car seat checks

shutaff · July 2014

Hi ladies! I thought I would give a reminder to anyone who forgot or didn't know that you can get your car seat checked for free to make sure that it is installed properly. Just google your city and car seat inspection/check and you should find some information, or go to your local fire station or police department; most have someone who is trained to check them or can direct you where to go.

My husband installed ours, and I went yesterday to have it checked. My husband is a smart guy (and an engineer!) and ours was not installed properly. The officer who checked it told me that 73% of car seats are being used incorrectly! He was really nice and spent a lot of time showing me how to do everything. I feel so much more confident now that baby will be safe. Hope this helps someone!

kareik01 · July 2014

Our hospital won't let us leave until their car seat specialist checks for proper installation!

However, I have a sister that has 4 kids and she's VERY strict about her car seats, making sure they're properly installed, etc. She showed me how and got it in my car for me so it's all ready to go. I have no doubt that it'll pass inspection since my sis did it

boymomstrong · July 2014

Good advice! It seems simple but its not always! My hubby is trained to check and instal them now, but with our first we thought the same as you, he is also an engineer! (And a firefighter/emt, he is crazy busy!)

marathonmommy82 · July 2014

I'm at the fire station waiting now !

IvyMagic828 · July 2014

My husband's also an engineer.. I hope he did it right! I actually tried to schedule a car seat check today but the sheriff's office only does it once a month and I missed this month's check. I tried calling the only other place in our small city/town, one of the fire departments, but no one answered so we'll see if I get a call back. I guess I procrastinated too long on this! The latch system with our car seat seemed pretty straightforward though. I would like to make sure I understand the seatbelt installation, though.

planetkari · July 2014

Our hospital will also not release the baby to go home until the car seat is properly installed. The catch is that the hospital staff member who checks it will not tell you how to fix the installation if they notice it's wrong. They refer you to AAA or another organization who can check it and tell you how to change it, and then you have to come back and have it re-inspected by the hospital employee. (I suspect that this practice releases them from some kind of liability because they aren't telling you how to change it to make it compliant.) We're getting our car seats checked during our child safety class at the hospital this weekend, so that should be enough to tell us whether we've done it right or not. I just don't want any delays when we're ready to take baby home.

xxMiss2Mrs09xx · July 2014

I'm hoping I can meet up with my best friend, who works for the PD as the certified car seat technician, this weekend and have her show us.

kareik01 · July 2014

planetkari said:

Our hospital will also not release the baby to go home until the car seat is properly installed. The catch is that the hospital staff member who checks it will not tell you how to fix the installation if they notice it's wrong. They refer you to AAA or another organization who can check it and tell you how to change it, and then you have to come back and have it re-inspected by the hospital employee. (I suspect that this practice releases them from some kind of liability because they aren't telling you how to change it to make it compliant.) We're getting our car seats checked during our child safety class at the hospital this weekend, so that should be enough to tell us whether we've done it right or not. I just don't want any delays when we're ready to take baby home.

That seems harsh...

At our birthing class, they had the car seat specialist come in to give an overview of car seat safety and show us common car seats and how they're properly installed. It was great because DH and I both learned things we had no idea about. Plus we have a unique car seat, so it helped me understand some things I probably wouldn't have known otherwise.

Edit for typo

shugirl76 · July 2014

My DH is very smart, and we were wrong about it. I did it at police station.

BlckRoses · July 2014

I mentioned to DH that I want him to install the car seats this weekend and then make an appointment to get them checked. He rolled his eyes at me and said that he thinks he can do it fine. I told him I would be much more comfortable if it was inspected, so he's going to make the appointment. I would tell him the 73% stat, but he'll just say he's in the 27% who got it right!

xxMiss2Mrs09xx · July 2014

Here is the national child passenger safety certification search website--

https://ssl06.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbzap.bin/apps/assess/webmembers/tool?pToolCode=TAB9&pCategory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=SAFEKIDSCERTSQL

dogperson11 · July 2014

xxMiss2Mrs09xx said:
Here is the national child passenger safety certification search website--

https://ssl06.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbzap.bin/apps/assess/webmembers/tool?pToolCode=TAB9&pCategory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=SAFEKIDSCERTSQL

I'm truly and honestly not trying to come across as know-it-all ish or harsh, but PLEASE, if you're going to get your car seats checked, have them checked by a CPST (child passenger safety technician). Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and valets are NOT usually up to date CPSTs. They have their own jobs. Sure, maybe someone 5+ years ago showed them how to install a seat, but that doesn't make it relative to new guidelines.

Please educate yourselves on proper child safety protocol. A car seat is NOT just another piece of baby gear. It's a safety device. More then 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly. I'd be willing to bet that a good amount of those were "checked" by someone who is NOT a CPST.

