Did you get your car seat inspected?

smilingjb · April 2011

I'm up in Mill Creek and hopefully this weekend we plan on installing our car seat. The instructions seem straight forward, but was wondering where to get it inspected.

TIA

zazzu · April 2011

Evergreen has a monthly inspection, but I always call to make a reservation too late and they are booked. He's 9 mo old now! Overlake has one too.

Found this too:

https://www.safekids.org/in-your-area/events/?state=WA

JaimeCH · April 2011

zazzu:
Evergreen has a monthly inspection, but I always call to make a reservation too late and they are booked. He's 9 mo old now! Overlake has one too.

Found this too:

https://www.safekids.org/in-your-area/events/?state=WA

We did ours at Evergreen too. SO's thoughts were along the lines of "how hard can it be to follow the instructions?" and was annoyed that I dragged him there. Come to find out that we had installed it incorrectly.

They also showed us how to properly buckle the baby into the car seat, so it was more than just checking our installation. All of these things seem so straight forward, but when you are being gentle with a newborn baby you might not tighten the straps enough, etc.

The whole thing took about an hour and it was worth it IMO.

smilingjb · April 2011

JaimeCH:
zazzu:

Evergreen has a monthly inspection, but I always call to make a reservation too late and they are booked. He's 9 mo old now! Overlake has one too.

Found this too:

https://www.safekids.org/in-your-area/events/?state=WA

We did ours at Evergreen too. SO's thoughts were along the lines of "how hard can it be to follow the instructions?" and was annoyed that I dragged him there. Come to find out that we had installed it incorrectly.

They also showed us how to properly buckle the baby into the car seat, so it was more than just checking our installation. All of these things seem so straight forward, but when you are being gentle with a newborn baby you might not tighten the straps enough, etc.

The whole thing took about an hour and it was worth it IMO.

Did you do yours before and after LO arrived?

seattlestef · April 2011

We did the car safe kids inspection at Overlake when the girls were born. It turned out to be a good thing because we ended up having to bring one of them home in a car bed so they helped show us how to install it with a normal carseat next to it.

tobykitty · April 2011

We live in Lynnwood and had our seat inspected at the police dept. We had to call and schedule a time.

CinemaGoddess · April 2011

tobykitty:
We live in Lynnwood and had our seat inspected at the police dept. We had to call and schedule a time.

We did, too and we live in Mill Creek. We had the carseat bases inspected in my husband's car before the girls arrived. We didn't get them inspected when we installed them in my car (a few months after the girls arrived) because they showed DH how to install them properly at his installation.

outlandartist · April 2011

I figured if I want to check I can go to the nearest snoho fire district building in the Mill Creek/Everett area. But it is good to know Evergreen does it. However, my husband thinks he can do no wrong in the installation and thinks an inspection is pointless. If he wasn't an aerospace engineer, I might have a problem with that. But I trust he knows what he is doing.

I've know of some hospitals in Idaho that require signed documentation proving you got it inspected before you can leave the hospital. Don't you think that is overkill? Or are there that many stupid people out there that we need to regulate car seat safety?

dawnies79 · April 2011

tobykitty:
We live in Lynnwood and had our seat inspected at the police dept. We had to call and schedule a time.

I believe many local fire stations do inspections as well.

KatmaiGirl · April 2011

Not sure if you feel like driving up north but the Lake Stevens fire dept. is doing car seat checks on May 2nd. The lady that does the checks is Allison and the phone # is 425-334-3034. I just called yesterday and made an appt. to get our new seat check out.

JaimeCH · April 2011

smilingjb:
JaimeCH:
zazzu:

Evergreen has a monthly inspection, but I always call to make a reservation too late and they are booked. He's 9 mo old now! Overlake has one too.

Found this too:

https://www.safekids.org/in-your-area/events/?state=WA

We did ours at Evergreen too. SO's thoughts were along the lines of "how hard can it be to follow the instructions?" and was annoyed that I dragged him there. Come to find out that we had installed it incorrectly.

They also showed us how to properly buckle the baby into the car seat, so it was more than just checking our installation. All of these things seem so straight forward, but when you are being gentle with a newborn baby you might not tighten the straps enough, etc.

The whole thing took about an hour and it was worth it IMO.

Did you do yours before and after LO arrived?

I think I was about as far along as you are when we did it. We brought both of our cars too.

