Seat Check Saturday

I decided to take my seats in to be checked. I was pretty confident that they were, especially since having just finished up the CPST course last week, but I have never had the TFP checked and since the MA 70 is new to me, I just felt better about it. Okay, and part of me was interested in seeing how a check event sponsored by a different agency works, especially since it was a larger one. This one was being done by Phoenix Children's Hospital.

I brought Nour and Zain with me so that I could have everything checked, including how I strap them in. It started at 9 but I got there around 10:45 since Nour & Zain aren't early birds so they weren't up yet when I wanted to go! They had about 5 booths set up for seat checks. It wasn't very busy at all, only two cars in front of me.

A Phoenix Police officer did my seat check. He was amazed at how snug my seats were in there. (I didn't tell them I had just finished the CPST course). A volunteer filled out the paperwork as the police officer/tech went over my seats. (like seat model, kids names, etc.) He had never seen the TFP and commented on how "massive" it was. He then looked at my MA 70, and was curious about the tether. He asked me if that (the D-ring connector) came with the seat, was I sure that it was okay that it was tethered to the seat track, etc. I said yes, I had a previous model Britax and it was the same. He said he'd never seen a rear facing tether before. I showed him the Britax manual so he could see for himself. He still wasn't completely convinced, so he called over another tech. And wouldn't you know it, it ended up being Arnie, one of the police officer/CPST instructors for the class I just went through! He saw me and said "Marsha! C'mon now! You've got to know this stuff because you were taught by the best!" He then told the other officer that I was a tech as of a week ago! He said "no wonder these are in there so well!"

He asked Arnie about the tether and Arnie explained to him that yes, that is allowed. He then had me strap the kids in and the other officer said that I knew what I was doing and I was good to go! Oh, he did mention something about my aftermarket mirrors but I explained that I knew what the recommendations are about after market products, but I felt okay about them since there is a hook so you can tether it down, which mine are and the frame is soft fabric. I told him I needed it to keep an eye on Zain, who has recently discovered the retainer clip so I want to make sure he doesn't move it. He also mentioned that seats expire after 5 years (this was when he was giving the seat info to the volunteer), but I know that the new Britax is 7, and it depends on the manufacturer, but I didn't correct him. Oh, and he mentioned that because I had a locking retractor, I didn't need to use the lock-offs on my TFP. I was questioning this, because I could have sworn that in the manual's installation instructions, it said you still needed to use them. And I was right, which I found out after asking about this in another thread today. All in all, I think it went well and I was relieved that I had their seats installed perfectly.

I do realize now that techs should make a point to get to learn about as many different seats as they can, so they are familiar with them. I'd already been told in my class that in the areas most of them work seat checks, they don't see many seats like Britax, SK, and First Years. Maybe so, but I think it would still be helpful to get to know what is out there.

Anyway, I will look forward to getting my CPST card so I can be the one working seat check events! Hopefully in another week or so!

CONGRATS on being at Tech now.

Congrats on the tech class

I agree with you how important it is to learn about as many different seats as possible so you're at least familiar with the brand/model. Though, even if I'm 100000% sure on a seat (ie: I own it) I will still pull out the manual if the parent's brought it with them, to show them where to find the information.

At my class one instructor and I hit it off because she was the only one who stayed up to date on new seats. She kept looking at me for answers on some of the newest seats and admitted that she didn't like being "one-upped" by my having a seat she'd never seen (TFP). I was always the first done with my tests so she and I would always "play" and chat while waiting on the others.

msg221 said:

I do realize now that techs should make a point to get to learn about as many different seats as they can, so they are familiar with them. I'd already been told in my class that in the areas most of them work seat checks, they don't see many seats like Britax, SK, and First Year's. Maybe so, but I think it would still be helpful to get to know what is out there.

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Definitely. In theoretical ideal world, techs would read the manuals (both vehicle and carseat) cover to cover during the check. In reality, half the time neither manual is available, and there just isn't time to read the full manual during a check. If there's something I'm not sure about and it's available, I'll look something up quickly, but other than that, I don't have time to read the manual with the parent. I've read the manuals cover to cover (on my own time) for the most common seats that I see at checks for this reason.