Parents worry. We worry about the latest flu bug. Worry about keeping household cleaners and other poisons out of the reach of our young kids. Worry about a child getting a hold of matches. Worry about SIDS. Worry about falls on stairways. Worry about handguns and assault weapons at schools or even from under a mattress at home. Most parents spend the necessary time protecting their babies, toddlers and pre-schoolers from a host of potential dangers. Unfortunately, for some children, the amount of time worrying about traveling in a car literally stops when the caregiver buys a carseat and quickly belts it into their vehicle. Even then, perhaps only because it’s required by law, up to age 8 in most states. Should they care more, or is it just another case of nanny state interference?
I did a quick inquiry of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WISQARS database on the leading causes of death. For the most recent decade of data, 2001- 2010, I took a look at the top killers of children ages 1 to 8 years old. Here’s what I found:
#1 cause of death overall: Motor Vehicle Traffic, 8,640 deaths
#2 cause of death overall: Malignant Neoplasms, 7,745 deaths
#2 cause of death from unintentional injury: Drowning, 5,697 deaths
Some Other causes of untintentional fatal injury combined: Fires/burns (3,123), suffocation (1,682) , falls (520), poisoning (438) , influenza (1,651), firearms (278 unintentional + 859 homicide). Total = 8,551 deaths.
ALL other causes from unintentional injury combined, other than motor vehicle crashes, drowning and fires: Total = 6,692 deaths.
As you can see, car crashes take more lives than many other causes of fatal injury, combined! The numbers are staggering in comparison, yet we never hear about outbreaks, sprees or epidemics of car crashes. Sadly, the #1 killer claims its victims quietly, one, two or three young lives at a time. There are rarely front page stories. There are no headlines on the six o’clock national news. Yet, this killer continues to claim the lives of more children each year than all the causes that mainstream media fear mongers place daily into every worrying parent’s mind. Most of these deaths are to children who are not using an appropriate child restraint at all. Misuse contributes to injuries for many of those who are using a child restraint system.
The vaccine is proven. The CDC calls the fight against this killer, “A winnable battle.” The effectiveness of this vaccine varies from 54% for children to 71% for infants. So, why do many parents choose not to protect their children, according to best practices set by the pediatricians that they trust? We wish we knew! Some argue against these safest practices, citing a variety of reasons why the burden is simply to great. We think the burden is essentially nothing at all in terms of time, hassle or money, especially compared to the burden of having a child become a statistic.
What do you think? Possible cure to a quiet epidemic? Or is your freedom to parent your child being unfairly restricted by the government? Is keeping your toddler rear-facing too expensive or too time-consuming? Or do you try to follow the advice of major organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the NHTSA or Safe Kids USA? When you are with other moms or dads, does talking about carseat safety elicit the same interest as school shootings or the latest flu strain?
A delegation of car-seat.org parents need to be on a show like Nancy Grace! I’m out of date, maybe she doesn’t have a very big audience, but I wonder what would happen if someone like her spent a 15-30 seconds *per show* talking road safety.
i think here in oklahoma there is simply an utter lack of knowledge. there HAS been a BIG push by the local safe kids to educate people on the necessity of a booster until they are taller than 4ft9in (state law here)…. and i think that’s GREAT… but the only place i have heard those radio commercials is on AM radio. Which is probably due to cost…. but i don’t understand why every hospital in this state doesn’t have trained CPST staff to educate new parents about car seat usage. I think teaching new parents in the hospital setting would go a LONG way to helping educate the population at large. every hospital has countless lactation consultants – which don’t get me wrong, i am all for helping support breastfeeding – but why not also help support and teach parents about car seats as well? If we taught parents and exposed them from the outset to correct information i think the state of oklahoma would make a lot of strides safety wise.
and as an aside – those statistics are heartbreaking. I wonder how many of those deaths were preventable…. i mean i know some crashes are just not survivable, but a lot are. *sigh*
Motomommanh- Yes, I should have clarified. I don’t know the exact definition the CDC uses, but perhaps it would be fair to say it is an epidemic by numbers, just not by publicity or concern.
“There are rarely front page stories. There are no headlines on the six o’clock national news.”
THIS. It’s exactly why it’s a ‘quiet’ epidemic. It’s not sensationalist enough to get any kind of dramatic headline because it happens 1-2 kids at a time. I’m sure if it got MORE national news coverage like the shootings or flu strain killers we’d have much safer kids. Because let’s face it, that’s where the average parent gets their day to day knowledge from. They aren’t reading peer-edited reviews or articles in the Journal of Medicine. They are turning on the 6 o clock news.
Children are the most precious cargo I will ever transport and I will do everything in my power to give them the best chance of surviving a crash and minimizing their risk of injury. Not all deaths are preventable but I sure will do my best to protect children from their most likely killer!
I’m so greatful for car-seat.org and all the CPSTs and advocates who have taught me so much about child passenger safety- thank you all!