Safe Kids Maine

08/08/2026

The CPSC is warning about viral squishy toy demonstrations that can cause serious burns. Take a minute to read the warning—and please don’t try this at home.

Videos shared online may depict squishy toys — including popular animal, food, and character-shaped squeeze toys — expanding, changing texture, or bursting when heated. These demonstrations are dangerous and should never be attempted or imitated.
https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2026/Consumer-Safety-Alert-CPSC-Warns-Consumers-About-Fake-and-Counterfeit-Squishy-Toys-Reiterates-Warning-About-Serious-Burn-Hazards

08/04/2026

Join Safe Kids Maine at one of our FREE Car Seat Safety Check events this August:

📍 South Portland – Thursday, August 13
📍 Windham – Saturday, August 15

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will inspect your child’s car seat, answer your questions, and help ensure your child is riding as safely as possible.

✅ Free to attend
✅ Appointments are strongly recommended

Schedule your appointment today at www.safekidsmaine.org.

A properly used car seat can make all the difference in a crash. Whether you’re installing a new seat, have moved your child’s harness, or simply want peace of mind, we’re here to help. Take a few minutes now to help protect what matters most.

A special thank you to our sponsors, MaineHealth and Windham Walmart, for making these free community events possible!

07/23/2026

🚨 Recall Alert 🚨
Evenflo Reo by Revolve360 Car Seat

Evenflo has announced a recall of certain Reo by Revolve360 child restraints in the following color options: Nantucket, Danvers, Chelsea, Holden, Brookline, and Lenox.

The recall involves a headrest locking mechanism that may allow the headrest to shift during a crash, meaning the seat does not meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 requirements. Approximately 59,661 seats are affected.

What should parents do?
• Check whether your child’s seat is one of the affected models.
• The remedy is currently being developed by Evenflo.
• Interim notification letters are expected to be mailed beginning August 17, 2026, with follow-up instructions once the repair is available.
• If you have questions, contact Evenflo Customer Service at 1-800-233-5921.

As with most recalls, don’t throw your seat away. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and watch for information about the free remedy when it becomes available. Safe Kids Maine will share updates as more information is released.

07/15/2026

Congratulations to Detective Brian Carlton on this well-deserved recognition! We’re especially proud that Brian became a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician through our certification course in 2021. He recently became an Instructor through a certification course by the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety. Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping Maine’s children and families safe.

The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office wishes to congratulate Detective Brian Carlton who was awarded the AAA Traffic Safety Champion Award. This award recognizes those who work tirelessly behind the scenes and on the front lines to reduce traffic fatalities and injuries. Detective Carlton is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. He has been actively involved in many community events in the mid coast region over the past few years, providing information and instructions to parents of young children on how to properly install and secure their children in car safety seats. He has also helped dozens of families receive free child safety seats through a Bureau of Highway Safety program. Detective Carlton is also an instructor and goes around the state helping to certify other police officers and public safety personnel in becoming a technician.

Without a doubt this program and the efforts of Detective Carlton have saved lives.

Pictured L-R: Sheriff Joel Merry, Detective Brian Carlton, Chief Deputy Jason Warlick, and Patrol Lieutenant Michael Fitzpatrick.

The Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, in conjunction with AAA Northern New England hosted the 2026 Maine Impaired Driving Summit, June 24.

07/10/2026

We love this analogy from Country Kids Car Seat Safety! Thank you for creating a simple but powerful way to explain why children need the right restraint for their size.

A reminder for Maine families: Maine law requires children to remain in a harnessed car seat until they weigh at least 55 pounds or have reached the maximum height or weight limit of their harnessed seat before transitioning to a booster seat. This means your second and third grader may still need to be in a harnessed car seat, since many children do not weigh 55 pounds until they are around eight years old. They will likely exceed their harnessed car seat’s limits by height before weight. Most harness car seats have a 65 pound weight limit and a 49 inch height limit, with some going as high as 54 inches.

But don’t rush each stage. Best practice is to keep children harnessed as long as they fit within their car seat’s limits, then use a booster until the adult seat belt fits correctly. For most children, that isn’t until they’re 10–12 years old, and sometimes even longer depending on their size.

