Happy Fall! This winter as you plan your summer adventures, keep in mind the safety of recreational vehicles. They are big, but unlike school busses and tour busses, are not all that safe.

Safety seats are designed for vehicles meeting Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. While RVs (or motor homes) do meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, they only meet them for the front passengers. RVs do not have to comply to seat belt standards or occupant protection standards for rear seating.

Let’s learn a little bit about RVs. RVs are built on what is called a “chassis.” There are van chassis and bus chassis. The chassis is what meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. The companies that build RVs, purchase a chassis and build the home part of the motor home on it. That is what doesn’t have to meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. In the living quarters of the RV, exterior walls, cabinets, and utilities are made of wood. Sometimes aluminum or steel, but most of time wood. They all have wooden seat structures.

What happens in an accident when everything is made of wood, is that everything tears apart and becomes projectile, including seat belts and any locked cabinets.

To sum this all up, occupants are only safely restrained in the back of an RV until an accident occurs and then nobody is restrained. The best way to travel with an RV is to get a tow-able RV. You could also have one person driving an RV and someone else driving a car with the rest of the occupants.

Halloween celebration October 31. Bring your child’s costume.
Mark your calendars. November 27/28 there will be no preschool for Thanksgiving break.

Safety seats range from $70 to $500. Does that mean the more expensive the seat, the safer the child? No! All safety seats on the market are required to meet the same federal safety standards. The more expensive the seat, the more bells and whistles it has. Some of the more expensive seats exceed the safety standards having things like Q straps and anti-rebound bars for extra safety. So, you may be thinking, “Then wouldn’t those be safer?” Those added features are usually optional to use (Read your safety seat manual to know for sure for your particular seat) because they exceed the safety standards. While they help and I highly recommend you use them if your seat has them, your child is equally as safe in a less expensive seat.

When deciding on what seat to purchase, you will decide on two factors.

1. What seat works in your vehicle. All safety seats have to be installed based off of the safety seat manual and your car’s manual. Not every seat will work in your vehicle. I was given a Graco Forever seat for a girl I was driving. My car manual stated that all safety seats must lay flat on the seat. They cannot hang over or lift up in the back. The Graco seat did both. I did my job of informing the parents. They chose to have me make it work. What I did was moved the base to the booster setting (even though she was forward facing) which made the safety seat lay flatter on my car’s seat, making it a little bit safer. I did this because as a babysitter, I have to work with whatever safety seat I am given. I do not recommend you do this with your child. Make sure you get a safety seat that will work for you particular vehicle.

2. What is vital to you. Are you frugal or strapped for cash? Do you want your child as comfortable as possible? Do you always have to have the greatest, fanciest things? Is it vital to you that you have those extra safety features? Do you want a seat that will last your child longer? Do you simply just want your child safe?

Whether purchasing a $70 seat, a $240 seat, or a $500 seat, your child is equally safe.

We have recommended some great resources on vehicle safety. We get that vehicle safety doesn’t come easy for everyone. You have to install safety seats based off your car manual and your car seat manual and not every car and car seat is the same. It can get confusing. If you need one-on-one in-person help, we recommend Mandi from the Center for Safe Alaskans in Anchorage. Alaska currently lacks good CPSTs, but Mandi will never misguide you. She is a CPST that you can trust 100% to see that you and all of your occupants are riding safely. Her contact information is below. Their online booking system doesn’t allow you to select a CPST, so make sure to contact her directly to see that you get her for your appointment.

There are infant seats, convertible seats, forward facing seats, combination seats, high back booster seats, no back booster seats, built-in booster seats, adaptive seats, and ride safer vests.

Your child will most likely be in an infant seat from the time they come out of the womb. Infant seats are rear facing only seats.

Convertible seats can go from rear facing to forward facing.

Forward facing seats are forward facing only seats.

Combination seats can convert from a forward facing only seat to a high back booster seat.

High back booster seats are used with a lap and shoulder belt.

