Filipino parents are a study in contrast. They are obsessive-compulsive about the safety of their kids when it comes to going out with friends but at the same time, we often see children not even six years old who are sitting at the back of a motorcycle, seemingly holding on to dear life.
The truth is, parents appear to be lax when the safety of a child as a motorist is at stake. Babies are sometimes seen sitting on an adult’s lap in the front seat or back seat when in the car. It doesn’t matter really, it’s the worst place to be and unfortunately, parents take this very important matter for granted.
According to statistics from the Department of Health, vehicular accidents are now the second leading cause of death among young people aged 0 to 17 years old.This is totally unnecessary and we could very well blame the adults, parents or guardians who should have given them more protection while they’re on the road. Because it’s really true that seatbelts save lives.
New law: Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act
Thankfully, there is now a new law called the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act (R.A. 11229).The law is specific in mandating that a child under 12 should be placed on a proper child restraint system. It further states, that the child restraint must be appropriate to the child’s age, height and weight, and approved in accordance with the law.
Child restraint system or more commonly called child car seat is the proposed solution to
curb the growing number of fatalities. Under the assessment of the World Health Organization, a child car seat can reduce the risk of death and injuries in road crashes by up to 70% among
infants and 54% to 80% among young children.
Baby Company Buckle Up Baby campaign
In support of the new law, Baby Company – the Philippines leading baby store- recently launched the first leg of its campaign called Baby Company Buckle Up Baby. It’s the biggest child car seat caravan held in SM Mall of Asia from May 10 till May 12 and will be repeated in other malls soon.
The objectives for holding the mall events are: to raise awareness, educate parents and provide a venue to showcase a large number of child car seats.
In photo: the Mendoza kids try out a couple of premium car seat products on display from leading brands.
“It is important that child car seats meet the safety standards and we have partnered with the
world’s leading child car seat brands,” said, Cheryl Justiniano, Sr. AVP for Marketing.
“Together with Baby Company, we convinced Aprica, Chicco, Graco, Joie, Maxi-Cosi, and Picolo
to showcase their products, and importantly, lend their expertise in choosing and fitting the
child car seats,” she added.
“Getting a child car seat is not a one-size-fits-all thing. The child car seat should match a specific age, weight, and length of a child, so it is important that parents ask the right questions from experts present in our caravan, even try out the seats before they decide to get one for their child,” Justiniano pointed out.
Child car seats follow an established standard to group child car seats to match a child’s
age, weight, and length. Group 0 is from birth up to 4-6 years old and with a weight of 0-
25kg. Group 1 is from birth up to 12 years old and with a weight up to 36kg. Group 2 is
from 9 months to 12 years old and with a weight of 9 to 36kg. And finally, Group 3 is from 4
years old to 12 years old and from 15-36kg. There are child car seats that have combined
groupings to allow more options.
More photos of car seats available at The Baby Company –
Recent Comments