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- You know, there are not a whole lot of certainties
when it comes to parenting,
but one of them for sure is you need a car seat
to tote your baby around so we decided to interview
a firefighter who also happens to be a car seat technician
to get his expertise and insights on the best practices
for safely and successfully installing a car seat.
Let's check it out.
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Should they just bring the entire box and say here?
- No. - No, okay.
- Typically a lot of the time especially
with your younger parents, most of the time,
cut open the box, read through it yourself,
try to get it done and that's huge.
Get it in, if you get it in wrong, we can fix it.
If you're totally lost, bring it up
and we'll handle all of it.
- So what are some of the most common things
if somebody has it in or they've tried
that some of the most common mistakes they've made
or things that you're looking for
to make sure it's installed correctly?
- Some mistakes are either not tightening it down enough
or tightening it down way too much.
- Okay.
- Other things are, the majority of new cars,
I think it's after '06, that are built,
have the latch anchors in 'em.
A lot of people are gettin' over secure,
every parent does, as they're putting the belt system in
and the latches in and we don't want that.
I believe in the anchor system better.
That's what it's there for.
Seatbelt works just fine.
Usually when we need to use a seatbelt
or we use a seatbelt, they're in the older vehicles,
if you have the anchors use 'em.
It's your best way to get 'em in and out
and parents can get frustrated usin' the lap belts
because they can be tricky sometimes.
- Yeah.
- When you have the shoulder strap,
which I didn't know until I took the class,
you have your seatbelts in all new vehicles,
I think it was after '06,
they're emergency stopping to where you pull it real quick
and they stop, like if you're in an accident.
- Okay. - Or they're stopped
all the time.
You have to pull the seatbelt all the way down
until it stops and then you'll hear it kinda ratcheting.
Now it's set up to lock all the time.
So ya need to pull it all the way out
to get it to start ratcheting, then lock it in,
tighten it down.
- And there's probably more room error
involved doing something. - Sure.
- Like that too. - 'Cause some people have
gotten to where they don't set it that way
and they just put the seatbelt into it
and that's not how we want them to put it in.
- Is there anything else
that, as a certified car seat technician,
that you think is important
that we haven't talked about that.
- Mostly, keep your kids rear facing as long as possible,
as long as they can still be.
It's the safest way for them to ride.
You get to a point where they have to be turned around
but make sure they're rear facing
as long as you can keep 'em there
and watch out for projectiles.
Everybody likes hookin' up mirrors and window shades
and everything like that to make things more comfortable.
I get it, but everything, when you see a car accidents
that they have practices with practice dummies,
everything, those things start flyin' off
even that are vecroed on, whatever.
Especially the ones, like the suction cupped
to the window shade.
Those can fly off.
- Yeah, that's a great point
'cause we talked a lot about, you know, those dangly toys
in the car seat that, it's not necessarily,
it's not necessary for newborn and now there's
just added point of they can become more dangerous
if you're in an accident. - Sure.
And some of them are great.
I mean, some of 'em are little soft toys,
the kid, keeps 'em busy,
keeps 'em from screamin' at ya while you're drivin'.
But, it's mainly, and even just your own stuff,
I mean, I know in my truck,
sometimes I'll throw a water bottle behind me or whatever.
When you got a little kid in there,
I mean, all that stuff.
- [Host] It's loose, it can.
- Yeah, projectile can really cause danger.
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