Honestly, only a few years ago (about 7 to be exact), I had no clue that just picking out a car seat would cause such stress. We were expecting our first child and we own one automobile..a sports car. We tried car seat after car seat and there was just no way to get them installed correctly. Then, came the purchasing of pool noodles to help balance, rolling of towels and finally, we gave up, went back to the store and found another car seat.
By the time we were waiting on our second child, we were being introduced to the LATCH method of installing car seats and keeping our children safer. We had long since said good bye to the sports car and we were in an automobile where we could employ the LATCH system.
And, so, our studies began. And, if you are just starting to put the study out on this, read ahead…you will probably be more than just remotely shocked…especially if this is your first car seat purchase.
The information comes from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council.
And, I included that information because there are so many who don’t understand social media and Twitter specifically that I thought you should know the credibility of the sources. First of all, an actual safety expert mans the @ChildSeatSafety account on Twitter, and they will continue to answer any questions that parents have about child passenger safety. This is such a unique resource from a government agency!
NHTSA has a Facebook page at http://facebook.com/childpassengersafety where parents can learn about everything from LATCH to locating inspection offices. And, I can’t recommend enough how important it is to find an expert to help you make sure your seat is installed correctly. When we were traveling once, we rented a car but had taken our own car seats. We were delayed in leaving the car rental office while they called in an expert who manned several of the businesses. We had to have him installed our seats although we had done it at home many times. That’s customer service people!
The Ad Council and the NHTSA have created a site with all the resources parents need to keep their smallest passengers safe: http://childcarsafety.adcouncil.org/ Find your local inspection station, watch instructional videos, and even take a fun quiz!
So take it and run with it and like I said, if this is your first car seat purchase and you are worried about your bundle of joy, this is great information to get your rolling.
