Child Passenger Safety: Information is at your fingertips!

As we all know, making sure our kids are restrained properly in our vehicles is of the utmost importance. It can be challenging as a parent to keep up with all of the requirements for safe car seat use and installation as our children continue to get older, taller, and gain more weight. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council is thrilled to let us know that there are some amazing online resources available to you to help navigate this information!

Check out the following FREE resources available to help you make safe choices about car seats and to help you use your car seats properly for maximum safety:

Twitter: An actual safety expert mans the @ChildSeatSafety account on Twitter, and they will continue to answer any questions that parents have about child passenger safety. This is such a unique resource from a government agency!

Facebook: NHTSA has a Facebook page at http://facebook.com/childpassengersafety where parents can learn about everything from LATCH to locating inspection offices.

Website: The Ad Council and the NHTSA have created a site with all the resources parents need to keep their smallest passengers safe: http://childcarsafety.adcouncil.org/. Find your local inspection station, watch instructional videos, and even take a fun quiz!

Drive safely!

I’m taking the PLEDGE!

Did you know that “distracted driving” can be more dangerous that driving drunk? Pretty sobering thought, isn’t it? It was for me… and I’ll tell you why. Just 3 short weeks ago, if you talked to me about distracted driving or texting while driving, I would have told you that I NEVER, EVER would do that! However, after my recent purchase of a shiny new iPhone which has opened up a whole new world of “staying connected”, I can quite guiltily admit that I have been distracted while driving these last few weeks MANY more times than I’d like to admit. I knew it wasn’t smart, but when I read about the “Mom Sends the MSG” campaign, it smacked me back into reality…. thankfully. Driving distracted can hurt someone … my beloved children, myself, or someone else. It’s irresponsible and certainly not the behavior that I want to model for my kids.

So, what is the “Mom Sends the MSG” campaign? The fantastic women over at theMotherhood.com have launched the “Mom Sends the MSG” campaign to ask people to model safe driving habits and to make a pledge to stop driving while distracted! We are honored to partner with them to help spread the word about this critically important message.

Here is what the “Keep Your Mind on the Wheel” Pledge is all about:

Our Pledge

Driving while distracted can be more dangerous than driving drunk.

As moms, we want safer roads.

We know the time has come for us all to recognize the risks of distracted driving, to be more responsible and to mind the wheel.

Here is what we pledge:

We pledge to model safe behavior when we drive.

We pledge to set firm house rules on texting and phoning while driving.

We pledge to help spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.

Here is what we ask for:

We ask for the dangers of distracted driving to be included in drivers’ education classes.

We ask for innovations in technology to help solve the problem.

We ask for laws to make it illegal to text and drive.

We ask for enforcement of existing distracted driving laws and consequences when the laws are broken.

By working together we will make everyone safer.

Please head over to the Mom Sends the MSG site to sign the pledge. If you’d like to do more, such as blog about the Msg or spread the word to your communities etc., please join as a “Mom on Board” Ambassador. Email contact@themotherhood.com and they’ll send you a badge and list you on the front page of the Mom Sends the Msg site.

I’ve taken the pledge so that I can do my part in keeping the streets safer and to model safe driving habits for my children ….. no matter how interesting my shiny new gadget may be. I hope you will do the same.