Car Seat Safety

Jacob, Josiah and I got a “car seat checkup” this morning through the Safe Kids Coalition.  They do this every other Wednesday (I think) at the Farmer’s Market.  We did this once before when Josiah was just a few months old and it was great.  I had to get over my pride to go because I thought I was smart enough to be able to figure out how to install a car seat and that programs like this were not for parents like me!  But I figured that if something they showed me may save my son’s life, then my pride shouldn’t get in the way.  As it turns out, we learned a lot!  If one of the seemingly minute details that they corrected made him safer, then I’m happy, especially since it didn’t even make things more difficult for me.

One thing we learned today is that while it is still the law, the AAP no longer supports the recommendation to turn kids forward facing at 20 pounds and 12 months.  Now they say to go to the upper weight limits of the seat or around 18-24 months.  They also said that most of the pediatricians are not up to speed with this???  Mine didn’t mention it and I didn’t ask.  I know this is a milestone people really look forward to, but they explained the reasoning behind it quite convincingly.  We had planned to keep Josiah facing rearwards anyway because he was happy and we were happy, so why not keep him safer?

At any rate, this is a great informational and practical experience that I recommend.  It is so easy and doesn’t take long.  They did our two vehicles and two seats in less than 30 minutes.  We also bought a convertible seat from them for $45 as a spare for Jacob’s truck.  We expected it to be cheap, but it is a very nice seat…especially for a backup.  We may take ours back and buy another!  While they were working on our seats, they gave Josiah bubbles and a beanie baby for entertainment – you can’t ask for much more.

You must have an appointment to participate.  Go to http://www.shandssafekids.org/car-seat-check/ to sign up.  It is free, but they do appreciate donations.  Afterwards you can visit Weecycle just down the road!