One mother has shared her terrifying car crash ordeal - in the hope that she can save other children in the same situation.
In a post that has now been shared over 162,000 times in just five days, Colorado mother Heather Starr explained the importance of getting the position correct of the the clasp on your child’s car seat.
As you all know, I am super passionate about proper car seat safety. Here's an example of why. This is a 3 year old... > >
Posted by [Heather Starr](https://www.facebook.com/Mrs.Starr) on [Wednesday, June 10, 2015](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102808475230130&set=a.10100178141989030.2496803.20902014&type=1)
Sharing a photo of a three year old girl who had just been in a car accident, Starr wrote:
‘The bruising on her chest is from her chest clip on her 5-point harness…Clearly, there was some force to that accident.
‘Had the clip been placed lower, she likely would have had organ damage…Had it been placed higher, she could have been asphyxiated.’
Assuring readers that the toddler is now totally fine, the American said: ‘This little girl is walking away from a car accident with some uncomfortable chest bruising. A couple inches difference and she wouldn’t have been walking away at all.’
The mother of the child in the photo -who wanted to remain anonymous- told Yahoo Parenting that she had only instructed her partner on where to position the car seat clasp one week earlier, and that doctors in the ER say the correct positioning definitely prevented internal bleeding or asphyxiation.
Certified child car safety expert and paediatrician Alisa Baer said you should position the clasp with ‘the top of the clip at the top of the child’s armpits.’
She also adds that one of the most important things is to keep the harness straps snug to the body - making sure the shoulder straps aren’t loose.