This guest blog is written by Sarah Fogarty, Mama and Owner of Secure-A-Seat in Knoxville!

Have you ever stopped to think about the amount of time you spend in your car? Drop the oldest off at school, rush over to a toddler gym class, take your youngest back to the doctor for yet another suspected ear infection, and pick up a few groceries just in time to get back in the car rider line for pickup.  There’s a lot going on in your head between focusing on the road, passing back snacks, and remembering all that you have to do that day and the days coming.

As moms we are in charge of a lot of the remembering/reminding (at least in my house), but because car seats are used day in and day out, over and over again, we often forget those need ongoing attention too. Nearly 4 in 5 car seats have errors in installation/errors and those statistics don’t seem to differ between new parents and experienced parents. Our local baby store has 43 infant seats, 59 convertible seats, and 40 combination/booster seats available for order. That’s 142 different car seats that have different installation instructions and varying rules regarding recline, support cushions, and weight limits. Considering you may have multiple children in different car seats, how do we go about remembering which car seats needs what and when?!?

The answer…. Schedule an appointment with Secure-A-Seat.

I’m a child passenger safety technician specifically geared towards providing you individualized and thorough education surrounding each seat!

With children, it can be difficult to find the time to attend a car seat event, but with Secure-A-Seat the service comes to you. I’ve found that caregivers can be more attentive and retain the information provided when they are in a familiar environment like their home where they know their children can safely play indoors or outdoors. The kids are only needed for a short period of time to test fit them in their car seats and waiting around the vehicle in an unfamiliar environment can be difficult for them to maintain patience, and therefore difficult for a parent to maintain attention.  

Each person has a specific learning style, and our appointments cover all of those. At the beginning of a car seat installation assistance appointment, I document how each seat is currently installed then review each error found with the caregiver by pointing it out visually and discussing what makes it an error. We will make all corrections needed together!

At the end of the appointment I’ll review the form for the errors we discussed and corrected as well as provide an easy to store rack card in your glove box with the most important information for YOUR car seat including its expiration date, lower anchor weight limit, height and weight limits for the seat, directions for crotch buckle placement, removal of cushions, and special/unusual requirements for your seat. This is something no one else does and it takes extra time before your appointment, but I do it because I am dedicated to you and I want to reduce future errors and improve understanding of your car seat!

Car seat installation help is the most common service I provide, but I also offer services that help you determine which car seat is best BEFORE purchasing. Because is there anything worse than purchasing a $300 car seat to get to our appointment and realize that it is not compatible with your other car seats or vehicle?!? More vehicles are now equipped with non-removal headrests which can create a gap between the car seat and vehicle seat, which is often prohibited by the car seat manufacture. Working together from the beginning can save you money in the long run! 

Book an appointment today to review your current seats or to prepare for new baby’s arrival, and let’s work together to get all of Knoxville and the surrounding areas riding safer! 

Y’ALL.

I thought I had the momming thing down after 5 years of this gig, but after chatting with Sarah and her doing her thing - my car seats needed help! I’m so glad she was able to tell me what to fix and how to fix it in order to keep my kiddos safe. I’m so grateful for her passion and knowledge. I highly recommend reaching out to her to make sure your car seat install is 100% correct! You can check out my post about my experience here.

Sarah’s contact information

Website: https://www.secure-a-seat.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/secure_a_seat/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SecureASeat

Email: secureAseat.knoxville@gmail.com