By PHYLLIS ZORN

Staff writer

Safety isn’t just a concern for grandparents. It’s also a concern for grandchildren.

Six parents brought their children to have their car seats checked for proper installation last week by 10 newly-certified installation experts.

A 27-hour child car seat installation course coordinated by technical trooper Mike Racy trained 10 law enforcement officers and representatives of agencies such as the health department, extension office, fire departments, Head Start, and Marion County Parents as Teachers.

“They’re here to educate the parents or caregivers on how to install the seats properly,” Racy said.

Statistics show that 74 to 90% of child car seats are improperly installed, Racy said.

Certification lasts two years. To recertify, installers must take a six-hour continuing education course, install five car seats in front of instructors, and participate in at least one community event.

On the final day, a car seat check lane was done to let the installation experts get hands-on experience and test their new knowledge.

“We checked a total of six car seats at the car seat check lane on Dec. 5,” said county health nurse Diedre Serene.

The training course was presented through the health department, thanks to a grant from Safe Kids Worldwide, because the county no longer had anyone certified in car seat installation.