Here's How To Find A Car Seat Checkup Location Near You

As pretty much any parent knows, having a safe and properly functioning car seat is one of the most important parts about child safety. From the hospital, to home, and the million more trips you'll take with your little one, safety is so important when it comes to car travel. So, knowing how to find car seat checkup locations near you is vital to making sure everything is properly in place. And it's actually pretty easy too, giving parents even more of a reason to take advantage of getting their car seat inspected.

Car seats can actually be pretty complicated to install. And because they are so crucial for your child's protection on the road, it's understandable that parents may want to have an expert check up on their car seat to ensure that it's properly and securely installed. Fortunately, there are certified technicians out there who can help with this dilemma.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has made it pretty easy for parents to find the technicians closest to them. Simply enter in your zip code on the NHTSA website, and the site will then show you a list of the nearest certified technicians, which are usually located at your local Department of Transportation office.

According to the NHTSA website, the benefits of seeing a certified car seat technician are many:

Whether you’ve just installed a car seat or need help installing or using one, get help at a car seat inspection station near you. Certified technicians will inspect your car seat free of charge, in most cases, and show you how to correctly install and use it.

So, yes. It's very easy to find someone who can help make sure that your car seat is installed properly and get regular checkups to guarantee that it stays that way.

This is especially important since, according to the Chicago Tribune, a new study from Safe Kids Worldwide found that many parents don't use every safety mechanism that car seats are equipped with. Specifically, "64 percent of parents and caregivers who came to its thousands of car seat safety events at places like hospitals and police stations late last year did not use the tether."

According to the Chicago Tribune, the tether — which is typically only used for car seats for children aged 2 through 6 years of age — works to hold children in their seat with a tighter hold, and prevents them from getting pulled forwards during a collision. The newspaper explained:

When attached and tightened to one of the tether anchors in your car, it helps keep a forward-facing car seat from tipping forward, which can result in a head injury.

To ensure that all parts of your car seat, including the tether, are properly in place, parents or guardians can take advantage of certified car seat technicians through the NHTSA. The technician can also tell you if you're using the right kind of car seat for your child, which is also incredibly important, and can be pretty confusing otherwise. Because, as the NHTSA also notes, there are a variety of car seats needed for just about every stage in a child's life.

According to the NHTSA, "car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13. With that in mind, having your child in the right car seat and making sure it's being used correctly is vital. So, if you have any questions about your car seat or how to install it, don't hesitate to ask and check out the technician locater through the NHTSA, because you can never be too safe.

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