Not Sure If Your Car Seat is Installed Correctly? Get It Checked Out for FREE

If you're a first time parent, chances are you're neck deep into instruction manuals for just about everything from cribs to strollers to car seats.  When it comes to car seats, there's  lot of shapes and sizes on the market and every car is shaped a little differently, too.

But you've done your research. You've read the reviews. You're confident that you've chosen the right car seat for your new bundle of joy, but it never hurts to have a second set of eyes make sure that you've put it together and installed it correctly, right? Right! When it comes to the safety of your child, you should never be ashamed to ask for a little help from experts in the field.

This week is Child Passenger Safety Week and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration wants to draw attention to the fact that nearly half of all car seats are installed incorrectly.  They want parents to know that they're here to help make sure you've done it right. You can find NHTSA-certified car seat technicians at St. Luke's Children's Hospital that are happy to individually evaluate your car seat's installation, use and recall status and answer your questions, all free of charge!

They'll be having their next car seat safety check event this Saturday, September 21 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the St. Luke's Children's Pavilion.  If you want to attend, they ask that you per-register for the event HERE.Should the event fill up, they're offering checks again on October 26, November 9 and December 7.

When you show up for the safety check, you should come with your car seat, vehicle, instruction manuals and child. It takes about 20 minutes to complete the process.

Other agencies like St. Al's, local police and fire departments and Ada County Paramedics offer checks by appointment. You can find those resources HERE.