Seattle_JiLLn · April 2011

smilingjb:
I'm up in Mill Creek and hopefully this weekend we plan on installing our car seat. The instructions seem straight forward, but was wondering where to get it inspected.

TIA

I think it's worth getting inspected. It has to be put in WAYYYY tighter than most people imagine. and we had ours installed in the center position using the LATCH installation not knowing that our car didn't approve of that position with LATCH. I still think it was safe that way, but it was good to get it put in the right way. We did ours at Evergreen once and at an Overlake event that was actually in the parking lot of Factoria Mall. Car Safe Kids lists the inspection sites.

**Maggiepoo** · April 2011

We also had ours done at the Lynnwood Police Station. I believe they do it every Wednesday. They show you how to properly install it and then check it when you are done. It was highly worth it for us just having the peace of mind that it was correct.

MrsH_08 · April 2011

tobykitty:
We live in Lynnwood and had our seat inspected at the police dept. We had to call and schedule a time.

We are doing this tonight at the Lynnwood PD. We called and made an appt just 2 days ago. They do it every Wednesday evening and have openings for next Wednesday available.

JB- Check this site for places around you where you can get it checked. Look in the blue box on the right. Link

smilingjb · April 2011

Let me know how it goes. DH is so like "This is a waste of time", but I want to make sure we have that sucker in right!

Seattle_JiLLn · April 2011

smilingjb:
Let me know how it goes. DH is so like "This is a waste of time", but I want to make sure we have that sucker in right!

I'd rather waste an hour than have my baby fly through the windshield. Try that on him. Or just go by yourself.

MrsH_08 · April 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
smilingjb:
Let me know how it goes. DH is so like "This is a waste of time", but I want to make sure we have that sucker in right!
I'd rather waste an hour than have my baby fly through the windshield. Try that on him. Or just go by yourself.

Yeah, I feel like I'm pretty sure I could install it ok. But then the inspection woman was talking about it being level and bringing towels in case she needs that to level it, etc. I was thinking about all the years of being a nanny and working in child care and never saw a towel being used. I looked at our new seat today and it actually has a level on it, near the bottom. Interesting. Plus, I want to figure out if my LATCH spots are the right choice.

JB- I'll FB msg you tomorrow.

Seattle_JiLLn · April 2011

MrsH_08:
Seattle_JiLLn:
smilingjb:
Let me know how it goes. DH is so like "This is a waste of time", but I want to make sure we have that sucker in right!
I'd rather waste an hour than have my baby fly through the windshield. Try that on him. Or just go by yourself.
Yeah, I feel like I'm pretty sure I could install it ok. But then the inspection woman was talking about it being level and bringing towels in case she needs that to level it, etc. I was thinking about all the years of being a nanny and working in child care and never saw a towel being used. I looked at our new seat today and it actually has a level on it, near the bottom. Interesting. Plus, I want to figure out if my LATCH spots are the right choice.
JB- I'll FB msg you tomorrow.

Yep we needed a towel or a pool noodle to level ours in at least one of our cars. And I was surprised how they really got in there and kneeled in the seat to push it down so that they could really really really tighten it up.

smilingjb · April 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
smilingjb:
Let me know how it goes. DH is so like "This is a waste of time", but I want to make sure we have that sucker in right!
I'd rather waste an hour than have my baby fly through the windshield. Try that on him. Or just go by yourself.

He he he !! I did say something on those lines, but I am definitly going to go and have it check! Thanks!

MrsH_08 · April 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
MrsH_08:
Seattle_JiLLn:
smilingjb:
Let me know how it goes. DH is so like "This is a waste of time", but I want to make sure we have that sucker in right!
I'd rather waste an hour than have my baby fly through the windshield. Try that on him. Or just go by yourself.
Yeah, I feel like I'm pretty sure I could install it ok. But then the inspection woman was talking about it being level and bringing towels in case she needs that to level it, etc. I was thinking about all the years of being a nanny and working in child care and never saw a towel being used. I looked at our new seat today and it actually has a level on it, near the bottom. Interesting. Plus, I want to figure out if my LATCH spots are the right choice.
JB- I'll FB msg you tomorrow.

Yep we needed a towel or a pool noodle to level ours in at least one of our cars. And I was surprised how they really got in there and kneeled in the seat to push it down so that they could really really really tighten it up.

