Is your child seat installed correctly? Police offer help in securing parents' most precious cargo

LONG BRANCH — See this story on our tablet app for a video on child car seat installation from Monmouth Medical Center with New Jersey State Police. Go to app.com on your tablet to download our tablet app.
Apparently, installing a child safety seat these days is like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube – not many people can do it right.
Some of the estimates are alarming. For example, according to the National Safe Kids Campaign, four out of five child safety seats are used incorrectly, with an average of three mistakes made during installation of one seat.
“They’re (parents) always embarrassed when they find out,” said Lisa Madden, who oversees child car seat inspections at Monmouth Medical Center. The inspection program, offered to the public Tuesday, is coordinated with New Jersey State Police, which requires troopers to become certified in child car seat inspection.
Trooper Joan Bloom said certification requires three weeks of classes in order for troopers to teach parents how to install seats correctly. Free car safety seat inspections are held once a month at locations around the state.
Bloom said a common error being discovered is that seats aren’t anchored in place tightly enough.
John Kaczala, a Morganville parent, found that out personally when he had state police check his seats Tuesday at Monmouth Medical Center.
“I thought I had them installed properly, but they made them tighter,” Kaczala said. “One of the troopers actually got in the car, stood up and yanked on the straps to make it tighter. That will prevent less travel by the kids in the seats.”
Kaczala is no stranger to ferrying around kids – he is a father of 17-month-old triplets.
“We keep them in the same seats all the time. The middle one goes in first. We found that the easiest way,” Kaczala said, adding that he advises all parents to bring their seats to the professionals for inspection.
Police can also tell you whether the car seat you are using is being recalled for defects. At each inspection, they carry an updated list of seats with safety issues, and it’s one of the first things they check when a parent or caregiver arrives.