Kids' car seat safety is in the spotlight! KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) has just launched the first ever Newborn Car Seat Programme in Singapore, loaning complimentary car seats to babies born at KKH
Expecting this year and planning to deliver your baby at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH)? You could be one of the first to enjoy the hospital’s new Newborn Car Seat Programme, which offers complimentary car seats to babies born at the hospital! This comes after statistics show that KKH treats approximately 400 children for injuries from road traffic accidents yearly, proven to be more severe when the child isn’t using a proper car seat. KKH, in partnership with Komoco Motors and Mothercare, aims to send newborns and new parents home safely, right from the first ride home.
We love that KKH has always championed car seat usage and safety, conducting ‘Car Seat Check-Up’ events in the past where they invited parents to consult KKH-certified experts as they gave guidance on the correct usage of child car seats for kids of all ages!
How to loan a complimentary car seat from KKH
- If you’re already conducting your antenatal checkups at KKH, you will be invited to register your interest to loan a complimentary car seat for a year. You can also sign up at for.sg/buckleupbaby.
- The hospital will then contact you to arrange for a suitable collection date by your third trimester checkup. Collection of the car seat will also be supported with educational videos by KKH, showing proper installation of car seats and access to a Child Passenger Safety Expert to learn more about the effectiveness of age-appropriate car seats in minimising the risk of severe injury in a road traffic accident.
- When your baby reaches one year old, KKH will contact you for return of the car seat. Upon return, you’ll receive a Mothercare discount voucher to use for your next car seat!
KKH shares that there are 300 car seats available for the Newborn Car Seat Programme in the first year – we’re guessing it’s first come, first serve until stocks run out – so make sure to register once you’re eligible!
Car seat models offered in the KKH Newborn Car Seat Programme
At the moment, a list of car seat models offered as part of the KKH Newborn Car Seat Programme has yet to be released. However, Dr Ronald Tan, Senior Consultant, Department of Emergency Medicine, KKH assures parents that the car seats offered for this programme are high-quality, crash-tested car seats suitable for newborns up to 1 year!
Why car seat safety for kids is so important in Singapore
KKH shares that injuries from road traffic accidents (especially those to the head, spinal cord and internal organs) are more serious when a child isn’t bucked in appropriately. A recent study shows that more than half of 1,483 children and adolescents with road traffic injuries were not in a child car seat at the time of incident.
A second study on the usage of child car seats in Singapore revealed that parents and caregivers often lack the knowledge in installation and even doubt the importance and effectiveness of car seats. Some also believe they’re inconvenient and expensive, choosing to forgo the use of car seats altogether despite it being mandated by law.
What do you think, parents? We’re all for this initiative and hope it continues to highlight the importance of car seat safety in Singapore!