Yep, she also mentioned a pool noodle! In fact, she prefers a noodle. I'm glad we went tonight. Sadly, what we really took home was that we'd be better off with a minivan or SUV, even with just one child. One carseat in my Corolla and space is tight.

doublem · April 2011

I'm late to this, but we had ours inspected at Children's. It also took a good hour, and they made us practice installing the car seat (and baby!) properly so that we would know how to use it in any car, with or without the LATCH system. My H didn't think it was necessary at first, but by that point in my pregnancy, he knew he was better off going along with me than dealing with my tears/wrath/frustration for a week - afterward, he couldn't stop talking about how good it was that we went.

kaskade · April 2011

outlandartist:

I've know of some hospitals in Idaho that require signed documentation proving you got it inspected before you can leave the hospital. Don't you think that is overkill? Or are there that many stupid people out there that we need to regulate car seat safety?

Sadly, yes. My job puts me in contact with countless vehicles and you would be amazed at how badly some seats are installed. Like, so poorly installed they're probably more dangerous than not. The inspections do help, especially after baby is here, so you can learn the little tips and tricks that make life easier for all and keep baby safe.

Seattle_JiLLn · April 2011

kaskade:
outlandartist:

I've know of some hospitals in Idaho that require signed documentation proving you got it inspected before you can leave the hospital. Don't you think that is overkill? Or are there that many stupid people out there that we need to regulate car seat safety?
Sadly, yes. My job puts me in contact with countless vehicles and you would be amazed at how badly some seats are installed. Like, so poorly installed they're probably more dangerous than not. The inspections do help, especially after baby is here, so you can learn the little tips and tricks that make life easier for all and keep baby safe.

I saw a car once with a car seat in the front seat just sort of strapped in. Clearly wobbly and rickety and not anywhere close to installed correctly. Not to mention it was in the front seat. and there were 2 in the back too. So clearly it was a situation where there were too many kids for the car. But still. I do think some people are really just idiots with this stuff.

That said, when I lived in Rhode Island we had to have our cars inspected every 2 years for all sorts of stuff to be able to get our car tabs. I thought that was a good thing - it checked your tire treats, brake pads, lights, horn, etc.. all basic safety. It only cost $15. But I think it had to help keep at least a few unsafe cars off the road.

Seattle_JiLLn · April 2011

kaskade:
outlandartist:

I've know of some hospitals in Idaho that require signed documentation proving you got it inspected before you can leave the hospital. Don't you think that is overkill? Or are there that many stupid people out there that we need to regulate car seat safety?
Sadly, yes. My job puts me in contact with countless vehicles and you would be amazed at how badly some seats are installed. Like, so poorly installed they're probably more dangerous than not. The inspections do help, especially after baby is here, so you can learn the little tips and tricks that make life easier for all and keep baby safe.

I saw a car once with a car seat in the front seat just sort of strapped in. Clearly wobbly and rickety and not anywhere close to installed correctly. Not to mention it was in the front seat. and there were 2 in the back too. So clearly it was a situation where there were too many kids for the car. But still. I do think some people are really just idiots with this stuff.

That said, when I lived in Rhode Island we had to have our cars inspected every 2 years for all sorts of stuff to be able to get our car tabs. I thought that was a good thing - it checked your tire treats, brake pads, lights, horn, etc.. all basic safety. It only cost $15. But I think it had to help keep at least a few unsafe cars off the road.

Seattle_JiLLn · April 2011

kaskade:
outlandartist:

I've know of some hospitals in Idaho that require signed documentation proving you got it inspected before you can leave the hospital. Don't you think that is overkill? Or are there that many stupid people out there that we need to regulate car seat safety?
Sadly, yes. My job puts me in contact with countless vehicles and you would be amazed at how badly some seats are installed. Like, so poorly installed they're probably more dangerous than not. The inspections do help, especially after baby is here, so you can learn the little tips and tricks that make life easier for all and keep baby safe.

I saw a car once with a car seat in the front seat just sort of strapped in. Clearly wobbly and rickety and not anywhere close to installed correctly. Not to mention it was in the front seat. and there were 2 in the back too. So clearly it was a situation where there were too many kids for the car. But still. I do think some people are really just idiots with this stuff.

That said, when I lived in Rhode Island we had to have our cars inspected every 2 years for all sorts of stuff to be able to get our car tabs. I thought that was a good thing - it checked your tire treats, brake pads, lights, horn, etc.. all basic safety. It only cost $15. But I think it had to help keep at least a few unsafe cars off the road.

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