Free checks aim to keep kids safe

PARENTS and carers are being encouraged to have their child restraints checked at a free safety session in Freshwater Creek next week, with organisers hoping the event will be the first of many.

Child restraint experts will be on hand to inspect seats, answer questions and provide advice on safe installation.

The event is being organised by training and education provider KSafeT in partnership with local food charity Feed Me, Kidsafe Victoria and the Transport Accident Commission.

KSafeT founder and Jan Juc resident Simon Hastings said many people were unaware how dangerous an incorrectly fitted restraint could be.

“There’s campaigns with young kids who have become quadriplegics from being in booster seats or car seats that aren’t fitted right,” he said.

Hastings said the checks were valuable for anyone who transported children.

“These days are all about anybody who has or will or wants to transport a kid,” he said.

Interest has been strong, with only a handful of appointments remaining.

Hastings said KSafeT would be open to running a second session if demand continued and a suitable community partner came on board.

“If it’s a big thing because a lot of people want it, we want to keep doing it,” he said.

“We’d absolutely love to run it again, but we’d have to set it up sustainably.”

The free child car seat restraint and safety check will take place at the Common Ground Project in Freshwater Creek on Thursday 11 June from 10am-2pm.

KSafeT provides safety, first aid and mental health training across Victoria and online, with 50 per cent of profits reinvested into community programs.