Best Resources for Carseat Info- manning a booth at Kids Safety Fair!!

[MoeJoe]

EDIT for another question 5/20: I've been searching and searching for free kid related handouts for the fair, to almost no avail! I found a Minnesota State Dept giving out "boost me up" stickers for free and I was able to get 200 of them, but then they said no more because I'm not a state resident... My state, Ohio, doesn't give out anything that I've found. I did find a lot of .pdfs for me to print out, but that of course means my cost to print! I will do some, like activity sheets and such, but stickers are way too expensive. Any ideas for freebies anywhere in the country that would be happy to give to me for this very worthy event???!!!!
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I am so excited to be doing this, but not sure where the best info is at! Any help with pointing me in the right direction? I need to make it an interactive hands-on display for parents and children. This will obviously be the carseat safety booth, among other safety booths, so it will not be that large in the scheme of things. Any ideas welcome for our display! We have a tentative plan, but just signed up today for this "job" so very flexible still.

I'm in Ohio, btw. I plan on calling the local hospital, fire department and some state or federal highway agency (which one?). The fair will be in the end of June, so some time still. I also plan on posting on the car-seat.org forum.

Any other help appreciated

[Joolsplus2]

Oh yes, by all means, post at car-seat.org. I'm about to go to Lifesavers and sometimes they have cool ideas (like, a pool noodle used to be 57" tall, you can hold it up and see if kids are that tall and can ride without a booster). Maybe you have a state Safekids coalition, they might have handouts and coloring books and stuff specific to your state. If you can get someones minivan seat somehow set up (or if your Sk has a seat to borrow), then you can make kids try the 5-step test (butt all the way back, belt low on hips, centered on shoulder, knees bent over the edge, sit that way the whole trip), that's kind of a fun tool that kids end up knowing whether they are safe in a car without a booster, too.

Oh, look around at www.carseat.org, too, I think they have handouts and flyers that are free .pdfs, like the 5 step test used to be number 630, but I'm too lazy to google right this minute, lol.

[MoeJoe]

Oh yes, by all means, post at car-seat.org. I'm about to go to Lifesavers and sometimes they have cool ideas (like, a pool noodle used to be 57" tall, you can hold it up and see if kids are that tall and can ride without a booster). Maybe you have a state Safekids coalition, they might have handouts and coloring books and stuff specific to your state. If you can get someones minivan seat somehow set up (or if your Sk has a seat to borrow), then you can make kids try the 5-step test (butt all the way back, belt low on hips, centered on shoulder, knees bent over the edge, sit that way the whole trip), that's kind of a fun tool that kids end up knowing whether they are safe in a car without a booster, too.

Oh, look around at www.carseat.org, too, I think they have handouts and flyers that are free .pdfs, like the 5 step test used to be number 630, but I'm too lazy to google right this minute, lol.

Thanks Jools for the idea of the pool noodle, I like it! Did you come across any other neat ideas at the conference?

From looking around at links at carseat.org and Ohio Dept of Public Safety, I got a nice amount of handouts/sheets/coloring papers. I just have to sift through them and choose. Any other links are appreciated, though!

A little OT, but I'm wondering if you can please give me some info on becoming a CPST? I'm playing with the idea, but not sure if it is for me... At this point I am just very pro carseat use at the appropriate age, but not a fanatic or very very knowledgable of all the carseats out there like you are. I'm a stay home mom, busy with family but with enough free time to take on something else that is flexible enough.

Thanks :-)

[MoeJoe]

After talking with my friend/partner in the booth, this is a draft of the idea we decided on. If anyone has any other ideas or points we should add or change, please tell me!

1- Displaying four types of carseats, infant, convertible, HBB, and booster (maybe also a FF harness).
2- Having color coded pool noodles cut to size for the three different height requirements for different seats. (maybe four)
3- Having two scales for weighing purposes to see which seat is appropriate.
4- Three or four small raffle prizes- color coded with the pool noodles, that participants can enter after figuring out which is the appropriate seat.
5- This way the prizes will be somewhat age appropriate to the winners, if measured correctly.
6- If possible, have packets (in bags or folders?) with handouts/sheets/info/coloring books etc. More generic info.
7- If possible, have more handouts available on the table for individual interests ie. installation locations, carseat expiration, carseats and coats etc. To be given out upon request or interest.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks

[Joolsplus2]

Sorry so late to respond!

Wow, that sounds great! Love the creative pool noodle use, too.
The conference was just blah from a CPS standpoint this year, it was very cop-centric and lots of DUI enforcement stuff, so we alternated playing in the carseat booths and taking walking tours of Chicago, lol.

This is the first page to find a class to become a tech, it's really a fun, easy class for those of us who already know our stuff, but the challenge is finding one that fits in with our schedule! http://cert.safekids.org/become-tech

[MoeJoe]

I edited for another question:

I've been searching and searching for free kid related handouts for the fair, to almost no avail! I found a Minnesota State Dept giving out "boost me up" stickers for free and I was able to get 200 of them, but then they said no more because I'm not a state resident... My state, Ohio, doesn't give out anything that I've found. I did find a lot of .pdfs for me to print out, but that of course means my cost to print! I will do some, like activity sheets and such, but stickers are way too expensive. Any ideas for freebies anywhere in the country that would be happy to give to me for this very worthy event???!!!!

[MoeJoe]

Sorry so late to respond!

Wow, that sounds great! Love the creative pool noodle use, too.
The conference was just blah from a CPS standpoint this year, it was very cop-centric and lots of DUI enforcement stuff, so we alternated playing in the carseat booths and taking walking tours of Chicago, lol.

This is the first page to find a class to become a tech, it's really a fun, easy class for those of us who already know our stuff, but the challenge is finding one that fits in with our schedule! http://cert.safekids.org/become-tech

I'd really love to do this Julie, but there is no way and no how anything fits in my schedule now with little kids.... Hopefully in a couple of years!

[Joolsplus2]

Totally understand! I think the average for most of us 'wanting to become' a tech and actually becoming one is like, 3 years. It even took my at least 2 years to recertify when I expired once.