scatterbunny
New member
And I'm a CPST!
It went awesome! The instructors were great! Ruth Harshfield, from ACTS Oregon, and Tamara Rose, from Network for Mentoring, a grassroots nonprofit based in Marion County, Oregon. They actually stressed the importance of rear-facing, touching on the fact that some European countries RF kids to 3+, and they have lower death rates! They said that we should always tell parents that the AAP has recommended kids RF to the limits of the convertible for optimum safety.
I got a perfect score on the test. And massive bruises on my right thigh from a RF Scenera with LATCH in a PT Cruiser with slick leather seats (one of my test installs).
It was a small class--10 signed up, one cancelled before class started and one was late almost every day and then didn't show up on test day. So there were 8 of us at the end. I'm not sure if one firefighter passed or not, but at least the two cops, two hospital employees, one preschool teacher/health clinic worker, one Burlington Coat Factory/Baby Depot employee, one lactation consultant and myself all passed. The LC, Baby Depot guy and myself all got perfect scores. They were carseat geeks just like me. It just felt SO great, so much different from last year!
The LC had a 2.5yo in a Marathon and an 8yo in a Husky, so we bonded instantly, LOL! I'm planning on getting together with her soon because her son is on a dairy-free/gluten-free diet and has ADHD and SID (along with a few other issues) and she wants to take me to her favorite health food store and used book store. So I had a great time in class, got a perfect score AND made a new friend. Awesome!
The seat check was great, too. Not many seats to check, but I did the first one, a brand-new ComfortSport in a grandma's 1999 Dodge Caravan with leather seats. No child, because grandma said, " I just KNEW I didn't have the seat in right, so I couldn't bring her with me!" We did all the paperwork and recall check, then I uninstalled it, installed it while talking to grandma and explaining what I was doing, then uninstalled it and talked grandma through it. She got it perfect her first try, and was so happy!
The last car to come in was a Yukon, not sure what year because I didn't do the check, just stood there and watched, but the mom had a 3yo in a Marathon and an 8yo in a Husky. It turns out she is the current Mrs. Oregon and asked the Network for Mentoring instructor about becoming some sort of spokeswoman for CPS!
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better experience, bruises and all.
It went awesome! The instructors were great! Ruth Harshfield, from ACTS Oregon, and Tamara Rose, from Network for Mentoring, a grassroots nonprofit based in Marion County, Oregon. They actually stressed the importance of rear-facing, touching on the fact that some European countries RF kids to 3+, and they have lower death rates! They said that we should always tell parents that the AAP has recommended kids RF to the limits of the convertible for optimum safety.
I got a perfect score on the test. And massive bruises on my right thigh from a RF Scenera with LATCH in a PT Cruiser with slick leather seats (one of my test installs).
It was a small class--10 signed up, one cancelled before class started and one was late almost every day and then didn't show up on test day. So there were 8 of us at the end. I'm not sure if one firefighter passed or not, but at least the two cops, two hospital employees, one preschool teacher/health clinic worker, one Burlington Coat Factory/Baby Depot employee, one lactation consultant and myself all passed. The LC, Baby Depot guy and myself all got perfect scores. They were carseat geeks just like me. It just felt SO great, so much different from last year!
The LC had a 2.5yo in a Marathon and an 8yo in a Husky, so we bonded instantly, LOL! I'm planning on getting together with her soon because her son is on a dairy-free/gluten-free diet and has ADHD and SID (along with a few other issues) and she wants to take me to her favorite health food store and used book store. So I had a great time in class, got a perfect score AND made a new friend. Awesome!
The seat check was great, too. Not many seats to check, but I did the first one, a brand-new ComfortSport in a grandma's 1999 Dodge Caravan with leather seats. No child, because grandma said, " I just KNEW I didn't have the seat in right, so I couldn't bring her with me!"
We did all the paperwork and recall check, then I uninstalled it, installed it while talking to grandma and explaining what I was doing, then uninstalled it and talked grandma through it. She got it perfect her first try, and was so happy!The last car to come in was a Yukon, not sure what year because I didn't do the check, just stood there and watched, but the mom had a 3yo in a Marathon and an 8yo in a Husky. It turns out she is the current Mrs. Oregon and asked the Network for Mentoring instructor about becoming some sort of spokeswoman for CPS!
All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better experience, bruises and all.
