"Buckle up," his mother told him from the front seat of the family car, a little absently. She was running late.

"Sure, sure thing," her 6-year-old assured her from the back seat, and she heard the reassuring click of the seat belt buckle. But minutes later, when a truck pulled out in front of her, the seat belt was absolutely no protection.

Traffic investigators discovered that the 6-year-old -- possessed of childhood's natural aversion to "sitting" anywhere -- had pulled the belt out to its full length. It was so loose, it would not have held a grown man, the officers said.

Mistakes the most caring parents can make with kids and cars will be explored today through Saturday, during National Child Passenger Safety Awareness Week at several clinics.

In Stanislaus County, they are sponsored by the county Health Services Agency, the Modesto Police Department, Citizens for Safe Driving and Hamaway's Baby News.

In Los Banos and Tracy, California Highway Patrol officers will join other safety authorities in observing child safety week. In Manteca, the San Joaquin County Health Department is sponsoring a clinic.

Los Banos police and CHP officers will be stopping cars throughout the week to look for child-passenger safety violations, said Los Banos police traffic officer Condon McConville.

At the same time, the department also "will be using this for an opportunity to step up enforcement of adult seat belt laws."

Tracy CHP officers will offer advice at a San Joaquin County Health Department child safety clinic at Sutter Tracy Community Hospital.

However various public agencies observe child safety week, they are promoting something better than good intentions.

"Although the majority of parents have good intentions and think they are restraining their children properly, the reality is that even the most caring parents make mistakes," said Anne Stokman, a registered nurse who directs Stanislaus County's Keep Baby Safe Program for county health services.

The National Safe Kids Campaign estimates that 85 percent of parents or caregivers make two or more mistakes in installing and using child safety seats, leaving children dangerously loose in their restraints, Stokman said.

Of the 33 children age 3 and younger killed in California auto accidents during 1997, only four were adequately strapped into their seats, as required by law, and more than 3,000 children were injured, that year, she reported.

California buckle-up laws are strict, and a traffic ticket for improperly restraining a child can cost a driver more than $280, public safety officers point out. Such a ticket also can boost insurance premiums.

State law requires children to be buckled properly in car seats until they are 4 years old -- and beyond that age if they do not weigh at least 40 pounds.

Children 12 and under should ride in the back seat, and infants should be placed in rear-facing car seats until they weigh at least 20 pounds and are a year old, safety officials said. Because of the hazard of air bags, they added, an infant should never be strapped in a car seat in the front seat.

Just what mistakes can be made when it comes to child safety in cars will get careful scrutiny at next week's clinics, when safety instructors will check out car seats and car-seat arrangements for parents.

Prospective participants in Stanislaus County child safety sessions can call 558-5656 for reservations. Safety clinics are set for these Northern San Joaquin Valley health facilities:

• Memorial Medical Center parking lot, 1700 Coffee Road, Modesto, 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesday.
• Sutter Tracy Community Hospital entryway, 1420 Tracy Blvd., Tracy, 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
• Oak Valley Hospital parking lot, 350 S. Oak St., Oakdale, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday.
• Doctors Medical Center parking garage, 1441 Florida Ave., Modesto, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.
• Wal-Mart parking lot, Main Street, Manteca, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday.
• Emanuel Medical Center parking lot, 825 Delbon Ave., Turlock, 10 a.m. to noon Friday.

And the survey says ...

Child safety seat violations can cost you a fine of more than $280, points on your driving record, elevated insurance premiums and, worst of all, possibly the life of your child.

Still, a National Safe Kids Campaign survey, released Thursday, indicates that 85 percent of the people who provide car seats for their children install them incorrectly. In California, the rate gets worse: 87 percent.

According to the survey, the most common error involves car seats not secured tightly enough by the seat belt: Parents should not be able to move car seats more than 1 inch after installation.

Other findings include: Thirty-three percent of children were in car seat restraints with loose harness straps. This could lead to children being ejected during a crash. And 20 percent of children were in child seats with harness straps that were not correctly routed.

Common child safety seat errors include:

• Rear-facing infant seat installed in the front seat of a car where there is a passenger-side air bag.
• Child under 12 months sitting in a forward-facing safety seat.
• Safety seat harness system missing, not buckled, too loose or positioned incorrectly.
• Safety belt not buckled, too loose or in the wrong belt path.
• Locking clip needed but not used.
• Child moved to booster seat too soon.

Reprinted by permission of Modesto Bee