Category: Blog

Once again, Shop.ca is having a super deal that a purchase over $250 gets $70 off. We want to take advantage of this with a quick flash contest as a thank you to everyone using our links for their shopping. We will be using random.org instead of rafflecopter for this one. Just fill out the attached form and we will draw at 9pm est on Thursday, February 5th (6pm pst). You can choose any car seat between $250-$300 that shows as in stock and free shipping. If you’d like a more expensive seat, you must be around tonight or tomorrow morning to e.m.t. the extra funds. Please select a seat off one of our “favourites” lists.

One entry per person please! Multiple entries will be disqualified. Open to residents of Canada who are the age of majority in their province who have not won one of our contests in the last year, excluding the admins of VI Car Seat Techs and their immediate families. Void where prohibited by law.

This contest is now closed – thanks to all who entered!

Want to take advantage yourself? Here’s how!

The deal is good for anything, not just car seats, and it’s possible if you go through ebates you will get an additional 20% off as well. If you would like to take advantage of it yourself, go through these steps.

1. Get a shop.ca account here and we get $25 for our seat donation fund the first time you make a purchase of $75, and you get a bunch of Aeroplan points if your order is over $99, and a big Aeroplan bonus on the first order with your number added to your account.  Then close the window without adding anything to your shopping cart.
2. Sign up for ebates here and they’ll donate $5 to our seat fund; get 20% back–> it comes quarterly via cheque. In the search window look for shop.ca, and click through to it. Sign back in.
3. Now that you are in shop.ca via the ebates portal find your item(s) and add them to your cart. All car seats and booster seats here (travel systems are categorized differently).
   Add Aeroplan if you use it to collect points.
4. Try coupon code RMN70OFF250FEB for $70 off – click on the bolded “here” in the paragraph about not being able to use both, and type it in. Although it says you can’t use both it seems to still work.
5. It’s also possible that if you are NEW to shop.ca you will be given a promo code for $15-20 off when you activate your account.

While researching another project recently I came across a scattering of occupant safety milestones, and decided to dig up some more. While by no means a comprehensive history the progression is interesting!

Thank you for helping us narrow it down! The results were close and it will be tough, but we will have our final decision soon.

Hello, Id like to nominate a good friend of mine Cathy. Cathy has 5 children , her youngest being Randy at the age of 3. I actually steered Cathy away from her 3 in one eddie bauer seats and introduced her to the britax seats when he was ready for a carseat! She uses a marathon for him in her van but she is a school bus driver and has a cosco sceneria for him to ride in her bus for her daily route but he is quickly outgrowing it. I feel for her concern to keep him in the 5 point harness on her bus as our buses rarely get cancelled even when they should be cancelled and unlike me who may choose to keep my kids home so they don’t have to endure the unsafe ride on the bus she being the driver has no choice but to take him with her. Also he still has his afternoon nap on the afternoon run so he needs the comfort of his carseat as well. We had a discussion and both feel a seat like a nautilus or a frontier would be the best choice so he can continue to use it after hes outgrown his marathon, preferably the simplist install and lightest weight as she sometimes has to make quick switches from bus to bus.

Thank you for considering my friends Cathy and Randy

An itsy bitsy Lukas
Snug in his bucket seat
Graco Snugride 35
Its safety hard to beat

A fave seat of VICarSeatTechs
Their reviews & tips I trust
In shopping for Luke’s next car seat
Read through their site I must

So many seats to choose from
Where to even start
A dozen brands of options
From Amazon to Walmart

Lukas is a tall boy
A consideration to be sure
You narrowed down the choices
Your passion true and pure

So now the big decision
The Foonf or Diono
I’m leaning towards the higher base
But can’t go wrong, I know

So much I didn’t know of
But now I can attest
V. I. Car Seat Technicians
Truly are the best!

Video – click to watch!

