Safe Kids St. Charles County urges parents and caregivers to make sure their child safety seats are properly installed in their vehicles at the Second Annual "National Seat Check Saturday," on Saturday September 20. Safe Kids St. Charles will have certified child passenger safety technicians available to provide hands-on instruction on installing child safety seats at Progress West HealthCare Center from 0900 to 1200. More information is available by calling Progress West HealthCare Center at 636.344.CARE.

"It's the responsibility of every single parent and caregiver to make sure their children are safely restrained - every trip, every time," said David Horning. "We are urging everyone to get their child safety seats inspected. When it comes to the safety of a child, there is no room for mistakes."

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, 8,325 lives of children under age 5 have been saved by the proper use of child restraints during the past 30 years. In 2006, among children under 5, an estimated 425 lives were saved by child restraint use.

Safe Kids coalitions around the country are joining NHTSA in National Seat Check Saturday activities to kick off Child Passenger Safety Week, which runs from September 21 through 27. Safe Kids Buckle Up, the child passenger safety program of Safe Kids USA in partnership with General Motors and Chevrolet, holds child safety seat checkups and other vehicle safety events throughout the year. Nationwide, the Safe Kids Buckle Up program has reached more than 17 million people and has inspected one million car seats.

According to Horning, parents and caregivers should follow a few basic guidelines for determining which restraint system is best suited to protect their children in a vehicle:

1. For the best possible protection keep infants in a back seat, in rear-facing child safety seats, as long as possible-up to the height or weight limit of the particular seat. At a minimum, keep infants rear-facing until at least age 1 and at least 20 pounds.

2. When children outgrow their rear-facing seats, they should ride in forward-facing child safety seats, in a back seat, until they reach the upper weight or height limit of the particular seat (usually around age 4 and 40 to 80 pounds).

3. Once children outgrow their forward-facing seats, they should ride in booster seats, in a back seat, until the vehicle seat belts fit properly. Seat belts fit properly when the lap belt lays across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt rests on the shoulder or collar bone (usually when the child is between 8 and 12 years old, approximately 4'9" tall and 80 to 100 pounds).

4. After children fully outgrow their booster seats, they should use the adult seat belts in a back seat. The lap belt should lay across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt fits rests on the shoulder or collar bone.

Safe Kids St. Charles County works to prevent accidental childhood injury, the leading killer of children ages 2-14. Its members include Central County Fire & Rescue, Accident Athletic & Back Care, Ameren UE, Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital, Community News, Farmers Insurance- Kyle Heywood, Healthy Communities St. Charles County, Jim Trenary Automotive Group, Lake St. Louis Fire Protection District, Mc Donald's- Christian Foods, Missouri Regional Poison Control, Missouri Valley Federal Credit Union, ParentLink, Progress West HealthCare Center, St. Charles Community College, St. Louis Area Kids' Directory, St. Peters Chamber of Commerce.

Safe Kids St. Charles County is a member of Safe Kids Worldwide, a global network of organizations dedicated to preventing accidental injury. Safe Kids St. Charles County was founded in 2002 and is led by Central County Fire & Rescue.