Went to Car Seat Check :(

indycoltsmom

New member
Saturday thanks to my awesome CPST friend she suggested we go to this car seat check on the east side of town. First of all it started at 10am and we were there ar 1007 and we were the 1st ones there! If this had been a seat check in my own hometown they would have been lined up around the block!

First seat up was my 8 yr old (going to be 9 this sunday) 68 lbs 4 ft 4 inch child. The tech asked me why I had him in a low back booster? Are you kidding me? Then she went on to tell me he is 8 yrs old and can pass the 5 step test...umm no he cant. He cant touch the floor with his feet and the belt rides too high...thanks to some awesome friends and their advice and learning from them I stood my ground. I knew he was not ready to be in a belt and I finally convinced them he needed to be in the booster at least another year...oops on my part that I didnt realize his booster expires in December of 2011 (the date says August 2011 but Graco is December of the year it expires and they didnt know that either..I had to point that out to them...) so he got a brand new Evenflo Amp and the lady commented snottily that it could be passed down to my daughter when she is ready...

Oh and they didnt like it that I had to have them help me install the seats (had a stroke in 2004 and my right side doesnt work when it comes to buckling, etc) I had to try and do it myself and it was so upsetting to me to see my hands not working the way I wanted them to. I understand I am supposed to be able to install the car seats but I think there should be exceptions for people like me.

And then onto my daughter. I brought along her backup seat (an Apex 65) and they wanted me to use it as her primary seat. I also brought the Evenflo Maestro and they seemed aggrevated that I had top tethered both seats and they made me prove in my car owners manual that my seats could be installed with LATCH and top tethered. The whole time we were there (over an hour) no one else came...they did complement me on rock-solid installs but they didnt like the blanket I had on the seat under the seats to protect the seats (I have to have that blanket, I didnt and my seat ripped and we lost 550.00 when it came time to sell my old van (so hubby requires blankets, not thick ones, just receiving blankets under the car seats). All in all I felt like I knew more than them...so sad, I dont think I will go to another seat check again...

One other thing that ticked me off is that I have trouble installing seats. I had a stroke in 2004 and my hands dont always work when it comes to buckling things, etc and they acted like they didnt want to help me. It was so frustrating me trying to buckle in those seats...finally after they realized I honestly couldnt do it then they helped me but lectured me the whole time saying I should be able to buckle in the car seat.... I was so frustrated when I left...
 
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Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
I'm so sorry you had a poor experience. I think I would have cried (with joy) if you had showed up at a check I was working... the most recent one was filled with toddlers in FF infant buckets and totally unrestrained kids.

I'm surprised they gave you a booster for your DS, since your current one wasn't expired yet!

How much does your daughter weigh? We have had a huge hullabaloo in the CPST community regarding top tether limits, and we are also dealing with varying limits on lower anchors, so that may have been where their skepticism came from regarding that.

In the future, if you feel like you want double-checked and aren't comfortable going to a community check, you can probably find someone from here on c-s.o to meet up with you and double-check you. :) Good for you for making sure your kids are riding safe!
 

indycoltsmom

New member
I'm so sorry you had a poor experience. I think I would have cried (with joy) if you had showed up at a check I was working... the most recent one was filled with toddlers in FF infant buckets and totally unrestrained kids.

I'm surprised they gave you a booster for your DS, since your current one wasn't expired yet!

How much does your daughter weigh? We have had a huge hullabaloo in the CPST community regarding top tether limits, and we are also dealing with varying limits on lower anchors, so that may have been where their skepticism came from regarding that.

In the future, if you feel like you want double-checked and aren't comfortable going to a community check, you can probably find someone from here on c-s.o to meet up with you and double-check you. :) Good for you for making sure your kids are riding safe!

The expiration sticker said August 2011 so they didnt even know about the December thing so they assumed it was expired... :(
 

cowgirlsmommy

New member
Hey there stranger! :)

Don't let the bad techs keep you from checks. There are good ones out there. It's just not all techs are created equal.
 

jess71903

Ambassador
Even though generally Graco uses Dec of the 6th year as an expiration, I would abide by the stickers. If it says Aug, then go with Aug, for sure.

I'm sorry you had a negative experience, too. It kind of sounds like the check after new techs have gone through class. When I did, the lady I was working with was so stuck on the numbers that I had to keep correcting her. She kept saying "when she turns one and is at least 20lbs, turn her around" even though we talked about ERF ad nauseum in class. Sometimes those newbies get stuck on the numbers or the "rules" without really getting it. Kind of like the booster thing- all she heard was 8 years old, and she didn't really understand the 5-step test.
 

TyAndCheyMommy

New member
According to our local CPST's they require the adult that drives the children in to do the final install because it releases them from liability if something were to happen to that child in the event of an accident. It makes since.
I to have health issues and cannot install a seat as easily as I would like to... that is why I always bring my husband or mother with me if I need to go to a car seat check.

