KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A child’s safety is a parent’s biggest concern. A child sleeping in a car seat seems innocent, but leaving them there too long can have deadly consequences.
At 18 months, Vincenzo Racanati is always strapped into something if he’s not on his own two feet. It was his mom’s mission to keep her only son safe, especially while in transit.
“A lot of consumer reports, picking out which one was the best for our family and what would fit our cars the best,” said Krista Racanati.
There’s something about the rock-a-bye motion of the car that has Krista Racanati’s son dreaming the minute he’s in a car seat.
But there are some dangers of leaving your sleeping child in a car for too long. That’s because the car seat might be propped at an improper angle.
“The very young babies who don’t have control of their heads, their heads fall forward to their chest and they lose their airway,” said Phyllis Larimore, a program coordinator for the Infantry Coalition for Kids Program at Children’s Mercy.
Those are the very concerns Racanati has and the reason she takes Vincenzo out of the car seat when not in a car.
“I’m worried about his neck and things like that. If he’s titled too much in one direction, I try and prop it up with a pillow.” she said.
Larimore emphasized that car seats save lives when used properly and inside a car.
