A mother of four joined Radyoman Rod Marcelino during Buckle Up’s latest episode and gave tips and advice for fellow parents amidst the soft implementation of the Republic Act (RA) No. 11229 or the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act.
Hannie Dikatanan, a mother of four children who are all under 12 years old, shared that her family has been using child car seats as early as 2015. When she bought her first born’s car seat for the time being, there was still no legislation mandating them to have one.
Dikatanan told Marcelino that in in 2017, a road accident validated her choice to use child car safety seats. She, her husband and their kids at the time experienced an accident involving a motorcycle hitting the side of their car and causing a tire blowout.
The kids, who are all accustomed to be buckled in their car seats, felt the impact but were unharmed. She said that despite being just a personal choice, their investment paid off.
When asked for advice for parents who are questioning the new law, Dikatanan said that their concerns are all valid. “I respect the concerns of parents. Valid naman ‘yong mga concerns nila pero I’m sure they want their children to be safe on the road din. Baka kailangan lang nila ng kaunting pilit o kaunting convincing. In my case, it helped na naniniwala ako na prevention is better than cure.”
“Hindi ko talaga pinapabayaan na mayroong mangyaring masama bago ako umaskyon. So we really included car seats in our budget. And since we really wanted to have a big family, ‘yung choice naming nang pagbili ng car seat, even ‘yong pag-upgrade namin ng sasakyan, talagang kasama ‘yon sa budget namin. Talagang iyon ang priority naming,” she continued.
“Hindi talaga namin iniri-risk na isakay ang mga bata sa sasakyan nang hindi naka-car seat kasi ‘yon talaga ang paniniwala namin. Kailangan safe sila. Mahirap talaga, magastos, pero kailangan nating maging maparaan.”
Under the Child Safety in Motor Vehicles Act, children under 12 years old and below with a height of 4 foot 11 inches and below, are required to use child restraint systems (CRS). Under the soft implementation, most of the efforts are focused on educating parents and motorists about the new law.
Join Radyoman Rod Marcelino on Thursday, February 3 at 3:30 PM for a new Buckle Up episode on Radyo DZXL 558.
