When we first published this article back in 2013, it featured a boy named Matthew who is now 6’3” tall and is driving. Does this make us old? We hope not! Since this article has become a staple in our lineup of educational articles and remains relevant seven years later, we’re updating this article to
It’s not often that a car seat or booster seat is released in Canada only, but Maxi-Cosi has released a new backless booster exclusively for Canada. We were excited (and honoured) when they asked us to review it. One can never have too many backless boosters (at least, that’s what we tell ourselves) so we
A car seat or booster seat that’s properly installed and used correctly can reduce the chance of death in a collision by as much as 71%. That’s not a small amount of risk reduction! It doesn’t matter how much you paid for a car seat – if it’s not being used correctly, it cannot protect
When it comes to being a child passenger safety technician, good resources are invaluable. With the immense amount of information available to us, it is impossible to remember it all! Over the years, we have compiled articles that include linked sources and studies, printable PDFs, tools and charts, and easily referenced guides for both CPSTs
One year after our dear friend and CSFTL colleague Jennifer Penick died, our own Heathyr shares her thoughts on how much Jennifer impacted the work we do here at CSFTL and impacted Heathyr’s own life. It was just another day. I sat down at my desk with my LATCH manual and a cup of coffee,
To understand how car seat engineers design their products, let’s look at the simplest elements of crash dynamics. We always remind our readers that it’s essential that every child be in the correct, properly used seat for their age and size; crash dynamics help illustrate why those factors are so important.
Car seat training happens all over the world. SafeKids is taking their show on the road and doing CSPT training all around the globe. But that’s not all — the United Kingdom’s Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) also offers a car seat safety course. This one day training course is held by British experts Child Seat Safety Limited.
For a lot of us, the most exciting moment of our CPST course was getting a look inside the training trailer. For many coalitions and instructors, this magical rolling box is home to a wide variety of car seats.
What’s in your tech kit? It’s a popular question that Child Passenger Safety Technicians ask one another, so thought I would go through a tour of what I carry in my tech bag. A little background: I’ve been a CPST since 2010, and I’m about to be confirmed as an Instructor. I work for the fire department and I do a couple dozen checks a month. I have a storage trailer that contains my large backup of supplies, but here is what is in the bag that lives in my trunk and travels with me to every check.
So you’re a CPST now, congratulations! For most technicians, the first year or so is really about getting your feet wet. You’re getting the hang of working with parents and understanding different seats and vehicles. Once the initial class is complete, recertification can seem to be a ways down the road; until all of a sudden it’s two months before the expiration date and an email pops up reminding you to recertify.