Read your vehicle manual, read your car seat manual, and have it checked by a CPST. The link above is an excellent resource to find one. The Facebook group Car Seats For The Littles is also an excellent resource (you can even post pictures of your install and a CPST will check it).

Cat&S · July 2014

I got ours checked at AAA yesterday. Make sure the person inspecting is certified!

shutaff · July 2014

The officer who checked ours was certified. I asked.

dogperson11 said:

Here is the national child passenger safety certification search website-- https://ssl06.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbzap.bin/apps/assess/webmembers/tool?pToolCode=TAB9&pCategory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=SAFEKIDSCERTSQL
I'm truly and honestly not trying to come across as know-it-all ish or harsh, but PLEASE, if you're going to get your car seats checked, have them checked by a CPST (child passenger safety technician). Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and valets are NOT usually up to date CPSTs. They have their own jobs. Sure, maybe someone 5+ years ago showed them how to install a seat, but that doesn't make it relative to new guidelines. Please educate yourselves on proper child safety protocol. A car seat is NOT just another piece of baby gear. It's a safety device. More then 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly. I'd be willing to bet that a good amount of those were "checked" by someone who is NOT a CPST. Read your vehicle manual, read your car seat manual, and have it checked by a CPST. The link above is an excellent resource to find one. The Facebook group Car Seats For The Littles is also an excellent resource (you can even post pictures of your install and a CPST will check it).

Allison7 · July 2014

Our appointment is scheduled for Monday with the certified tech at the local emt. We are actually not to install ourselves, but instead to bring the bases, both cars, and the seat and they will teach us the correct install while installing the seats. It will certainly be an interesting outing for our 7th wedding anniversary!

jendem8 · July 2014

Allison7 said:

Our appointment is scheduled for Monday with the certified tech at the local emt. We are actually not to install ourselves, but instead to bring the bases, both cars, and the seat and they will teach us the correct install while installing the seats. It will certainly be an interesting outing for our 7th wedding anniversary!

Not to be super creepy, but I vaguely remember that you're in the Pittsburgh area, correct? If so... who did you contact???

Also, happy anniversary!

ebp913 · July 2014

dogperson11 said:

Here is the national child passenger safety certification search website-- https://ssl06.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbzap.bin/apps/assess/webmembers/tool?pToolCode=TAB9&pCategory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=SAFEKIDSCERTSQL
I'm truly and honestly not trying to come across as know-it-all ish or harsh, but PLEASE, if you're going to get your car seats checked, have them checked by a CPST (child passenger safety technician). Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and valets are NOT usually up to date CPSTs. They have their own jobs. Sure, maybe someone 5+ years ago showed them how to install a seat, but that doesn't make it relative to new guidelines. Please educate yourselves on proper child safety protocol. A car seat is NOT just another piece of baby gear. It's a safety device. More then 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly. I'd be willing to bet that a good amount of those were "checked" by someone who is NOT a CPST. Read your vehicle manual, read your car seat manual, and have it checked by a CPST. The link above is an excellent resource to find one. The Facebook group Car Seats For The Littles is also an excellent resource (you can even post pictures of your install and a CPST will check it).

This this this. There are LOTS of well meaning police officers and fire fighters who want to help you but are not actually certified or current with their certifications. I highly recommend find a tech through safekids.org and NOT calling your local station. I am a tech and I love helping parents with their seats.

marathonmommy82 · July 2014

ebp913 said:

dogperson11 said:

Here is the national child passenger safety certification search website-- https://ssl06.cyzap.net/dzapps/dbzap.bin/apps/assess/webmembers/tool?pToolCode=TAB9&pCategory1=TAB9_CERTSEARCH&Webid=SAFEKIDSCERTSQL
I'm truly and honestly not trying to come across as know-it-all ish or harsh, but PLEASE, if you're going to get your car seats checked, have them checked by a CPST (child passenger safety technician). Firefighters, police officers, EMTs, and valets are NOT usually up to date CPSTs. They have their own jobs. Sure, maybe someone 5+ years ago showed them how to install a seat, but that doesn't make it relative to new guidelines. Please educate yourselves on proper child safety protocol. A car seat is NOT just another piece of baby gear. It's a safety device. More then 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly. I'd be willing to bet that a good amount of those were "checked" by someone who is NOT a CPST. Read your vehicle manual, read your car seat manual, and have it checked by a CPST. The link above is an excellent resource to find one. The Facebook group Car Seats For The Littles is also an excellent resource (you can even post pictures of your install and a CPST will check it).

This this this. There are LOTS of well meaning police officers and fire fighters who want to help you but are not actually certified or current with their certifications. I highly recommend find a tech through safekids.org and NOT calling your local station. I am a tech and I love helping parents with their seats.

I called safekids and they were totally booked through Sept (!) but they have a back up certified technician who is also a volunteer FF. I asked the traffic section of our PD and learned that no one is certified!

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