Not sure if your child is ready for the next step? Safe Kids Maine offers free child passenger safety appointments for children from unborn through age 14. We’ll help ensure car seats, booster seats, and seat belts fit properly so your child has the best possible protection.

Visit www.safekidsmaine.org to view our event schedule and book your free appointment today.

07/01/2026

Your child’s car seat protects them every time you hit the road, but only if it’s installed and used correctly.

Did you know that a large percentage of car seats are installed incorrectly? Our certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians are here to help, free of charge.

Join us at one of our July Car Seat Safety Check events:

• July 9 – South Portland
• July 18 – Windham

Appointments are free and personalized to your child, your vehicle, and your car seat. Whether you’re expecting a baby, moving to the next stage, or just want peace of mind, we’re here to help.

Schedule your FREE appointment today at www.safekidsmaine.org.

Thank you to our sponsors, MaineHealth and Windham Walmart, for helping keep Maine’s children safe on every ride.

06/13/2026

Congratulations to our newest Child Passenger Safety Technicians who successfully completed Safe Kids Maine’s Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification Hybrid Course on June 11!

A special thank you to Patriot Subaru and Patriot Acura for sponsoring the course and investing in their staff to become nationally certified technicians who will help families keep children safe on the road.

We are grateful to the South Portland (Maine) Fire Department for hosting the course and community car seat check event, to MaineHealth Maine Medical Center and AAA Northern New England for supporting their instructors to help teach the course, and to Michelle Raber - State Farm Insurance Agent for providing a pizza lunch for our students and instructors.

Every new technician strengthens our statewide network of child passenger safety advocates and helps us reach more families with life-saving education.

Families can schedule a free car seat check and view our upcoming events at www.safekidsmaine.org.

06/07/2026

Every day, parents trust that properly installed car seats, booster seats, and seat belts will help protect their children. But child passenger safety is about more than what happens inside the vehicle. It also depends on the decisions made by every driver on the road.

Thank you to AAA Northern New England for leading this week’s 100 Days of Safe Driving kickoff event and bringing together partners including MaineHealth Maine Medical Center, Maine State Police, Maine Department of the Secretary of State, and the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety to highlight the importance of safe driving.

Speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, and other risky behaviors put everyone at risk. The safest ride for a child requires both a correct restraint and responsible drivers.

Please commit to driving distraction-free and unimpaired, slowing down, buckling up, and watching out for everyone who shares our roads.

Still haven’t had your child’s car seat checked? You’re in luck! Join us on Thursday in South Portland or Saturday in Windham for a free car seat checkup event! You can find more details and schedule an appointment at www.safekidsmaine.org.

MHMMC Portland was proud to participate in AAA’s annual "100 Days of Safe Driving" kickoff yesterday. As Maine’s only Level I Trauma Center, we see the results of distracted driving and driving without a seatbelt.

Our trauma medical director, Dr. Bryan Morse, has these three tips:
• Buckle up, every trip, every seat: Seat belts remain the single most effective way to prevent death and severe injury in a motor vehicle collision.
• Slow down and eliminate distractions: As trauma surgeons, we routinely care for patients whose lives change in seconds because of speeding, texting or impaired driving. Put the phone away, obey speed limits, and never drive impaired.
• Share the road and expect the unexpected: Summer means more motorcycles, bicyclists, pedestrians, construction zones and tourists on Maine roads. Pay extra attention, increase following distance and drive defensively to prevent tragedies before they reach the trauma center.

06/02/2026

Great resource for families visiting Ferry Beach! Thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Scarborough Maine for helping keep our community safe by providing free life jackets to borrow. 🦺🌊☀️

The Scarborough Kiwanis Life Jacket Loaner Station is open for the season! Our life jacket loaner station is located at Ferry Beach, Scarborough. It is stocked with life jackets in various sizes. Please stay safe on the water!

04/30/2026

Tomorrow is National Heatstroke Prevention Day. Here are 4 ways to protect kids from hot car tragedies:
1. Keep unoccupied vehicles locked
2. Remember, no errand is quick enough to leave a child alone in the car
3. so a child isn't left behind by mistake
4. If you see a child alone in a vehicle, call 911
We all have a role to play!