Anything I need to know before my first day of "school"??

M

Mom to a few

New member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #1

Happily, I found out that my CPS course does have enough people (11 + me), so it will go on!!

Is there anything you wish someone had told you before your first day? Any helpful advice or tips?? Thanks!!

 

monzogary

Senior Community Member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #2

I just finished my course last week! Clean out your car, and wear comfortable clothes. Other than that, not really much to prepare for it. Just pay attention and take notes.
Good luck!

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #3

:yeahthat: I was in the same course as monzogary, wave.

I just wanted to add that we were asked to bring the owner's manuals for our cars, too, if available. We used the manuals some in the classroom the first day or so, but primarily used the manuals during hands-on practice and evaluations outside in the vehicles.

Congrats on taking the class. :thumbsup:

 

Starlight

Senior Community Member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #4

On the subject of comfortable clothes, shoes... you're going to be inside cars - your own, your classmates, etc. This leads me to suggest two things, that are connected.

1. Pants. Small children (to most people, atleast) mean lollipops, candy, gum, french fries, chicken nuggets, etc. Not everyone will vacuum out their backseats. Think about it. Do you want to be in shorts with your knees touching all that? Ewww.

2. Not just pants, but High Rise Pants. You're going to have your backside sticking out of random doors. There's one girl that was in my class. I can't remember her name or her face, but the image of her crack is permanently imbeded in my brain, as she wore low rise pants every single day.

So, think about your comfort... and the comfort of others.

 

CrabbyBunchX3

New member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #5

starlight said:

2.
I can't remember her name or her face, but the image of her crack is permanently imbeded in my brain, as she wore low rise pants every single day.

So, think about your comfort... and the comfort of others.

Click to expand...

:ROTFLMAO:

 

M

Mom to a few

New member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #6

Thanks so much for all the suggestions!! Yes, I will make sure that the car is clean!! About the manual though...I'll have to take Dh's car, and I don't think he has an owner's manual. He bought his Jetta used (less than a year old from the Volkswagon dealership), but there wasn't a manual. They kept saying they'd get us one, but haven't. I know about the LATCH not being allowed in the middle--Is there any other reason that they would really need the manual?

And that was a good suggestion about the clothing too--especially about the "crack" showing . I've got some pants that are a little low, but I always make sure to have shirts on that are long enough to "cover the subject".

I was just so excited to see that the lead instructor, and the other four instructors, are all female!! I was so afraid that it was going to be male instructors, and that all the other classmates would be male firemen and police officers (since they are mostly male in our area), and that they'd all just be staring while I was bending over installing seats!!

So are the classes usally are fairly even mix of male/female??

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #7

Leave your rings at home. Trust me. For the same reason, trim your nails.

No low cut shirts. Those firemen may be cute, but you don't want to be flashing them just the same.

 

M

Mom to a few

New member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #8

No rings, no nails, no shorts, no crack, and no boobs. Got it !

Thanks for all the "been there, done that" advise!!

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #9

I really like capris for checks, they are comfortable (not too hot when it's 110*!) and long enough to protect my knees.

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #10

The owner's manual can be helpful for figuring out LATCH, seatbelt, and airbag info. If you don't have one for your car, don't sweat it. If you want to get one for your own purposes, sometimes they can be purchased on eBay. Not having one is actually a fairly realistic example of what can happen at seat check events, when parents arrive without their car's manual, or without the manual for their child's carseat. The instructors probably would have a LATCH manual handy at the class and seat checks to look up LATCH info. for most cars, too.

My class had 16 students, and all but three were women. The lead instructor works at a local hospital, and students were mostly health care/hospital employees, two or three firefighters/sheriff's dept. employees, one auto. company employee, and about four carseat message board enthusiast moms. All the instructors were women, too, including a couple who frequent this board from time to time. Wave to Dsunny, who earned her instructor certification at the class, yayy.

 

bethng

Active member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #11

skaterbabscpst said:

Leave your rings at home. Trust me. For the same reason, trim your nails.

)

Click to expand...

YIKES! I have acrylic nails (on the shorter side). Hope they dont get in the way when I finally get to take a class!

 

ThreeBeans

New member

• Sep 24, 2007

• #12

skaterbabscpst said:

Those firemen may be cute, but you don't want to be flashing them just the same.

Click to expand...

I do that all the time, pretty much every day, actually.

 

skaterbabs

Well-known member

• Sep 25, 2007

• #13

bethng said:

YIKES! I have acrylic nails (on the shorter side). Hope they dont get in the way when I finally get to take a class!

Click to expand...

It's not so much that they get in the way (although to a certain extent they do), it that they can and do get broken, sometimes painfully. Rings with stones tend to get caught in the belt paths of seats, hurting your fingers and sometimes damaging the rings.

ThreeBeans said:

I do that all the time, pretty much every day, actually.

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Your SO doesn't count. lol