No back booster seats are used with the lap and shoulder belt and a car’s headrest.

Built-in booster seats are in some vehicles.

Adaptive seats are for special needs kids. The harness and other limits of the seat exceed normal limits of a regular car seat.

Ride safer vests are used with a type 1 or type 2 seat belt.

To know when you can ditch these seats, is to follow the 5 point check system. Do a check with your child by having them sit in the seat with a seat belt and no safety seat. If they pass all 5 of these below, you can ditch the safety seat.

1. Back is straight against the seat.

2. The knees bend where the seat bends.

3. The lap belt sits low on the hips.

4. The shoulder belt sits between their neck and their shoulder.

5. They can sit properly the entire ride.

Our handbook states that we don’t suggest ride safer vests. Some of you may not have heard of such a thing while some you may have been questioning, “Aren’t they safe? I thought they were.”

A ride safer vest is like a booster seat, but instead of lifting the child’s bum so the seat belt fits on the right parts of the body, it brings the seat belt down to do the same thing. Ride safer vests are indeed safe. They pass the same safety standards that any other booster seat or car seat must pass.

We don’t currently suggest it for two reasons.

1. According to CPST, Michelle Pratt, while ride safer vests are safe, a booster seat or car seat will always provide the best protection. We care about every child that walks through our preschool. If a booster seat or car seat will provide the best protection, then that is what we are going to recommend.

2. A lot of people don’t know how to use ride safer vests. The last thing we want is a volunteer parent to receive one of those and then not know how to use it.

Please provide a car seat or booster seat for your child that works for their age, height, and weight. Your child will not be allowed to attend the field trip without one. Not every car seat is the same. Please leave notes on anything that may be helpful for the volunteer parent that isn’t listed on the side of the car seat. For example, maybe your car seat’s manual states not to use the automatic locking system and only the car seat’s lock off system. Is your child still riding rear facing? Let them know that, too.

If you must provide a ride safer vest, please be in contact with your child’s volunteer driver prior to the field trip day to ensure that they know how to use a ride safer vest and are comfortable using one.

Trinity Lutheran Church Preschool requests your feedback. We are always looking for ways to improve our program. If there is anything you like or dislike about our program or have other suggestions, please share it here. We appreciate your honest thoughts. It helps us to have a safe and nurturing, fun-filled program where kids can learn and grow every day they are here. And if you are satisfied with our program, please consider leaving us a review there as well. It helps future prospects when deciding on the right preschool for their family.

If you are debating whether or not to let your child ride the bus to school, the answer is Yes. If sending your child to school on a bus will make your life easier, do it. While some school buses don’t have seat belts, children are actually more safe on a bus than they are in a car seat/booster seat in a car. Buses are the most regulated vehicle. They are more sturdy than a car and have special safety features to help protect in an accident. They also distribute crash forces differently than a car making them one of the safest vehicles to ride in.

As for the Trinity Lutheran Church Preschool, we do not have bus services. Your child will need to be driven to school each day. To ensure your child is as safe as possible in the car, make sure to have a proper installation of your safety seat and follow all safety rules (sweater rule, seat limits, reverse pinch test, etc.). If you have any doubts about the use of your car seat, reach out for guidance.

We look forward to seeing your child at our school soon.

The chest clip is the top part of the 5-point harness. Let’s have a little quiz.

What is the purpose of a chest clip?

1. To keep the child restricted
2. To keep the straps from going loose
3. To keep the straps in place
4. None of the above

If you answered 3, you are correct. The sole purpose of the chest clip is to help keep the straps in place during a collision. And in order for it to do that, it must be at arm pit level. Hence the name “chest clip”- it should be on the chest. What I like to do is get it at arm pit level, and then do a tickle test to see if it is in the right spot. Start in the middle of the chest clip and run your fingers across to the child’s armpit and tickle them. They love it. Let’s have another test.

What happens if you don’t get the chest clip at armpit level?

