Posted Jun 13, 2012, 9:43 am
TMC for Children, the Tucson Police Department and Univision are teaming to help Tucson parents ensure their children travel safely by offering child passenger safety classes that include a free car seat.
The free 60- to 90-minute classes will be offered in English and Spanish on Saturday morning, but parents must pre-register during an event that begins at 5 p.m. Thursday and will be televised by Univision. Parents should call 204-1284 to register during that time, said Tucson Medical Center spokeswoman Rhonda Bodfield.
During the classes that will be held at the Tucson Police Department substation, 1310 W. Miracle Mile, car-seat technicians will answer questions and instruct parents on the proper installation and use of the seats, Bodfield said.
Safe Kids Tucson coordinator Yomaira Diaz said commonly found errors with car seats include the child not fitting in the seat, the seat is incompatible with the vehicle, and the seat belt is not looped properly around the seat.
“A lot of times when we’re out in the community, we find that parents and caregivers just don’t know everything they need to know about their vehicle and their child’s car seat,” Diaz said in a press release. “With just a brief class, they can be assured that their child will be far safer when traveling on the roads.”
Under Arizona law, every child younger than 5 must be in a child safety seat. Children over 40 pounds must use a booster seat, and a new law that takes effect Aug. 2 will require booster seats for all children between 5 and 8 years old and those shorter than 4 feet 10 inches.
The program has as many as 120 car seats to give away and booster seats also will be available during the classes, Bodfield said.
Parents who are unable to attend Saturday's classes or who want to meet the new law's booster seat requirement can call the TMC Boost Your Booty program at 324-5604.
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