This is a sponsored post brought to you by Toyota. I have partnered with them to spread the word about Buckle Up for Life.
As a mother of four, you can imagine my surprise to find out that I was doing something every day that could have put my kids at risk….and that I was not alone. When I saw the statistic that only 1 in 4 car seats in the U.S. is properly installed and that motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death for children under 12, I had to find out if my kids were being properly secured in our cars. And to my surprise, they were not….not even our 12 year old daughter.
Our younger kids have not been properly secured in their booster seats. And our 12 year old daughter, no matter how grown she thinks she is, should not be riding in the front seat of our cars. And if I am going to be totally honest and transparent, then I have to share that we have not been 100% consistent with using the booster seats either. We have 3 cars in our household, and there have been times where we have taken trips to stores without grabbing the boosters from one of the other cars.
But when I read that in 2010 almost an average of 2 children were killed and 325 were injured each day and that this fatality rate could be reduced by about half if the correct car seat were always used, I knew that I had to do better. Nothing is more important than the safety of my kids, and taking the time to properly secure in them in our car will be my first priority…not getting to the destination on time.
Knowledge is Power:
I found out about how to properly secure my kids in our cars via the Buckle Up for Life program, a national education program for families to help keep child passengers safe. In 2004, Toyota and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center partnered to create this program. And since its inception, they’ve reached more than 17,000 families in 11 cities and have given away more than 40,000 child car seats to families in need.
The BuckleUpforLife.org website offers digital resources in English and Spanish to help you properly secure your children and keep them safe. They also have programs, where trained specialists work closely with families to educate them on all aspects of vehicle safety.
Being Thankful:
Although I don’t personally know Dr. Victor Garcia, I have to thank him for the impact that he’s had on my family and thousands of other families. Dr. Garcia is the founder and Director of the trauma center at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and he is the visionary behind the Buckle Up for Life program. Thanks to Dr. Garcia’s vision, the Buckle Up for Life program has educated thousands of families on child passenger safety.
And today, Toyota and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Buckle Up for Life during the 2014 National Urban League Conference. And they will have a VIP reception to honor Dr. Victor Garcia and everything that he has done to promote safety in our communities.
Thanks #DrVictorGarcia @BuckleUpForLife @Toyotashowcase @CincyChildrens for helping 17k families & giving away 40k carseats #BuckleupForLife [Click to Tweet]
Thanks to the Buckle Up for Life program, I am now empowered with the knowledge to keep my kids safe in our cars. BMWK please make sure that you are properly securing your kids by visiting BuckleUpforLife.org. And please help us spread the word about this program by sharing this article on your social media channels.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post brought to you by Toyota. I have partnered with them to spread the word about the Buckle Up for Life program. For more information on child passenger safety, visit https://buckleupforlife.org . All opinions and stories are my own.