important as stores are key places to capture parents' attention and deliver the much needed message of appropriate restraint usage.

Children benefit tremendously from police officers being car seat awareness trained. This is especially true in states which have laws addressing appropriate restraint use as opposed to just general use. Officers can't write tickets and save lives if they don't recognize misuse. 

Car seat law offender programs require clear goals. Appropriate measures must be enacted to achieve those goals. Car seat laws are useless if they are not enforced. Violators habits remain the same if they have no incentive to change.

Here's a potentially shocking statement. "The leading cause of death for children is their parents." Is this statement true or not? Really think about it. Isn't it parents that put children in a position to live or die in any situation? With regards to child passenger safety, isn't it parents that make the decision to restrain their children appropriately or not when getting in the car? Isn't it parents who make the decision to act on their children's behalf and receive car seat education? Don't parents make a choice to buckle up, live to see their children grow and set good examples from the start? Thank you to Joanne Fairchild of Legacy Emanuel Trauma Nurses Talk Tough for introducing us to this way of thinking. Here at Safety Squad we say it's not parents' fault that car seats can be so difficult.  But, parents can use this perspective to challenge themselves to put their families in the best position possible to survive any emergency. If you're reading this or you're a Safety Squad client you probably already accepted this challenge. Don't let up.

Thanks again Lifesavers 2010.  We'll see you next year in Phoenix.