1. Your child will come out of the harness in a collision
2. Your child’s intestines will get smashed
3. Your child will get bruised
4. Your harness strap won’t stay in place

If you answered 1 and 4, you are correct. I tricked you there. If the chest clip isn’t at arm pit level, it won’t be able to keep the straps in place, as we learned in quiz question 1. However, it will also increase the chances that your child will come out of the straps in a collision since the chest clip isn’t where it needs to be to keep the straps in place. Let’s have one more quiz. This will be a bonus question.

In Europe, they do something different with chest clips. What is it?

1. They only use them on forward-facing seats
2. They use SensorSafe chest clips
3. They use a chest clip buckle guard
4. They use a three-point harness

If you answered 4, you are correct. Chest clips are actually illegal in Europe. You will never find a chest clip on a European car seat. Those car seats are built differently to do the same thing.

Article written by Micaela and photo is by safekids.org

A top tether strap is a strap in the middle of the back of cart seats. It’s similar to the Q strap except it can only be used forward-facing and is mandatory for all car seats. It limits the distance your child’s head moves forward in a collision by 4-6 inches. Think of it as life or death. If you want life, attach it! It’s literally what keeps the car seat in place during a collision and prevents your child from suffering a severe head injury.

The top tether strap should always be the first thing you attach and the last thing you tighten. The place you attach it to depends on your car. It can be located on the back of the seat, the floor, the ceiling, the back dash… your car manual is your friend if you can’t find it. Most will have an anchor symbol. Cargo mounts were not built to withstand the forces of a crash, so you want to make sure it’s the tether mount and not the cargo mount. If you aren’t positive, check your car manual. You may need to remove your trunk cover in order to use the mount. I had to do that with my Volkswagen Beetle.

For those with trucks, even if you have found your tether mount, read your car manual for proper installation. Some trucks have different installations of tethers compared to other cars where you have to loop it through and pull it across to the other side of the car. Make sure you read your car manual for the proper installation method. Without proper installation, it won’t function as should.

In the picture below by Buckle up with Brutus, you can see the difference between using and not using the top tether. As you’ll see, the cars seats in this picture were attached using the LATCH System. However, the top tether applies for seat belt and lower rigid anchor installation as well.

The only time you should not be attaching the top tether strap is when you are on an airplane (as they don’t have top tether mounts), rear facing (a lot of people will start attaching the strap when they switch from an infant seat to a convertible seat just because it’s there, so they think they have to attach it, but it’s only meant when forward facing) and when you are using a combination car seat with a lap and shoulder belt (as the top tether only applies to people strapped in via a harness*).

Additional top tether notes: The Ride Safer Vest comes with a tether attachment. If you are using a lap only belt, you need to use it. When using a lap and shoulder belt, it is optional. It can be great for helping to keep squirmy kids in the right position.

Foreign car seats and top tethers: In Germany, they have what is called a Nachfolger HY5 inflatable car seat. It can be used for newborn up to the age of 5. It can even be used in the front seat as long as it rests against the dashboard with the airbag turned off. This car seat uses the top tether rear facing. Make sure to attach it when using this car seat. In Germany that is, as this car seat has not been approved for use in the United States.

*A select number of seats allow use of a top tether in booster mode. To know for sure for your particular car seat, read your car seat manual.

For questions or more information on car seats, you can get in touch or follow @SafeintheSeat.

Article written by Micaela and photo is by Buckle up with Brutus.

The Trinity Lutheran Preschool is a part-time preschool operating a few hours a day 3 days a week. We do not run a daycare facility. If you are unable to pick up your child, we do allow other people to pick them up as long as we have them listed in your file. If you do not have a friend or family member to pick them up, we recommend hiring a nanny here.

Reflections Lake!!
May 16, 2024
10:00 am meet at Reflections Lake for a walk around the lake and then lunch on the grass.

What to bring:
A backpack that includes lunch or snacks for you and your child.
Appropriate clothing for the weather that day.
A small blanket or jacket to sit on if the ground is damp.

