Raising Children Buckle up, BABY Car seat clinics help parents navigate the road

BY BEVERLY GODFREY PHOTOGRAPHY BY TYLER SCHANK

Sgt. Neil Dickenson was the first to arrive on the scene of the accident. The Minnesota State Patrol officer approached a car that had rolled over, a 3-year-old girl in the back seat. But rather than being faced with tragedy, he was faced with laughter. The child was hanging by her seat belt, thinking it had been a fun ride.

Dickenson shared this story during a car seat clinic May 17 at Duluth fire station No. 8 in West Duluth. The picture would have been much different had she not been restrained, Dickenson said. Facing the reality of the road is a part of everyday life for many who work in law enforcement and health care, which is why a multitude of agencies were on hand to help parents install car seats, and teach them what children need as they grow.

“We wanted to get it right,” new mom Stephanie Bartsch said.

Bartsch and her husband, Will, bought the smallest seat they could find, made by Britax, so it would be comfortable in their small vehicle.

“They don’t make many seats that fit well in a hatchback,” she said. “You shouldn’t need to get an SUV to have a baby.”

Their 3-week-old, Cora, slept in her seat as Erin Baldes, a Child Passenger Safety technician from St. Luke’s, waited on hold for about 15 minutes with the car seat manufacturer. She needed an answer about a gap the car seat was leaving between the vehicle’s back seat and an impact bar that was designed to keep the car seat in place in case of a crash that would send a force backward.

The final word: The gap was acceptable, Cora tucked in safely.

Five weeks later, Bartsch said things were going well for the new family.

“The clinic helped us,” he said. “We didn’t have the base in quite right. … People should take advantage of that nice service because they know a lot more about all of this than we do.”

Ben Fameree of Hermantown said his wife, Kendra, was due in about three weeks. The couple was going through another big change, having just put an offer on a home in Esko. He said the clinic was helpful as he prepared for the arrival of their first child, a boy.

“I had looked at the manual stuff, but they pointed out some good things here that I hadn’t thought of,” he said.

Their son, Noah Allen, was born June 17. The drive to Essentia Health was made about 2:30 a.m. during a rainstorm. The entire labor was over in about four hours.

Fameree spoke about the birth while he was still at the hospital, his son and wife both asleep. “We’re actually waiting to get discharged now,” he said. His first use of the car seat still ahead of him, Fameree was glad to learn how to use it in advance of his

son’s birth.

As Dickenson spoke to media to promote the state’s seat-belt campaign, he emphasized that sometimes, driving conditions are not in your control. There might be a deer on the road; a car could drift into your lane; a slow-moving car might pull in front of you. These conditions and more make seat-belt use a necessary precaution. Plus, it’s the law, and enforcement efforts are being increased this summer.

“We’d rather meet you on the shoulder on the road than down the road in a crash scene,” Dickenson said.

Along with adult seat-belt use, officers will be checking that children are properly restrained.

“Expect the unexpected,” Dickenson urged. “Your seat belt is your best defense in the event of a crash. Most crashes happen on beautiful, sunny days.”

He said it isn’t a common occurrence, but if he makes a traffic stop and finds a child without the proper car seat, he won’t let the driver leave until a seat has been delivered to safely transport the child. This could come from a family member or other law enforcement officers.

“In Minnesota, we have about 92 to 93 percent compliance with seat belts,” he said.

Laura Owen, a CPS instructor with St. Luke’s, has been helping parents with car seats for about 16 years. At the May clinic, she helped Emily Spurgeon, who was due June 1.

Owen showed Spurgeon where the front clip should be on the baby’s chest, where the shoulder straps should be, and pointed out that the baby should be backward-facing.

Owen said that one seat isn’t necessarily better than another, but parents should buy what they feel comfortable with.

Car seat technician Amy Addy shows soon-to-be dad Ben Fameree different parts of the car seat. Fameree's wife, Kendra, said the workshop would be a good idea to make sure their boy is safe coming home from the hospital.

Car seat clinics are held the third Thursday of every month except December, rotating between fire stations Nos. 2, 4, 7 and 8.

For more information, visit duluthmn.gov and type “car seat clinic” into the search bar.

Toward Zero Deaths

The car seat clinic May 17 was a multi-agency effort attended by Duluth police, firefighters, first responders, state highway patrol and experts from St. Luke’s and Essentia Health. Holly Kostrzewski, Northeast Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths regional coordinator, provided the following statistics:

• Since the program started 15 years ago, fatalities on the road have gone down by 45 percent.

• In 2017, preliminary numbers show 73 unbelted motorists lost their lives on Minnesota roads.

• In a five-year period (2013-17), 443 unbelted motorists lost their lives on Minnesota roads.

• In the same period, 33 percent of the 1,335 people killed while riding in motor vehicles were not wearing seat belts.

• According to the 2017 Minnesota Seat Belt Survey, 92 percent of front seat occupants are wearing their seat belts.

The Northeast Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths program brings area law enforcement, public health educators, engineers and emergency medical and trauma services together to reduce the number of traffic fatalities and severe injuries to zero in northeast Minnesota. The area encompasses Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Lake, Itasca, Koochiching, Pine and St. Louis counties.

“Peace of mind is huge,” she said.

Owen turned a knob on the bottom of Spurgeon’s car seat to change the angle of the base, so the baby would lie close to a 45-degree angle, making his or her head lie back into the seat and not fall down onto the chest.

“My parenting class suggested (the clinic),” Spurgeon said. “And honestly, it’s super confusing to install it. There’s a million directions and instructions. I just wanted to make sure I get it right.”

Owen laughed when asked how many parents she has helped. “It’s definitely in the hundreds, even more than that.”

She helps at car seat clinics once a month and trains other technicians to do the same. She teaches day-care workers and foster parents how to use car seats, too.

“I’ve been doing it basically since 2002, and it’s something I’ve found a passion for,” she said. “I would say 80 to 90 percent are not put in correctly.”

The mistakes she sees most often are the retainer clip not being at armpit level and straps not being in the correct height. For rear-facing seats, the top of the straps should be at shoulder level or below. For front-facing seats, they should be at shoulder level or above. Another common mistake is the seat belt that connects the car seat to the car not being tight enough.

All car seats must meet the same crash-test standards, Owen said. Beyond that, the differences between seats are a matter of choice. Some come with features that are easier to use, such as belts that are easier to access or tighten. Some consumers want cup holders or matching upholstery that can influence their purchase, but with the safety standards being set, there is no need to feel pressure to buy the most expensive seat.

“Things have come a long way,” Owen said, recalling the days when her own children, now ages 32 and 30, sat in the car seats of the day. “They had big tray shields that came over the front,” she said. “We did the best with what we knew then.”

Owen also emphasized the importance of waiting until a child was large enough to stop using a booster seat and not judging only by their age.

Allison Nicolson is a coordinator with Essentia Safe Kids Northeast

Minnesota, which provides support to parents with programs such as car-seat checkups, safety workshops and sports clinics, according to their website. She agreed that a lot of parents are not keeping kids in car seats long enough, aging them out too early.

“Not a lot of 8-year-olds are 4-foot-9,” she said, emphasizing that both criteria should be met before a child moves out of a booster seat.

Parents not properly installing booster seats is a common mistake Dickenson sees on the road, he said. He encouraged parents to read the instructions and, if needed, attend a car seat clinic. If they don’t, not only is their child’s safety at risk; the parents could face fines that run about $85, fees included, for a first offense.

Possible punishments aside, Owen said people appreciate being taught to properly use car seats: “It’s their most precious cargo that they’re carrying.”

— MDT