'Child Seats Not One Size Fits All'
Republic Act 11229, also known as the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, clearly states that passengers under are 12 years old and under 150 cm tall are obliged to be riding in a child car seat.
The recently-enacted law, which was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte last February 22, covers all private utility vehicles.
However, every occupant and vehicle type has its own child restraint system requirements.
Cheryl Justiniano, Baby Company Senior Assistant Vice President for Marketing, said that child seats varies on the user and buyers must understand the needs and usage.
"It is important that child car seats meet the safety standards and we have partnered with the world’s leading child car seat brands," Justiniano said.
Reports told that vehicular accidents are the leading cause of child fatality at ages 0 to 17. Aside from that, the World Health Organization stated that the child car seats can reduce the risk of death and injuries in road crashes by up to 70 percent among infants and 54 percent to 80 percent among young children.
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 0-25 kg.
- Group 1 is from birth up to 12 years old and with a weight up to 36 kg.
- Group 2 is from 9 months to 12 years old and with a weight of 9 to 36 kg.
- Group 3 is from 4 years old to 12 years old and from 15-36 kg.
One of the initiatives of Baby Company was the launch of 'Buckle Up Baby', the biggest child car seat caravan in SM Mall of Asia. The initiative aims to support and promote the recent Republic Act 11229, the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act.
"Together with Baby Company, we have 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," Justiniano added.
Sharing the message of safety to more parents, Baby Company's 'Buckle Up Baby' child car seat drive will be visiting other malls in the coming months. It will continue to showcase the importance of child passenger safety and provide parents that chance to choose and get the child car seat that is best for their child.
"Getting a child car seat is not a one-size-fits-all, the child car seat matches a specific age, weight, and length of a child, so it is important that parents have a venue to learn from the experts, even try out the seats before they decide to get one for their child," Justiniano added.