I have 2 kids. They will be 5 and 2 in April. When I had my oldest daughter I knew nothing about car seats and am ashamed to say I just thought they were all the same and it wasn’t a big deal. We bought a snugride 22 that was on sale cheap (later found out it was 2 years old already and that was why). We were lucky that both our kids were tall and they both *just* fit with the straps below the shoulders. Now almost 5 years later I have become obsessed with car seats and safety. I go crazy watching all my daughters friends go into preschool after getting out of no back boosters. Most of them are 4 but very few are above 40lbs so they aren’t even legal. I have taught my kids that they are being safe. My daughter has taken on my obsession and now will tell people in stores that car seats don’t go on the carts or that the chest clip is too low. People seem to be interested when she tells them and they ask questions. All of them have been receptive to me helping them but I think if it wasn’t for her being the first one to say something they wouldn’t have listened. My daughter is now in a Britax Frontier XT in one vehicle and the CT in the other. Our Ct really doesn’t work well and is very hard to get it tight enough and we have been frustrated with it. My son is still rear facing and will be for a long time. We took advantage of the sale on the Evenflo sureride when it came to Canada. We even got it for my parents vehicle. We also have an APT for him. We have a Britax marathon that we used for my daughter but it is an older one (expires 2015) and only rear faces to 32 inches so that one is just not able to be used. I have passed on the seat to a cousin that was in need and could safely use it. I am bad for passing on my seats to those in need as I know that I have treated them properly and I want all children to be safe. I have even passed on one of my daughters frontiers to someone that still needed a harness. I am now scouting out seats that my husbands second cousin can use for an unexpected little bundle due in June. She doesn’t understand car seat safety and her mom gave her an old seat that was used 20 years ago. She is willing to learn and I am willing to teach! This is my son coming home and the straps are just below the shoulders.

This is my miracle baby, Abigail, nice and snug in her car seat ready to brave this winter! My story is about myself though 😉 I am a former car seat tech (had to take a break due to personal reasons) but I was very active in my community and on-line helping to educate those in my mommyhood. The other day, the subject of those “Healthy Canadians” commercials came up in a Facebook group I am a member of. Someone said “Those commercials remind me of Annabel”…I have never been so proud 🙂 They are listening 🙂

My name is Charli and I was born in July 2013. I am still pretty brand new but looking back at pictures, I am amazed how much I have grown! Mommy says that in just a couple of inches and a few more pounds I will need a new seat. As you can see, I was not a big fan of “the seat” the first time they locked me in. It was cold and scary and there was no mommy in there with me. But then they put that cold mommy-less seat in the car… OH the CAR!! I love the car, it is my happy place! I just wanted you to know that I can tell when my mommy has been reading your website or that funny page with the blue strip at the top, almost immediately she starts doing something new. My favourite was when she did something to the straps that lock me in tight, she made them way more comfortable and I felt so much safer once they were a bit longer! Thanks for teaching my mommy what I need to be safe. The other thing she started doing is the extra wiggle of the seat when she puts me in the car, it makes an extra click and I think it makes my mom happy. I like it when my mommy is happy. Although I have become very much attached to my current seat, I would love for you to give me a new one so that I can sit up taller.

I have started driving my son’s friend to and from school when he moved out of our school area (his parents don’t have a vehicle) so he wouldn’t have to move to his 4th school since the start of the school year. I have committed to driving him home from school and have found someone else to drive him to school. A friend gave us 2 older booster (still good until the end of the school year!) but I would love for this little guy to have cool seat of his own. He is a great kid who deserves something new.

I am a big fan of your website and have used it many times for myself and have referred others to it as well. I am very happy with our car seats (Diono Radian RXT and also Graco Snugride 35).

I wanted to nominate a family that is in need of four car seats. This particular family is a grandma who took custody of her four grandkids to keep the family together (she still has a teenager living at home, too). She had to quit work as the youngest is only 4 mos old, but she gets no support for the kids, of whom the older ones are 7, 5, and 3.

Here is a quick story of our journey to better car seat safety:

In early 2006, we welcomed our very first babe. We were young and keen and thought we had it all figured out. When he turned one, we did what ‘all’ parents did and invested in our first convertable car seat, and turned our 20lb babe forward facing. After all, that was what was suggested at the time, and what the car seat manufacturers, public health, ICBC etc. recommended. In 2008, we welcomed another baby to the family, this time a wee girl! When she turned one, she had not reached 20lbs, and much to everyone’s dismay, we kept her rear facing until she reached that point at a whopping 15 months. Not gonna lie, we felt pretty darn proud of ourselves for going against the ‘norm’ and keeping her rear facing until she actually reached all of the requirements, When it seemed that most turned at one whether they were big enough or not. Fast forward to early 2011 and along comes baby number 3 – another boy:-) I spent the next year of his life researching the heck out of car seats and car seat safety, and when he turned one, without hesitation, we kept him rear facing. Which he remained up until he was nearly 3. We now have another beautiful baby girl, who is nearly 5 months old, who will remaining rear facing for a LONG time!

Although, I do have serious mommy guilt thinking back on how we did things with our first two, when you know better, you do better, and that is exactly what we have done. Thanks to Facebook pages and websites like this, we all have access to loads of valuable information as well as help and support from some amazingly knowledgable ladies, and I know I speak not only for my own family, but many many others, when i say, that we are beyond thankful for that!

