Hundreds of thousands of newborns have come into the world this year, which is the year of the dragon, but doctors are discovering that most new parents forget to bring car seats when they pick up their newborns, although they usually always remember diapers and clothes.
Chang Lung, head of pediatrics at Mackay Memorial Hospital, says that it is a necessity for newborns to have car seats when they get picked up from the hospital, and that a baby’s life is put in danger when a mother or another family member decides to hold the baby in their arms instead of putting it in a car seat.
After delving further into the reasons as to why parents typically forget to bring car seats to hospitals for newborns, aside from simply forgetting, many people say that the birth came on so suddenly that they did not have time to prepare one, while many people mistakenly think that newborn babies are actually too small for car seats, and that by holding the infant in their arms they make it feel safer.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王敏為
Chang says that if you were traveling at 40kph in a car with an infant that weighs 10kg, did not have a car seat, and were hit head-on by another car, the force of impact would be around 300kg, which a parent’s arms would not be able to endure.
In order to help parents who forget to bring their own car seats to the hospital, Wonderland Nurserygoods Co Ltd, the world’s largest perambulator manufacturer, donated 30 car seats to Mackay Memorial Hospital last Wednesday. The car seats will be lent out free of charge to parents who forget to bring car seats. This is the first time in Taiwan that a hospital will be providing such a service.
Chang reminds parents that they should face car seats toward the back of the car for infants under the age of two, and that only children two or older, or larger-than-average infants, should use car seats that face toward the front of the vehicle or booster cushions. If a child throws a tantrum because they do not want to sit in a car seat, you stop the car, but you should never, under any circumstances, concede to the child and allow them to not sit in the car seat, he says. For longer trips, giving children toys to play with can help avoid boredom, along with listening to children’s songs or audio books, and stopping to rest intermittently so they can stretch their legs, can all help allow children get used to the idea of sitting in a car seat.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王敏為
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
今年有數十萬個家庭歡喜迎接龍寶寶,不過,醫師發現,家長到醫院來接回寶寶時,多半會記得準備尿布、衣服,卻不記得準備汽車安全座椅。
馬偕紀念醫院小兒科部主治醫師張龍提醒,新生兒出院時搭乘車輛就該躺臥於汽車安全座椅中;若由母親或家人抱在懷裡,會讓新生兒暴露於危險中。
進一步分析家長沒有為新生兒準備汽車安全座椅的原因,除了壓根沒想到、或是生產來得太突然來不及準備,其中也不乏產婦家人覺得新生兒還小,抱著才能給他安全感。
張龍表示,以一個十公斤的孩童來說,在沒有汽車安全座椅的情況下,若車輛以時速四十公里前進,發生正面撞擊時,會產生相當於三百公斤的衝擊力,家長的手臂無法阻擋承受。
為了協助這些忘了準備汽車安全座椅的家長,全球最大嬰兒車製造商明門實業公司上週三捐贈馬偕紀念醫院三十台兒童汽車安全座椅,方便來不及準備的家長接孩子出院時免費借用,這也是全國首次由醫院提供新生兒出院時汽車安全座椅借用的服務。
張龍也提醒家長,二歲以下嬰幼兒應將汽車安全座椅固定朝向車後,二歲或較大幼童才可使用朝前式的安全座椅或增高墊。若孩子不願意配合而吵鬧,可先停車但絕不可妥協同意孩子不坐安全椅,若較長途旅程,可以給孩子玩具避免無聊,也可聽兒歌或有聲書,路途中適時休息讓孩子有活動空間,都可以及早讓孩子接受並習慣汽車安全座椅的存在。
(自由時報記者洪素卿)
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