I can't believe it! I went to the "city" and they were having a car seat check at the hospital. So I went and got my nagging question about the way the tethers attach in my van answered, and as a bonus I got to watch what was going on.
I thought they had it set up nicely. I spent quite a bit of time watching the tech in the slot next to me. The lady had a petite little girl, about 18-24 months I'm guessing, riding in a forward-facing car seat. I would think she was at least 20 pounds, maybe not but probably, but the tech talked to her a long time (couldn't hear what she said) and pointed at the stickers on the side of the seat, and then the mom nodded and the tech installed it rear-facing. I was so happy! Then the mom started to install it, which also made me happy. It's much better to be taught how to use a car seat than to have it installed for you.
My check went fine. The first tech was very nice and checked that their seats were appropriate for the height and weight and facing the right way, and that the harness slots and tightness were correct. She also checked for install tightness (she asked if I had installed them with a comealong). But since she wasn't familiar with the Husky she didn't want to comment on the belt path so she said she'd go get the senior checker. I also asked her about the funny way my tethers attach to the anchors in that vehicle and she wasn't sure.
She came back with the senior checker and a guy who asked if it would be OK to take my kids over to the area with the pop and suckers. I briefly thought of all of you with sugar and dye sensitive kids and was happy I could say OK. The senior checker glanced at my seat and RAN off. We all thought that was a little strange. But it did give me lots of time to observe what was going on around me.
A little later she came back out of breath. She asked if my son had any special needs, and I said no. She said they had just had a family in with a boy in a booster who really needed a seat like this, and she had been hoping to catch them so they could see what one was like before ordering it. Unfortunately she wasn't able to. I really wish they had been able to see it; I know it was really hard for me to order one sight unseen, but I was just so impressed with it once I had it.
Anyway, she said this is the first time she had seen a Husky up here, and several of the techs popped in briefly to take a look. They were really impressed when the first tech said my six year old had plenty of growing room in it. My installation was OK'd and they never uninstalled the seats. Since Britax puts its model number on the front under the cover they were able to get it without uninstalling the seats. I was a bit disappointed just because I would have LOVED to see them install seats. However, I knew it wasn't necessary and there was still a long line of cars even though it was only a half hour to the scheduled end of the check. At least I got to watch them show the mom next to me how to install a seat. The senior checker did look at my tethers and said they were fine, it is just a difficult vehicle to use tethers in. So that was reassuring.
Most of the other people I saw were having infant seats installed. I couldn't really see those all that well as the tech and the parent pretty much hide the whole base even when they install it on the side. There were a couple of families who also had older kids of various ages. Most appeared to be in boosters.
Anyway, we also got goody bags with a coloring pamphlet on boosters, a pencil, some stickers, and a key ring. I made my tiny donation and left. They do this check once a year. It is probably the only one that would be near enough for me to help out at. They said next year I would get a flyer beforehand and maybe I'll call to see if they need volunteers if I am feeling up to it.
I know it's weird to be so excited about this, but my dh was not near enthusiastic enough of a listener. He commented "I've never seen you so egotistical before." OK, so I am happy I'm doing it right. This is the first time I've ever had seats checked; wouldn't it have been horrible if I was doing it completely wrong? (Not that I thought that I was, but you know the lovely statistics....)
Julie D.
I thought they had it set up nicely. I spent quite a bit of time watching the tech in the slot next to me. The lady had a petite little girl, about 18-24 months I'm guessing, riding in a forward-facing car seat. I would think she was at least 20 pounds, maybe not but probably, but the tech talked to her a long time (couldn't hear what she said) and pointed at the stickers on the side of the seat, and then the mom nodded and the tech installed it rear-facing. I was so happy! Then the mom started to install it, which also made me happy. It's much better to be taught how to use a car seat than to have it installed for you.
My check went fine. The first tech was very nice and checked that their seats were appropriate for the height and weight and facing the right way, and that the harness slots and tightness were correct. She also checked for install tightness (she asked if I had installed them with a comealong). But since she wasn't familiar with the Husky she didn't want to comment on the belt path so she said she'd go get the senior checker. I also asked her about the funny way my tethers attach to the anchors in that vehicle and she wasn't sure.
She came back with the senior checker and a guy who asked if it would be OK to take my kids over to the area with the pop and suckers. I briefly thought of all of you with sugar and dye sensitive kids and was happy I could say OK. The senior checker glanced at my seat and RAN off. We all thought that was a little strange. But it did give me lots of time to observe what was going on around me.
A little later she came back out of breath. She asked if my son had any special needs, and I said no. She said they had just had a family in with a boy in a booster who really needed a seat like this, and she had been hoping to catch them so they could see what one was like before ordering it. Unfortunately she wasn't able to. I really wish they had been able to see it; I know it was really hard for me to order one sight unseen, but I was just so impressed with it once I had it.
Anyway, she said this is the first time she had seen a Husky up here, and several of the techs popped in briefly to take a look. They were really impressed when the first tech said my six year old had plenty of growing room in it. My installation was OK'd and they never uninstalled the seats. Since Britax puts its model number on the front under the cover they were able to get it without uninstalling the seats. I was a bit disappointed just because I would have LOVED to see them install seats. However, I knew it wasn't necessary and there was still a long line of cars even though it was only a half hour to the scheduled end of the check. At least I got to watch them show the mom next to me how to install a seat. The senior checker did look at my tethers and said they were fine, it is just a difficult vehicle to use tethers in. So that was reassuring.
Most of the other people I saw were having infant seats installed. I couldn't really see those all that well as the tech and the parent pretty much hide the whole base even when they install it on the side. There were a couple of families who also had older kids of various ages. Most appeared to be in boosters.
Anyway, we also got goody bags with a coloring pamphlet on boosters, a pencil, some stickers, and a key ring. I made my tiny donation and left. They do this check once a year. It is probably the only one that would be near enough for me to help out at. They said next year I would get a flyer beforehand and maybe I'll call to see if they need volunteers if I am feeling up to it.
I know it's weird to be so excited about this, but my dh was not near enthusiastic enough of a listener. He commented "I've never seen you so egotistical before." OK, so I am happy I'm doing it right. This is the first time I've ever had seats checked; wouldn't it have been horrible if I was doing it completely wrong? (Not that I thought that I was, but you know the lovely statistics....)
Julie D.
And you BET I came home bragging to Mark about it, LOL!