We are now on the cusp of needing two more seats for our brood. A full sized seat for our little babe, that we are able to use for extended rear facing, and a forward facing seat for our skinny mini almost 6 year old who has nearly out grown her forward facing seat by height, but is only a whopping 32lbs, and has a long way to go before she can be out of a 5 point harness!
Thank you for this wonderful contest that our family would be absolutely thrilled to win!!

The funny things you can’t see when your kids rear face in the 3rd row of the van…my daughter decided to try out her new swimsuit on the ride home…bottoms on her head and all…and then fell asleep.

Updated December 2019.

You’ve done the research, bought the right seat for your child and situation, and had it checked by a tech and properly installed. All of this is to keep your child safe in the event of a crash, though everyone hopes it will never happen to them. But if you are involved in a crash, what now?

Hopefully no one was seriously hurt. Document everything, and take photos if possible.  Call the police if necessary.  If a child needs medical assistance sometimes the first responders will keep them in their car seats for transport – they’ll cut the seat right out of the vehicle as the seat itself acts like a backboard of sorts.  And then…

Can I keep using my seat after a crash?

The short answer is, probably not. The forces in even a minor crash can compromise the plastic and/or webbing on a seat, even if you can’t see any damage. There is no way to re-certify a seat after a crash, and no one in Canada is authorized or able to check and approve crashed seats for re-use, despite claims to the contrary that we sometimes see online.

If you are unsure whether your seat is safe for re-use, check the car seat manual or call the manufacturer. The majority of manufacturers say you must replace your seat after any crash, even a minor one, and even if the seat is not occupied. Even unoccupied, the seat has still been subjected to forces along the belt path and (in the event of a forward-facing seat) top tether.

There are a very few seats that may be safe to reuse after a minor crash, as defined by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), which is a US organization. Check your car seat manual to find out if yours is one of them.  Your manual, if applicable, will state a list similar to this if the seat does not require replacement after a minor crash.

• The vehicle was able to be driven away from the crash site;
• The vehicle door nearest the safety seat was undamaged;
• There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants (this includes neck or back pain);
• The air bags (if present) did not deploy; AND
• There is no visible damage to the safety seat

Since you’re not advised to use the seat again even once how do you get home from a crash scene?  If possible have someone bring a seat to you — a new one purchased en route, or maybe a parent friend has a similarly sized child and can deliver you home in their seat.  Send one parent via taxi to a store to pick one up, or home to get a spare from your other vehicle or basement.  Do what you can as ideally no child will ever ride in that crashed seat again.

One of the most common questions we get when it comes to crashes, is whether a particular crash “counts”.  Questions like “I backed into a post in the parking lot” or “I bounced off the snow bank and there’s a tiny dent in the bumper.” Unfortunately, this isn’t a judgment call we as techs can or should make. If there is any doubt as to whether the crash warrants replacing the seats, you should call the car seat manufacturer themselves and talk to them. Note that Transport Canada itself states that child restraints should be replaced after any crash, no matter how minor, and does not follow the US NHTSA guidelines.

If the vehicle damage is being covered by insurance, the car seats may be too. Insurance policies of private or public insurance companies can vary widely. Some insurance companies are notoriously difficult to deal with when trying to have car seats replaced, even if the policy does cover them. Being firm, pointing out the replacement requirement in the car seat manuals, and remaining insistent can work. Remember that even an unoccupied seat needs to be replaced.  If you continue to have difficulty with your insurance company please be in touch with us and we’ll see if we have any ideas specific to your situation.

Try to avoid having the insurance company pay you a prorated amount based on the age of the car seat because to replace it, you have to pay full price. Generally they will want a receipt for the old seat and a receipt for the new one, and will give you an amount for the lesser of the two values. Depending on your adjuster, they may insist you purchase the exact same seat. If you don’t have your old receipt, usually sending them a listing of the car seat online will be enough.

If the vehicle is not covered under insurance, it should fall to the person who is at fault to cover the cost of replacing the car seats.  In the event of a severe crash, the car seat manufacturer themselves may replace the seat for you in exchange for the crashed one. They often find it useful to examine seats involved in “real world” crashes to aid in the research, development and design of future restraints. Contact the manufacturer of your seat to inquire about this option.

