Training

Training Information:

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1-9 years. In 2006, in Canada, 95 children under the age of 15 were killed, and an additional 12,313 were injured. Health care professionals, police officers and others working in a variety of settings have an essential role to play in the reduction of these deaths and injuries.

Through Child Restraint Safety workshops, ITSA provides these professionals with the necessary knowledge and skills to participate in meaningful injury prevention programs concerning correct child restraint use. The workshops also provide training for those who will be inspecting child restraints or others who teach parents and caregivers how to use car seats correctly.

The Child Restraint Safety workshops developed by ITSA are not designed to service a specific group (police, nurses, caregivers etc.) but rather to support the level of knowledge that the participant requires. The content of each workshop is geared towards what the participant will be doing with that information afterwards.

The Infant & Toddler Safety Association is a non-profit, volunteer-run charity. In order to provide qualified, well-trained instructors for these workshops, ITSA charges a fee for the workshop plus a mileage charge. Please contact the ITSA office for the current fee schedule.

ITSA currently offers

Professional in-services (½ day or full day, 2-6 hr.), and Child Restraint Safety Workshops (2-day, 15 hr.).

1. Professional In-service (½ day or full day, 2-4 hr.)

   These workshops are designed to familiarize participants with the various levels of child restraint protection, and their use and misuse. They also teach about child restraint safety standards and provincial laws. It includes demonstrations and instruction on correct child restraint choice and use. Different models of car seats and boosters, along with demonstration dolls, are used. Each participant receives a copy of Before You Turn the Key, ITSA's Child Restraint Safety Handbook (one-day workshop version).

2. Child Restraint Safety Workshop (2-day, 15 hr.)

   The two-day workshop is designed to provide participants with the necessary knowledge and skills, on child restraint systems, to do one or more of the following:

• Inspect child seats at Car Seat Safety Clinics (overseen by an experienced inspector for the first clinic).
• Promote the importance and safe use of child restraints by those responsible for children.
• Respond to common questions on general child restraint use.
• Educate community partners [auto dealership employees, retailers, media, child care workers etc.] on the importance of correct and consistent child restraint use.
• Raise awareness of colleagues on the importance and basic principles of correct child restraint use.