Car seats

[Deebs]

Okay, this is both to help me personally, as well as professionally. Where did you guys get your best advice about car seats? What to buy, how to install them, etc? Car seats are a HUGE personal passion of mine (my favorite parts of my career are all related to preventing illness and injury). At my job right now, most of the administration and others feel that it is up to the patients to figure this out on their own. As a parent, I think this topic is so confusing (and I'm a carseat technician, so it's not like I don't know something about the topic)! So, if you have a good source of info or where you got help, please let me know. Personally, I have enough to figure out on my own as a parent, can't someone give me some answers?

[DCJenn]

I went to Consumer Reports and bought one at Babies R. Us. I installed it. I just recently discovered that when my husband removed and then reinstalled it, he had installed it incorrectly. Yikes!

Jenn

[migirl]

I used a few different resources to decide which car seat to buy (Consumer Reports, Baby Bargains, friends' experiences), and then bought the seats at Babies R Us. I contacted our hospital to ask about car seat installation help and resources, and I was given a couple of different options. I chose to go to a local fire department and have them install it for me. Good thing, because it turns out I had installed it incorrectly for the drive over there! Anyway, the guy was SO helpful. He checked the serial number of my car seat to make sure it hadn't been recalled, showed me the correct way to install and USE the seat, and answered all of my questions.

Ditto to everything Jane said...right down to the drive to the fire dept! They were fantastic!

Ditto to everything Jane said...right down to the drive to the fire dept! They were fantastic!

except we got our seats from a local baby store and from an online store.

[samssugarmomma]

We used consumer reports and baby bargains (the book and the website) as well. I also read some of the reviews on babycenter.com and babies r us.com

Kate

[Flynn]

We used consumer reports and baby bargains (the book and the website) as well. I also read some of the reviews on babycenter.com and babies r us.com

Kate

Yep and yep.

Then we went to the Children's hospital for a carseat check.

Ours was installed correctly but my friend was in tears because the fire dept (who help out there) guy said a fender bender at 20 mph likely would have killed her toddler. She now checks and rechecks her carseats ALL THE TIME!!!!! (They didn't have the latch system (older car) so that's where most of the problems were.

[Vanquisher]

I searched extensively on the internet and read everything I could get my hands on from car seat experts.

I then decided that MOST parents are woefully misinformed about car seats and how to properly install them, and how to put their children into them. I can't tell you how many kids I have seen with straps so loose around their bodies (you know, because junior doesn't like the straps tight) that they might as well not have the straps on at all.

Most of the parents I talk to go by their pediatrician's word as gospel. The pediatricians seem to know bupkis about it.

[samssugarmomma]

Most of the parents I talk to go by their pediatrician's word as gospel. The pediatricians seem to know bupkis about it.

That is kinda scary because I don't think my DH has (or will) received much formal education re: carseats. Sure, he had a lecture on "car seat safety" and received the stats on how many parents installed them incorrectly and when the seats can be turned from rear facing to forward facing. But as far as which seats are the best, the differences between infant seat and convertible and booster seats, how to install them, etc......he received that education from me!

[Vanquisher]

Most of the parents I talk to go by their pediatrician's word as gospel. The pediatricians seem to know bupkis about it.

That is kinda scary because I don't think my DH has (or will) received much formal education re: carseats. Sure, he had a lecture on "car seat safety" and received the stats on how many parents installed them incorrectly and when the seats can be turned from rear facing to forward facing. But as far as which seats are the best, the differences between infant seat and convertible and booster seats, how to install them, etc......he received that education from me!

Yes, and furthermore, people seem to go by what the law requires instead of what is the safest. Pediatricians know the laws about them, in general, but I agree, this is not their area of expertise.

[Deebs]

I can definitely tell you, if you want reliable information, go to a carseat technician. The course to become certified is four days long, with ongoing education afterward. Unfortunately, our hospital is not well funded for this type of program (they don't think it's as important as other things), so I wanted more information about where parents actually are getting their information from. You guys are a huge help to me!