BMW Malaysia together with Childline Foundation has partnered up in the fifth edition of the BMW Safety 360° Programme with the goal to raise awareness and education on the use of child car seats, starting from as young as newborns.
The ‘From Day One’ campaign got off to a great start with the support from Chicco Malaysia where the first six babies born on Father’s Day (yesterday) at Hospital Putrajaya were gifted with brand new Chicco KeyFit 30 infant car seat.
The proud parents were also educated on the best child safety practises courtesy of Childline Foundation and their passenger safety consultants. These include the right criteria for choosing a child car seat, proper methods for installation, as well as the lifecycle of a child car seat.
According to Harald Hoelzl, Managing Director of BMW Group Malaysia, “As we near the enforcement of mandatory use of child car seats in 2020, we believe it is important to continue advocating the importance of child car seats, especially for newborns. The focus of ‘From Day One’ is to ensure parents know how to keep their children safe from the moment they leave the hospital.”
“We want to make the use of child car seats instinctive; a basic practice when it comes to parenthood. This is why we are constantly partnering with experts from the industry to provide critical child safety education to parents and to make child car seats more accessible.”
The next phase of the ‘From Day One’ campaign will see BMW Malaysia and Childline Foundation continuing their partnership with the introduction of a child car seat subsidy programme alongside Safe ‘n Sound, a distributor of child car seats and baby gear.
The first phases of the new subsidy program will be introduced at five different government hospitals located across the Klang Valley. A total of 150 infant carriers will be subsidised at RM100 a pop (RM199 retail price). Carrying the ECE R44-04 certification, the seats can be used from birth all the way up to 13kg.
Hoelzl added, “We will continue promoting the need for child car seats by offering subsidies alongside Safe ‘n Sound to help make child car seats more accessible. However, it is not enough that parents use child car seats. It is equally important that they understand the proper ways of choosing and installing the child car seats to ensure the utmost safety of their children.”
“As such, we will also work with Childline Foundation to speak directly to hospitals to implement a child passenger safety training programme. This programme will also be customised to parents who attend antenatal classes so that the education of child car seats begins even before the baby arrives.”
The child passenger safety training programme will be introduced to the selected five government hospitals where hospital personnel will learn the best child safety practices from Childline Foundation’s passenger safety consultants. Child passenger safety talks and consultations will also be offered to parents who attend antenatal classes at these hospitals.
Datin Wong Poai Hong, Childline Foundation said, “The best time and place for parents to start practicing the right child safety values is before childbirth and at the hospital. This is an important touchpoint for us – by educating hospital personnel, we are able to build a sustainable way to educate and ensure parents leave hospitals with the right child car seat.”
Sashi Ambi, Head of Corporate Communications, BMW Group Malaysia said, “As we continue to advocate child safety values with the BMW Safety 360° Programme, we would like to urge other partners to take part in this movement to make child car seats a norm – whether by raising greater awareness on the topic through education, making child car seats more accessible, or reaching out to Childline to be a part of the programme. We hope to see an increase in its usage as enforcement comes into effect. After all, the safety of our children on the road begins with the correct use of child car seats.”
