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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Before becoming a child seat technician, June Lewis was uncertain about how to use some of the features on her toddler's safety seat.

Yellowknifers June Lewis, left, and Ruth Salvor have been trained as child car seat technicians along with six other NWT residents. The technicians ran a clinic on Nov. 9 at Canadian Tire to help make sure people had installed their car seats correctly. - Miranda Scotland/NNSL photo Child safety recommendations It is recommended that a child ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old. Once a child grows out of a forward-facing seat they should be put in a booster seat, providing they are a minimum of 40 pounds. The most common error parents make when installing a car seat is not securing it tight enough. Never add things to a car seat or seat belt, such as a seat belt pad. Car seats have expiry dates. Source: Child Passenger Safety Network

However, after taking a three-day course about how to properly install child car seats and what the common mistakes are, Lewis is well-versed on the subject and ready to share her knowledge.

Lewis took the course with seven other NWT residents from Yellowknife, Fort Simpson, Fort Smith and Hay River. James MacKenzie, a spokesperson for the Transportation department, said the technicians will be sharing what they learned by interacting with people at their jobs and by hosting child seat clinics in the future.

"Most accidents where children are injured, it's due to the incorrect use of child safety restraints," MacKenzie said. "So it's very helpful just to have somebody there to walk you through it and to give you the confidence that you're doing it right."

The new technicians were trained under the Child Occupant Restraint Education (CORE) program as part of the territory's Healthy Choices initiative.

More residents from other communities are expected to take the course in the new year.

Lewis said one of the most important pieces of information she learned was when the car seat should be turned forward. The rule is that the seat should face backwards until the child is about 18 months but really it depends on if he or she is ready to be turned around, she said.

"It's the stage the baby is in," Lewis said. "Are they physically developed enough to turn?"

Yellowknife course participant Ruth Salvor said there is a greater number of injuries among children aged five to 14 years old because they are either not using a booster seat or an adult seat belt correctly for their age and size, or do not use a booster seat or seat belt at all.

"There is this whole category of young children that are at risk," Salvor said, adding the children should use the larger booster seats, some of which can accommodate persons up to 120 pounds.

Also, when putting a child in a car seat, Lewis said, parents should remember not to overdress their little ones.

"We were trained to put baby in the car seat in just daily clothes or whatever they're wearing and do the layering over the harnesses," she said. "But being in Yellowknife it gets very, very cold so, if you can, bring the car seat into the house before you leave, dress the baby and layer over with blankets."

Under the Motor Vehicles Act, NWT residents can be fined $230 and two demerit points for failing to secure a child properly.

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