As for what to do with the old seat, you can keep the cover off the seat if you want, for use or for sale for another identical seat, but everything else including the harness should be destroyed or recycled. Sometimes a local car seat technician might like the seat to use for training purposes, and we have exemptions to use seats for this purpose from Health Canada. Some areas have recycling depots that will take old car seats. Otherwise, it will need to be thrown out. Cut the straps and padding, write “Crashed, do not use” on the shell, even take a hammer or a saw to it, and bag it up so it isn’t obvious what it is. Do not under any circumstances sell or pass on a seat that has been in a crash, however minor. This is also one reason it is not recommended to buy a used seat unless you trust the seller with your child’s life, as damage from a crash is not always obvious and you don’t know if the seller has been in a crash and chose not to count it as such.

If insurance is covering the cost, they will normally want proof that the seat has been destroyed and will not be reused. Often the body shops or mechanic shops fixing the cars are able to do this and will destroy and dispose of the seat for you. Some insurance companies may collect the seats themselves.

Remember also to contact your vehicle manufacturer about whether your seat belts should be replaced (if seats were installed with seat belt), and/or whether the lower anchors or top tether are still safe to use (if seats were installed with UAS).

As always, if you need any tips or advice on choosing a new seat, dealing with insurance, or making sure you have a proper install in a new seat and/or vehicle, you can contact a tech or ask on our Facebook page for help.

Special thanks to those who shared their photos with us for this post. To read more of the stories behind some of the pictures, see:

Anne’s story: Why I Do What I Do

Rachel’s story: Is rear facing safe when you’re rear ended?

Casey’s story: My crash story

VANCOUVER ISLAND — More than 98.8% of car seats are installed or used incorrectly.

At least that’s the statistic observed by Jen Shapka, a technician/instructor with the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada. Shapka co-founded Vancouver Island Car Seat Techs almost two years ago after moving to Vancouver Island with a military spouse.

“I’d recently been certified as a car seat technician in Ontario and saw the immediate difference it could make to a child’s safety,” said Shapka. “When I arrived in the Comox Valley, I hunted around and couldn’t find any organizations making a real difference for kids in vehicles so I found some like-minded women on the Island and Vancouver Island Car Seat Techs was born.”

As the great demand for car seat help grew, traffic picked up quickly on the Facebook page the women started, and the resulting website they developed. Momentum picked up.  Jen became an Instructor with the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada (CPSAC) and the Island now boasts 52 trained and certified car seat technicians. Some, like the busy techs who volunteer at free clinics organized up and down Vancouver Island, do it because it’s a passion. Others help parents and families through their work places. Every single one has made a difference reducing the primary accidental cause of death of children in Canada.

Shapka herself has personally checked 437 car seats on Vancouver Island in her two years posted here, and only five of them didn’t require correction of misuse.

“Studies indicate that children traveling in an appropriate, properly used restraint can reduce the likelihood of death by 70% and injury by 67%,” said Shapka. “There’s really no reason not to ensure your kids are riding safely.”

Indeed, Stats Canada says that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of 14. In 2010 61 children under the age of 14 were killed in motor vehicle crashes, 501 were seriously injured, and 9342 others suffered minor to moderate injuries.

Shapka is once again preparing to pack up and move her family across the country this summer – her seventh move in 11 years. She’s extremely proud of the fantastic network of technicians she’s helped to train and mentor, including another instructor who will continue to teach and certify new technicians. There is also a loyal following of hundreds, if not thousands of parents who reach out and ask for the help they were previously unable to find before Vancouver Island Car Seat Technicians came to be.

“There is a troubling trend of bad advice out there,” Shapka said. “I’ve personally corrected errors made by technicians with out-dated or incomplete information. We formed Vancouver Island Car Seat Technicians to buck that trend and be a reliable source of information.”

Technicians certified by CPSAC receive a national certification and ongoing re-certification. They remain current on new laws, recalls, and other safety concerns. The Vancouver Island Car Seat Techs also maintain an active communication amongst each other and reach out for assistance from other techs when needed.

Experienced, certified, and up-to-date help can be found online at www.vicarseattechs.com, on Facebook at VICarSeatTechs, and in person in many communities up and down Vancouver Island.

Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPSTs) are found all across Canada, and do their work in family resource centres, with law enforcement, at public health, in parent support roles, in retail settings, as community volunteers, as mobile small business owners, and more.

Read more to find out how you can become a CPST with the Child Passenger Safety Association of Canada.

We now have a new space on the web! This is still a work in progress and we will be updating and adding new resources and links over the next little while. Your feedback is welcome. Please let us know if you have suggestions for blog posts or any information you would like to see here.