No parent ever wants to see their child suffer from pain, but sustaining injuries is sometimes unavoidable. The best thing for a parent to do is to be aware of the kinds of injuries that can pose a more serious threat to a child's life. When mother Heather Starr came across a story that affected a mother and her three-year-old little girl, she knew she had to take to social media to share.
Starr posted a picture of the three-year-old girl with her shirt lifted just enough to see minor bruising across her chest. The toddler had recently been in a car accident and the bruising was from the chest clip of her car seat. Starr explains in her post that the crucial part about the photo is the placement of the child's bruising. The bruising is exactly where it needs to be for a chest clip.
Too many parents make the mistake of improperly strapping their child in, with the clip coming across the belly area or higher than the chest. Such misplacements can lead to serious injuries should the child endure some kind of collision. Since Starr posted this message to Facebook it has gone viral. Every parent should know this bit of information because it has the potential to save a child's life.
Starr's full message reads: "As you all know, I am super passionate about proper car seat safety. Here's an example of why. This is a 3 year old girl who was just in a car accident. The bruising on her chest is from her chest clip on her 5 point harness. Notice it was correctly positioned on her chest, at armpit level right between her nipples. Clearly, there was some force to that accident. Had the clip been placed lower, she likely would have had organ damage and internal bleeding. Had it been placedhigher, she could have been asphyxiated. (The ER doctor she saw confirmed these facts as well) Car seat safety is truly that important. It makes me CRAZY when I see kids' chest clips on their bellies. This is why. This little girl is walking away from a car accident with some uncomfortable chest bruising. A couple inches difference and she wouldn't have been walking away at all. It's. THAT. Important."