Group helps take the mystery out of installing child car seats

Natalie Leslie often comes across car seats that are improperly installed or not the correct fit for a child.

She is a volunteer with the Canadian Passenger Safety Association of Canada, a national non-profit group. She organized a free car seat safety clinic on Saturday in Riverview, N.B.

Leslie and her team of technicians, instructors and technicians in training helped about 20 families at the clinic.

They included expecting parents, families with kids, newcomer families and some parents who wanted to get their seats inspected, she said.

"Parents feel that they've had some experience with car seats before and that it's pretty straightforward, when in reality it's often quite technical and there are many small details that could be overlooked or misunderstood," she said.

Leslie said one of the common mistakes parents make is not having the right kind of seat. Sometimes parents have a booster seat installed when the child is required to be in a harnessed car seat or vice versa, she said.

She said people often aren't aware where to get free installation help.

She said newcomer families sometimes also end up receiving the wrong fit for their child when they are offered a car seat through organizations that are helping them adapt to the new culture.

"We do see quite commonly that people are coming from countries that have different car seat laws [or] that don't have car seat laws at all, and certainly there can be a lot of misunderstanding and misuse, and at times there's also a language barrier," she said.

Jamee Densmore manages the daycare at The Multicultural Agency of the Greater Moncton Area — a Moncton-based organization that supports newcomers.

She said questions from parents about car seats happen every day for her. "I get it from almost every mom that comes in the door," she said.

She said the inquiries are often about the size and type of car seats and the rules around car seats. Some families are also looking for donated car seats.

Moncton Cares, another organization helping newcomers in the area, said many people coming from different countries often have basic questions. For example, they might want to know the requirements around car seats, or how many they can install.

Leslie said some people install up to three car seats. She said the installation gets more complicated as the number of seats goes up.

She said those looking to get guidance on child car seat installations can go on the Canadian Passenger Safety Association of Canada website and find free assistance by trained technicians through appointments.