Melbourne mum warns parents over 'deadly' car seat mistake

Melbourne mum Zoe ten Broek is warning parents after she and her 10-month-old son Jaxon were involved in a horrific car accident. Photo / Instagram @jax.and.i

A traumatised mother has issued an urgent car seat warning for other parents following a near-fatal crash.

Melbourne mum, Zoe ten Broek was left devastated after she and her 10-month-old son, Jaxon, were involved in a car accident two years ago that left him with a brain bleed and torn neck ligaments.

Speaking to The Sun, Broek revealed her son would not have survived if he wasn't strapped into his rear-facing car seat and recounted doing the "pinch test" on the straps protecting her child before she began driving.

Plunket recommends keeping your child in a rear-facing car seat position for as long as possible, "All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car seat for as long as possible – until the child has reached the maximum weight and/or height allowed by the manufacturer of their child restraint. We recommend you use them until your child is at least two."

Broek spoke about the traumatic time saying, "Nothing could have prepared me for seeing my little man in that massive bed with so many tubes and wires everywhere," she said.

"There was even a big sticker that said he had a piece of bone in his head removed. It was terrifying. It was really terrifying."

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The young child's doctors said he had sustained severe brain trauma and a fractured skull which resulted in the brain bleed.

"It was touch and go for a while, but four surgeries, four weeks in hospital, and many tears later I was thankfully lucky enough to be able to take my boy home without any permanent issues," Broek said.

The accident occurred after an oncoming car got too close to Broek's Volkswagen and clipped the tires which caused her to spin out of control stopping in the path of another vehicle that T-boned her while going 100km/h.

Broek said where the car hit her was "exactly where Jax was sitting" and said her son was in hospital for four months and spent many more recovering at home.

The mother of one said not a day goes by where she isn't thinking about how different things could have been if her son was strapped forward-facing in the car.

"If you have already started forward-facing your young child, please reconsider," Broek warned. It is safest to keep your child rearward facing until they reach the forward-facing markers on your car seat."

Broek shared with The Sun that her son had an MRI recent and was given the "all-clear" by surgeons, she said he has started talking and walking but noted he is "developmentally behind".

"Was it because of the head trauma? We'll never know. But he's thriving in all other areas!

Despite her son's rough first year, he will turn three in August and is a happy little boy.