Is there a need to get car seat installed by fire dept?

monpetitechouchou01

Hi everyone!

Is it necessary to have a car seat installed by the fire department (or whomever) or can we just install it ourselves following the directions that seat came with? We purchased a new seat and it does come with directions. Not sure what the protocol is.

Thanks! 

goldie11883

Certain states have laws that the car seat has to be inspected, but you can definitely install it yourself. I live in NY, we don't have any laws about getting it inspected but I plan on just having the state troopers put it in for me just to be safe. I hear they can be tricky.

kjem182

We thought we had our carseat installed perfectly.  Turns out, we didn't.  The police officer was so friendly and took 45 minutes to show us everything about car safety with the little one, put in the seat, etc.  Well worth our time-we had it hooked to hooks we thought went with the middle seat, but they really went with the outside seats.  So the little angle our straps were at would have compromised the safety of the seat in an accident.

surprise3rd

We always installed them ourselves.  The directions are very specific, the one I had had a little red ball in the window and if it sat in the right spot the seat was in the right spot.  It also describes the 'wiggle' room if your seat should have any, also if you have a latch system it is also easy to safely install your own seat.  I would install it yourself, then you can always stop by a fire dept. or police office and have them check it for you.  Also some service centers are 'certified' car seat inspectors.

awinter05

As pp mentioned, a shockingly large percentage of people do not install the car seat properly. We followed the instructions and installed the seat ourselves but then I went to the police station to have a certified tech check it. Turn out that even though we had it in "correctly" it wasn't nearly as tight as it could have been. I feel much better knowing we had it checked out and is installed as securely and safely as possible.

catapult32

I"m planning on installing it myself. This is my first baby, but not my first experience with car seats.

The hospital I'm delivering has nurses that are trained in car seat installation, but when a girlfriend was being discharged the nurse pulled out the car seat and put it in backwards. She didn't notice her mistake until after she had given me a lecture in "proper car seat installation" and then realized the baby was facing forward, not backward AND was at a horrible angle. Then she turned it around and glared at me.

monpetitechouchou01

catapult32:

I"m planning on installing it myself. This is my first baby, but not my first experience with car seats.

The hospital I'm delivering has nurses that are trained in car seat installation, but when a girlfriend was being discharged the nurse pulled out the car seat and put it in backwards. She didn't notice her mistake until after she had given me a lecture in "proper car seat installation" and then realized the baby was facing forward, not backward AND was at a horrible angle. Then she turned it around and glared at me.

 

That's funny in a not so funny way if you know what I mean.

 Thanks to everyone for their input! So either the police dept or fire dept are the ones to call just to be safe? I think I'll go ahead and have them double check it since I am a ftm and I don't want to assume my seat is going to be simple. I have a Peg (forget the rest of the name) and I hear its not as easy as a Chicco to set up. I could be wrong! But I'd prefer to err on the side of caution. Is there a charge for the installation btw? 

ToastieSimons

I think a lot of people do it to feel more confident in the carseat's installation.  Some are tricky.

However, my brother is a fireman and I know for a fact that he's nowhere near as strict on carseat rules as I am.  So for me, I don't put a lot of faith in it. 

pinkcallalily

Our fire department requests that you install the seat yourself and then get it inspected.  They want you to have the experience of doing it yourself in case you are in a situation where you can't have them do it for you (air travel, etc.).  It's also easier for them to explain any problems to you if you already know the steps to install it.

byrne15

We went to the ambulance place to have ours installed the 1st time.  We have since moved it a bunch of times, but it was good to have someone to show us what to look for.

ljanette85

unless you have put one in before i would have them show you... i was taught to literally sit in the base on my knees and get the strap as tight as possible. Its hard! better safe than sorry

Mama2Bug

I am a certified car seat tech. 4 out 5 car seats are incorrectly installed, mine was one of them until I went through the training. I got certified when my son was almost a year old.  Until then, I thought his seat was correctly installed, but it was WAY too loose. 

Check out SafeKids USA (they have websites for other countries too if needed) at www.safekids.org. On the left side is several blue boxes, one says "in your area". Use that map to find a certified Child Passenger Safety Tech and/or a check up event in your area. You can find check up events, find a collation, find and inspection stations.  Not all police officers/firefighters/nurses are certified through SafeKids, though many are. You might also find CPSTs in unusual places (baby stores, insurance offices).   SafeKids is the only national certification body, so make sure they are certified through them.  

The CPST should have you install the seat.  They will show you how, give pointers, and assist, then uninstall it and have the you install it. This is so the parents can learn how to install it when the CPST is not around.   The process can take awhile to do, but it is so important. 

 PS... There is a lot of good information on the safekids site, from boating to walking to school safely to poison.   

melrrr

Fire and police deots don't do them in our city. Only certain places, and by appointment on certain days of the week. I just never get a chance. 

kjem182

Our inspection was free, and they were wonderful with appointment times.  We got a 7:30pm, as both dh and I work late and share the car.  Like a PP said, the officer had to go through a 40 hour class, so he was super careful with everything.  Overall, it was well worth it.  I just googled my county and car seat inspection.  There were many places I could go-the Highway Patrol office was just the closest.

mkflower3000

You can also go to an inspection station (our is separate from the fire station, I believe). If you google ones for your state, you should be able to find a list.

monpetitechouchou01

Mama2Bug:

I am a certified car seat tech. 4 out 5 car seats are incorrectly installed, mine was one of them until I went through the training. I got certified when my son was almost a year old.  Until then, I thought his seat was correctly installed, but it was WAY too loose. 

Check out SafeKids USA (they have websites for other countries too if needed) at www.safekids.org. On the left side is several blue boxes, one says "in your area". Use that map to find a certified Child Passenger Safety Tech and/or a check up event in your area. You can find check up events, find a collation, find and inspection stations.  Not all police officers/firefighters/nurses are certified through SafeKids, though many are. You might also find CPSTs in unusual places (baby stores, insurance offices).   SafeKids is the only national certification body, so make sure they are certified through them.  

The CPST should have you install the seat.  They will show you how, give pointers, and assist, then uninstall it and have the you install it. This is so the parents can learn how to install it when the CPST is not around.   The process can take awhile to do, but it is so important. 

 PS... There is a lot of good information on the safekids site, from boating to walking to school safely to poison.   

 

This was fantastic! Thank you so much for all of the info!! I'll look into safekids.org asap 

luvlss1

CabbageCabbage:

I think it's worth it. Just be sure to find out when and where you can get it inspected. I have a friend who is a fire fighter and he said people just show up at the fire house and expect that someone will be available to do it. Very few people have gone through the long and expensive training to certify the seats. It's best to schedule an appointment. 

THIS!

ChibiMommy

It isn't required in our state and the nearest place that does inspection is over an hour and a half away so we never actually got ours inspected.

 

 We don't use the latch system because we could never get it tight enough for my taste, I've found that I can get it much tighter if I use the seatbelt.  As of now, I sit in his seat (I'm 5'1 so I'm small enough to be able to do that) and do the last bit of tightening, when we used the infant seat DH would sit on the base while I tightened the belt.