You never want to think about having a car accident with your kids in the car. But this safety tip from a US emergency service worker and mum could help their chances of surviving if the worst does happen.
Kaitlyn Lawson, who works as an Emergency Medical Technician at Frankton Ambulance Service in Indiana, offered the advice on Facebook, where it was soon shared by thousands of parents.
“Way too often do emergency crew come upon a car wreck with children who are too young to have any information and parents are unconscious,” the 21-year-old wrote.
The simple way to know if your child’s seat straps are tight enough. Post continues.
Her advice? Write an ‘in case of emergency’ note and tape it to your child’s car seat.
“It will take two minutes of your time to write out your child’s name, DOB, parents name, DOB, emergency contacts and any medical conditions, any meds your child is on and child’s doctor – then stick it to the child’s car seat.
“This helps EMS (Emergency Medical Services) a ton and can also help save your child’s life.”
Mum Alexis Copas liked the hack so much she did it herself right away and spread the tip on Twitter.
Copas told Scary Mommy the decision was a no-brainer.
“If just a piece of paper with a little information on it could possibly save his life someday, it was worth the couple minutes to write out.”
Top Comments
Unfortunately, anyone who has seen a bad car wreck can tell you that a sticky-taped bit of paper on a seat will often be burned, obscured or destroyed in a serious accident. The same thing applies to those "baby on board" notices that some people believe will alert emergency services to look for a child in a wreck.
Hmm if the "sticky taped bit of paper" remains intact then it could be invaluable if it doesn't then it doesn't..........
Yes, if you have one of those clean, low mess types of crashes you see in soap operas, I suspect it would be invaluable. Sadly, real life wrecks tend not to resemble those at all. Of course you've nothing to lose from writing that stuff down (similarly, you can do the same thing by keeping that information in your wallet), but I wouldn't place a great deal of confidence that a piece of paper taped to a car seat will survive a crash intact enough to be legible.
Yes but still not a reason to not do it!
Great idea!