WOW! I didn't know I knew so little about car seat training.

On August 23, we had our quarterly board meeting of the Kansas Foster and Adoptive Parent Association. Immediately prior to the meeting, we had a training about car seats. Sound boring? I have a hard time sitting through trainings usually, and my mind tends to wander off into fantasyland instead of paying attention to the speaker. Not this training. I was taking notes, asking questions, watching, listening, and learning. Our trainer, an EMT/firefighter, was very motivated in giving us accurate information about car seats and car safety for our children. Who wouldn't be interested in hearing that? And the amount of information he gave us was almost overwhelming. How many of us, especially women who carry purses, throw our purses, bags, water bottles, ink pens, CDs, etc. into the car, usually on the back seat or the passenger seat, so they are handy to reach? I never thought of all that stuff as potential "projectiles" in the event of a sudden hard stop or a wreck. I sure think of it now. I have never figured out the correct way to install a car seat, usually I have someone else put them in the vehicle for me. Lots of people appear to know what they are doing. Yet after this training, I realized that many of the people who "knowingly" put car seats in for me DID IT INCORRECTLY. So while the subject "Car Seat Training" may seem boring, I would recommend that anyone with babies, toddlers and small children review the information via a training, or visit their local police or fire department to see if there is a training individual who can show them the correct way to keep our little ones safe while riding in our vehicles.