One can never take car seat safety too seriously, but sometimes the best medicine goes down better with a spoonful of sugar. Cue Dr. Kate Cook, who made what is likely the most memorable car seat safety video you’re likely to ever see. The hook? It’s all set to Sir Mix-a-Lot’s iconic “Baby Got Back.”
Dr. Cook, who is the Norman Regional Health System pediatric hospitalist, shared a video of her rapping along to “Baby Got Back,” but all of her lyrics have to do with car seats. See: Information goes down easier when it’s also a little fun! Watch her video below.
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Babies Face Back FINAL-_2 from Norman Regional Health System on Vimeo.
Dr. Cook starts the video by apologizing to her children and “anyone with any sort of musical ability” before launching into her car seat safety rap.
“Oh, my gosh, Becky… Look at those kids,” a woman says as the beat kicks in. In the video, she is pointing towards a minivan loaded up with several kids. “They’re not even buckled! They’re just, like, out there. Ugh!”
Dr. Cook swoops in: “I like safe kids, and I cannot lie! You other mothers can’t deny! When a car rolls by with an itty-bitty babe not strapped in their place you get sprung!”
She runs through a car-seat-related parody of the song before arriving at her main point: “Babies in the back! Babies face back!”
Dr. Cook takes a break from rapping to impart some important car seat safety facts. She cites The American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) recommendations for car seats, which focus less on the child’s age and more on the height and weight of the child. Children should ride in a rear-facing car seat until they exceed the height and weight limitations of said seat. Most children can ride in a rear-facing seat until they are much older than two.
“She wants to lose the booster? Only when she’s 4’9″,” Dr. Cook later raps.
The video also includes information and tips about transitioning older kids into new seats, removing potential hazards from the seat, and seatbelt best practices.
Last year, the AAP updated its car seat recommendations. The recommendations include the following guidelines:
Infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their seat. Most convertible seats have limits that will allow children to ride rear-facing for 2 years or more.
Once they are facing forward, children should use a forward-facing car safety seat with a harness for as long as possible, until they reach the height and weight limits for their seats. Many seats can accommodate children up to 65 pounds or more.
When children exceed these limits, they should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle’s lap and shoulder seat belt fits properly. This is often when they have reached at least 4 feet 9 inches in height and are 8 to 12 years old.
When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection.
All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.
– The American Academy of Pediatrics
Visit the AAP’s website for further information about car seat safety.
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