I went to one once that was disasterous, mainly because they had never even heard of the brand of car seats we had (Recaro)...
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
We also "require" the parent to install last. However, if the parent has physical limitations that keep that from happening, we work with them. We don't do it ALL for them, usually, but might put weight in the seat while they buckle or something.
 

TechnoGranola

Forum Ambassador
I'm confused on the expiry sticker. There was actually a "do not use after August 2011" sticker on the seat? or was it moulded into the shell? I am used to Graco having a DOM sticker and also a "do not use after December 20XX" moulded right into the seat shell. This is for harnessed seats though, my Graco Turbo booster doesn't have an expiry date moulded in or an expiry sticker.

If there was actually a "do not use after" sticker or date moulded into the shell that said August 2011, then the seat was expired. The December of the 6th year is only valid if the seat actually states that in some way.
 

Kat_Momof3

New member
I'm so sorry... sounds like you met some poorly trained techs...

I've never heard of a tech making someone with a physical issue/ailment install seats (just as they wouldn't make a heavily pregnant mom install the infant seat base/convertible carseat by herself)

they should have helped you and then given you info so you could arrange to have someone who could be your helper in future come along for a "follow-up" to make sure they know how to install.

and I'm sorry, it is outright almost impossible for an 8yr old to pass the 5-step test... as the mother of one of those rare giants, I can tell you they have to be OVER the 100th percentile for height.... and even then, it's gonna be dependent upon the vehicle and the seat (he was leggier than his brother is and could sit in the middle of dh's car, but Jeffrey, who can pass in my car but chooses to use his combi dakota anyway because it still fits, has a longer torso and so has to use a booster and sit outboard)
 

jourdysmom

CPST Instructor
I'm confused on the expiry sticker. There was actually a "do not use after August 2011" sticker on the seat? or was it moulded into the shell? I am used to Graco having a DOM sticker and also a "do not use after December 20XX" moulded right into the seat shell. This is for harnessed seats though, my Graco Turbo booster doesn't have an expiry date moulded in or an expiry sticker.

If there was actually a "do not use after" sticker or date moulded into the shell that said August 2011, then the seat was expired. The December of the 6th year is only valid if the seat actually states that in some way.

I assume that they read the DOM sticker, and just counted out 6 years, no regard to the December thing.

I agree that was disappointing. I make exceptions quite a bit, 39wk PG mom, a single mom that is so large she physically could not fit in the back of her 2 door truck to buckle the seats, the 10 year old was doing all of the bucking. :( I explained to mom exactly how it was installed, she watched every step, I wrote it down too (IE Twist buckle stalk 2 times, twist male end 1/2 turn etc). I explained to the 10 year old how to buckle, chest clip height, tightness of straps and explained to mom how to double check the 10 year old work from where she could reach.

She was very thankful, and has called me a couple times since to ask me to doubler check what she thought was a problem. :thumbsup:
 

indycoltsmom

New member
According to our local CPST's they require the adult that drives the children in to do the final install because it releases them from liability if something were to happen to that child in the event of an accident. It makes since.
I to have health issues and cannot install a seat as easily as I would like to... that is why I always bring my husband or mother with me if I need to go to a car seat check.

I went to one once that was disasterous, mainly because they had never even heard of the brand of car seats we had (Recaro)...

Yeah but they need to realize I cant install my seats, believe me I want to but my hands cause alot of limitations. In fact its getting to the point where I cant even write but I can type, so I type everything out... I left out of there so frustrated and upset that I realize how much worse my hands are getting which they said would happen and unfortunately hubby is either working or in school and wont go with me not to mention he is from Nicaragua where kids arent in carseats past 2 yrs old there so me taking the 8 yr old to a car seat check was all on me.
 

jess71903

Ambassador
Yeah but they need to realize I cant install my seats, believe me I want to but my hands cause alot of limitations. In fact its getting to the point where I cant even write but I can type, so I type everything out... I left out of there so frustrated and upset that I realize how much worse my hands are getting which they said would happen and unfortunately hubby is either working or in school and wont go with me not to mention he is from Nicaragua where kids arent in carseats past 2 yrs old there so me taking the 8 yr old to a car seat check was all on me.

:( I'm sorry! What you needed was a CPST that is also an OT (like I was when I was still a CPST!). You would have been my dream client!
 
Kat_Momof3 said:
and I'm sorry, it is outright almost impossible for an 8yr old to pass the 5-step test...)

One of my sisters passed the 5 step test at 6.5 she is now 11 she has always been tall for her age
 

cupcakepirate11

Active member
Yikes!
I went to a check a town over from me and had to tell them a few things like RF'ing tether, that the level line on the britax is somewhere between 35-345 degrees (I think i am saying that correctly) And that I did not have to have the seat perfectly level since my son was over a year old and the seat could be more upright.

I read the manuals to every car seat very thoroughly and they could sense that I was told I should take a CPST course and work with them since i knew so much!!

All the credit goes to this website.
 

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