Need help on community project please (long.)

[mudnuri]

I am taking a class called Vermont Community Leadership Training...one of the requirements is to come up with a community project. The project I have come up with is...to raise awareness in our Town regarding the newly passed child booster seat laws.

What I want to do is get to the kids....the parents obviously are not listening. I can not get to the kids with statistics, if anything it would only scare them, which I dont think is a good idea.

The law reads "any child 8 years of age and under or, 80 lbs or less must be restrained in a child booster seat"..this means, basically K-2nd grade at DD's elementary.

One of the facilitators of our class is DD's past Kindergarten teacher, she said tonight that 3 out of 13 kids in her kindergarten class- mind you they are 5 are in boosters... DD's 2nd grade class there is 2 (shes one), and in DD's 1st grade class there are 3 (shes one)...

I am close with the principal at the elementary school, and I'd like to come up with some sort of K-2 assembly for them, a short one 1/2 hour at most.

I will also be doing a media campaign in our local paper, local access TV, and will be in touch with other programs throughout Vermont that offer reduced rates on boosters.

What idea's do you folks have for me? Give me reasons WHY they would WANT to sit in a booster. I've got to try to make it "cool"...if you know what I mean!

DD7 said she sits in a booster because then she can look out the window...

DD6 said its like a giant pillow, and keeps the seatbelt from hurting her neck....

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Brandy

 

[Pop Daddy]

long post

 

[CEDmom]

I think this is a great idea. Our DD is 4 but only 28lbs so she'll be in one for quite a while. Your DD's came up with great reasons. Maybe you could also sell the kids on treating it like their throne. Perhaps you could even give a child a crown when they start using a booster. Another idea is to make up stickers maybe saying "I'm a cool booster kid" or something like that. I'd also maybe enlist the school nurse to weigh each child and tell them how much bigger they need to be before riding in a regular seat. It's amazing but sad how easy it is to explain the concept of safety to a young child but not an adult. Finally, maybe you could convince a few retailers to offer a discount on booster seats to these parents. Good luck.

 

[Lars624]

My son is in 2nd grade & he is still in his booster......he's had some of his friends make comments to him about his 'baby' seat but all he says is that it will keep him safe. His dr told him that & that's all it took to convince him

 

[DoeWDW]

I think a skit where one child is sitting on a hard chair and another child is in a chair equipped with a booster seat might do the trick.

Of course the one in the booster seat can be wearing sunglasses and looking cool and talking about all the things he / she can see out the window (since they'll be visibly sitting up higher). The one in the chair can be looking sad and straining their neck upward so they can see out as well.

The booster seat kid can talk about how soft and comfy the seat is, and the chair kid can look forlorn and wish they had such a comfy seat.

The booster seat kid can show how their seatbelt fits through the booster seat and is padded for them. The chair kid can fiddle with the lap and shoulder belt, trying to get comfortable without the shoulder belt hurting their neck.

Sell it as if it's a luxury to have a booster seat, not a chore! You also may want to check with retailers about discount coupons and with any programs who may make booster seats available at reduced cost for those who can't afford them. You may want to send fliers to the parents of older kids, asking them to donate booster seats they no longer need.

Best wishes! You've got a great idea and a worthy cause!

 

[mudnuri]

Great ideas!

We do have programs in the state that offer discount boosters for low-income families. People are not utilizing these, now it could be because they are not aware of them. I am only because of the research for this project. We have 75% of our children in DD's Elementary eligible for free/reduced lunch...so we've got a LOT of families that could utilize this!..

I am currently trying to compile exactly what this program will do, so I can reach out to retailers, the only 2 in our area is Kmart and Walmart. Im hoping Walmart will join in. I know they have safe kids days at this store every year.

I've contacted the Vermont Department of Transportation for any and all info they have thats geared for kids...not much I'm sure!..

I LOVE the sticker idea!...I'm going to contact the local safekids organization and see if we can set up a day at the local elementary school and have boosters on hand for parents to purchase, and get the sticker idea into their head too.

Of course, the hard part of the project is money. I could really get elaborate, and wipe out some cash doing so!...

Thanks guys, I appreciate it!

Brandy

 

[KarenC]

The American 'Academy of Pediatrics often advocates for children's safety issues. I checked their web site to see what they had about boosters. I found this link, hope it helps.

http://www.boostamerica.org/