I plan on posting more than a few articles about car seats, car seat safety, and probably more than you care to know about my Chicco NextFit and Graco SnugRide 30 car seats. In the interest of making sure everyone is as safe as possible on the roads out there, I offer this disclaimer.
If you have a child, that child should be in a car seat of some kind (AAP recommends kids be boostered until 10-12 years old). If you have a child in a car seat, you could probably benefit from having the child, car seat, and install in your car verified by a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST). To find a CPST near you, look at http://www.safekids.org/. From here you can find a nearby tech, find out when the next car seat check event in your area will take place, and learn more about car seat safety. There is also no substitute for reading the manuals for your car seat and your car.
Now for the disclaimer part:
I AM NOT A CPST. I have not taken the training course, I do not have access to the training materials that a tech does, and I don't actually know that much about that many car seats. I am, however, a very active member of the Facebook group Car Seats for the Littles, where I learn more every day about car seat safety, and how to make adults and children of all ages safer. Anything I put up in this blog will most likely be a result of conversations with moms and techs about car seats and car safety. If you have a concern about your child and the car seat they are in, I urge you to join the group and pose your questions there. The group follows best practices, and is passionate about keeping the littles safe. You can also learn a lot about car seat safety at the CSFTL website.
The term Car Seat Safety Advocate was coined by one of the moms within that group. I warned her I am going to steal the term, and she said I could. So, I may not be a trained tech, but I am a staunch safety advocate.
