Question: Yesterday, I was leaving my child's child care and I noticed another child-care parent with an infant just getting into the front seat of a car. No car seat, just holding the child. I didn't know what to do.

Answer: If that situation arose outside our centers, we'd have wanted you to come in and tell us so we could have a private word with that parent. Then we'd send home to all our parents a reminder about the need to use car seats. It's a great way to keep young children safe in vehicles.

It's also the law: Pennsylvania requires that children under age 4 ride in a federally approved car seat or booster that's appropriate for the child's age, height, and weight. Children ages 4 to 8 must use a booster seat if they're no longer in a car seat. The law further requires that children ages 8 to 18 use a seatbelt whenever they're in a vehicle, regardless of seating position.

Here are some other things you might consider to encourage the use of car seats:

• Ask that your child's child-care center post information about car seat safety.

• Look for resources that help support the purchase of car seats -- sometimes health departments, hospitals, or family support centers do that for families who cannot afford the purchase. Share the information you find with your child-care staff so they can inform parents.

• You could organize a small fund-raiser so your child-care facility could buy some car seats for parents to borrow in emergencies. Or you might assist the staff in collecting used car seats that are in good condition and not listed on any recalls; parents could borrow them or purchase them at low cost. (Keep in mind that the used car seats must never have been in an accident; that can make them unsafe.)

• Local police stations and community organizations often run car seat safety check events. Your child-care facility can ask to be a location for an event. These are helpful -- experts instruct parents on proper installation and even check car seats to make sure they're installed as they should be.