The kid was so tiny when she was ready to go home from the hospital. Dad went to the store and bought the car seat that mom was going to buy when her doctor told her instead that she needed to go to the hospital. With help from grandpa, dad installed the car seat using a stuffed animal as a tester.
They didn’t do a bad job but there were some areas for improvement. That is where the car seat check was vital. A very nervous dad took the car with the car seat installed and a very kind lady taught him how to adjust it to make it as safe as possible. When the kid moved to front facing and then to a bigger car seat, that same lady continued to make sure that our kid was safe in the car and she did it for free.
Car seat checks were on hold but in July, the city again began to provide car seat checks for DC residents. Head over to 1001 Half Street SW on a Tuesday or Thursday from 10-6 and a Certified Passenger Child Safety Technician will make sure that your car seat is properly installed and will provide information about the proper use of car seats. Masks are still required at all DC DMV facilities.
There are no appointments and they are currently operating on a first-come first-serve basis. If you have questions about car seat use, you can email careseatsDC@dc.gov
Having a professional check our car seat really gave us piece of mind that our kid was as safe as possible as we took her on adventures. We took advantage of the car seat checks each time we switched seats and we learned something new every time.
