Wow. Where to start!
First off, thank you, littleangelfire! You basically laid out everything I was thinking, much more eloquently than I was able to.
I check out the install and maybe point out a few tips, but I let the parent install it physically. You could even just do a quick install to see how it works, then have the parent install it.
So many people are coming back to the idea that I should've let the parents do the actual installs. The thing is, I was not trying to be a tech. We were in a pinch, and I just wanted the children to travel more safely. As for the possible legal ramifications of my touching someone else's seats, the more I think about it, the more surprised I would be to find that there is actually a legal precedent for suing a helpful bystander in a case like this. Additionally, I might have taken a completely hands off approach
if my only concern was for covering my own rear in the event of a lawsuit. But it wasn't. And at any rate, good luck suing "that woman who was standing in front of the hospital three weeks ago at 6:30!"
You getting quite argumentative about this.
I don't know wether you are looking for a pat on the back for being a good samaritan or someone to say that yes it is OK for a non-tech to install seats or what. But I see that you are relatively new here, if you stick around long enough you will soon realize that you will not find anyone here to do either of those things. Your OP already shows that you have alot to learn if you think that all harnessed child restraints install relativly the same or that a CPST is actually the one installing a seat when they are helping their client.
Actually, I was
respectfully disagreeing with some of what was said, and I was asking honest questions. Not sure what's wrong with that, but at any rate, I apologize if I offended anyone. That wasn't my intention. And, sure, I have a lot to learn. But--and this is a big oversimplification, I know--in order to protect a child,
every CR has to be secured in the vehicle in an acceptable seating position, using an acceptable method. The seat must
always be appropriate for the child's age/maturity/size and not expired or recalled. And the child
has to be properly secured in the CR using either the harness or vehicle seatbelt. That's what I meant in saying carseats all install similarly. I was not taking forgranted that the mechanics differ among seats and cars. Maybe I wasn't being clear enough. Finally, I'm not sure why you got the impression that I think techs are *supposed* to be installing seats at checks.
If it was some funky seat I'd never seen, I'd just have to say you know what, I'm lost, too.
Oh, sure. I should have pointed out that, in the two instances I mentioned, it's not that I was super uncomfortable with the carseats themselves. I just didn't feel like I'm educated/experienced enough to be installing/helping install seats for someone else. Fortunately, the Scenera and the Snugride tend to be fairly straightforward installs, and they both seemed to fit just fine in the parents' chosen seating positions. And it helps that I have installed and used two very similar seats. DS was in a SS1 for nearly his entire first year, and he rides in an Avenue in DH's car now. I would be willing to bet a large sum of money that I installed both the friend's and the stranger's seats correctly. It goes without saying that I wouldn't go near a seat that I didn't have *some* baseline level of comfort with.
Its usually more like the guy at the hospital who asked the OP. Obviously a little stressed wondering how he's going to get the seat in (that admittedly should've been in way before the hospital trip!) before his wife comes out the front door with the new baby. Its urgent and there's not time to call a CPST and make an appointment. That needs to be done, but can't be done right then.
Spot on. Although it happened that the wife and baby were already out the front door. The entire family was standing along the road while Dad fiddled with the CR. In the 90 heat.
I learned a few things in that class.
I learned a lot more working with many many seats in many many cars at many many seatchecks. Very few non-techs have the opportunity to learn that way.
Naturally. There just isn't a substitute for plenty of hands-on experience! If I were a newbie tech or something, I would be getting my hands on every seat and vehicle I could. Who knows what kind of wonky combinations you get at your checks! In my case, though, chances are that someone who is completely clueless just picked up one of the few seats in stock at the nearest Wally World.
And I have the luxury of bowing out if I feel in over my head. You'd better believe I'm not going anywhere near an install with a foreign seat or something that requires more than 3 buckle twists or a pool noodle!
Oh - it is worth mentioning OP, since you asked once, and I think someone else hit on it, not every seat installs the same. I mean, there's kind of a general path for many of them, but the Frontier (both new and old), the Regent, the cocorro (which I can't seem to spell) are a few that come to mind as having different installs that vary from the 'standard'.
Good to know! Thanks.
The only other thing I really want to say is that I think CPST are fantastic. I think it's great that anyone who has questions about their carseats *should* know where to go for help. I can imagine that untold numbers of kids have been spared injury or death due to the diligence of techs and safety advocates in general. It's not on the horizon at the moment, but I very well may get certified at some point. Now that said, I think a fact worth noting is that CR
are mass produced consumer products that are designed to be installed by your average parent, who doesn't have any formal training. Additionally, the vast majority of installation mistakes are completely avoidable; all it takes (with maybe some exceptions) is for the parent to carefully read the manuals that came with the carseat and the vehicle. So, I do think it's a little too hardline to say that a non-tech shouldn't
ever touch anyone else's carseats. For your average carseat in a newish vehicle, I don't see any reason why a conscientious non-certified person with access to the manuals shouldn't be able to get the CR installed safely. At the very least, I would think said person should be able to tell when something is really wrong. Ideally, I think everyone should have his carseats checked out. However, I think the not so run-of-the-mill installs are where the techs
really shine. :twocents:
