DAYTON -- Every time Taunya Treadway puts her two kids in the car, she goes through her checklist she must follow.
The rules are simple:
-Children under four years or 40 pounds need to be in a car seat
-Children under eight years or 4'9'' should be in a booster seat.
But the most important step making sure the child lock is on so even if they squirm out of the seat belt, they can't squirm out of the car.
"It's very important you don't want them to fall out or unbuckled themselves or anything like that," said Treadway. "My four-year-old, she unbuckles herself all the time so we try to make sure she understands when the car is moving. She needs to stay buckled and not get unbuckled until we are parked."
Police are reminding parents of the importance of using all the car's safety features after the tragic story of the six-year-old boy that died after falling out of a car.
"In most of the newer vehicles, it's standard they have that make sure you activate the child safety lock when you have children in the back seat," said Montgomery County Major Daryl Wilson. "Also utilize the booster seats or child safety seats."
But when you get them safely inside, the jobs not done.
"If they're not going to stay buckled up then pull over and tell them we are not going to go until you buckle up," said The Childrenâs Medical Center of Dayton Safe Kids Greater Dayton Coordinator Jessica Saunders. "It's okay to be a parent and take control of the situation because in and around a car is one of the more dangerous places the kids can be."
"But you also have to lead by example," said Treadway. "If I'm getting in the car and I'm not buckling myself up then she's not going to think anything of it and she's not going to want to buckle. So I always point out that I'm buckled, everyone else in the car is buckled and she's got to be buckled to."
Professionals also recommend you keep all your kids in the backseat until they are teenagers.
Connect with ABC 22/FOX 45 Reporter Wale Aliyu on Facebook and Twitter.
The rules are simple:
-Children under four years or 40 pounds need to be in a car seat
-Children under eight years or 4'9'' should be in a booster seat.
But the most important step making sure the child lock is on so even if they squirm out of the seat belt, they can't squirm out of the car.
"It's very important you don't want them to fall out or unbuckled themselves or anything like that," said Treadway. "My four-year-old, she unbuckles herself all the time so we try to make sure she understands when the car is moving. She needs to stay buckled and not get unbuckled until we are parked."
Police are reminding parents of the importance of using all the car's safety features after the tragic story of the six-year-old boy that died after falling out of a car.
"In most of the newer vehicles, it's standard they have that make sure you activate the child safety lock when you have children in the back seat," said Montgomery County Major Daryl Wilson. "Also utilize the booster seats or child safety seats."
But when you get them safely inside, the jobs not done.
"If they're not going to stay buckled up then pull over and tell them we are not going to go until you buckle up," said The Childrenâs Medical Center of Dayton Safe Kids Greater Dayton Coordinator Jessica Saunders. "It's okay to be a parent and take control of the situation because in and around a car is one of the more dangerous places the kids can be."
"But you also have to lead by example," said Treadway. "If I'm getting in the car and I'm not buckling myself up then she's not going to think anything of it and she's not going to want to buckle. So I always point out that I'm buckled, everyone else in the car is buckled and she's got to be buckled to."
Professionals also recommend you keep all your kids in the backseat until they are teenagers.
Connect with ABC 22/FOX 45 Reporter Wale Aliyu on Facebook and Twitter.