WARNING— All the kids always end up playing at the shore and end up wet:) Be prepared for some wet socks and pant legs!!
Family and Siblings welcome! The trail is pretty stroller friendly.

NO SCHOOL for Miss Jennie’s Class on May 15.

Miss Jennie’s Class Graduation!!
May 14, 2024
11:00 am in the Church.
Family and guests are welcome for a short ceremony to celebrate what they have learned and send them off to Kindergarten with love and blessings. This year we are holding it at the end of class so Miss Jen’s class can watch the celebration!

We are Tie Dying T-Shirts in May!
Please bring in a washed, white t-shirt that we can dye with your child. I recommend a size larger one so they can wear it for more than just the summer 🙂
DEADLINE: May 1 (Wednesday)

We are enrolling students for the 2024-2025 school year. We are taking kids ages 3-5 who are fully potty trained. You can register online, in-person, or over the phone. There is a $75.00 non-refundable registration deposit due with the registration form. Tours of the preschool are available by appointment with the preschool teachers.

Did you know to be enrolled in the Trinity Lutheran Preschool your child must be fully potty trained? The teachers here do not potty train or change diapers. Follow our resource guide below for help with potty training. Registration opens March 1.

Once Upon a Potty for Him/Her DVD- An animated guide on potty training featuring a sing along song and the most asked questions answered by a doctor.

Potty Training in 3 Days book- Author and potty training specialist, Brandi Brucks, will teach you how to potty train your child in just 3 days.

Follow these steps for an effective time out:

1. Give the child a warning at eye level. It holds them accountable and gives them the chance to do the right thing. Be sure to use a firm voice. It tells the child you mean business.
2. Put them in a time out spot someplace away from toys, books, and other distractions. Let them know why you are putting them in time out.
3. Set a timer for 1 minute per the child’s age (ages 2+).
4. Make sure they stay there for the entire time. This gives them the chance to think about their actions. If they get up at any point, place them back in the spot without saying a word. Then, reset the timer. It is crucial not to give up at this step, no matter how long it takes. Giving up tells them they can get away with it.
5. Go to them at eye level and ask them why they were put in time out. Explain if needed.
6. Ask them to give you an apology. If they aren’t ready to apologize yet, come back later.
7. Give them a hug and let them know you still love them.
8. Tell them they are free to go. If they owe an apology to someone else, walk them over to that person and have them apologize.

We have a new online payment system. We are now taking tuition payment through Stripe. The payment links can be found here. They will direct you to a SSL form where you can securely pay using your credit or debit card. Reach out if you have any questions.

Car seats are complex, but getting help is not. To ensure your child is riding safe, we recommend you follow Safe in the Seat on YouTube. Her easy-to-understand videos are one of the most convenient ways to get the information you need. If you still have confusion after watching a video, Safe in the Seat responds to every question left on her videos!

The TLC Preschool will have a hike and lunch at Reflections Lake on May 18. Please meet us there at 10:00 a.m. You will need to bring your own lunch. Call, text, or fill out our form with any questions.

Preschool graduation is May 16 at 12:30 p.m. in the Trinity Sanctuary. All are welcome to come watch the ceremony. Snacks will follow. For more information, you can start a conversation with Jennifer Horacek here.

You can order an adult or kids t-shirt with the Trinity Lutheran Church Preschool logo on it.

Join us for a special Christmas chapel on December 15 at noon in the Trinity sanctuary. You can start a conversation with any questions you may have.

Just like it is vital to put your child in preschool to help them grow their beautiful mind, it is also vital to strap them safely into the car. For just $25 dollars you can ensure your child is as safe as possible when riding in a vehicle. This 45 minute class is taught by certified passenger safety technician, Brittany Hunt. You can sign up for the class at The Newborn Care Training Academy. And don’t forget about your safety, too. Just like you shouldn’t put anything thick under a child’s harness straps, you shouldn’t put anything thick under your seat belt, either.

Trinity Lutheran Church Preschool now has the option for you to pay tuition electronically through Tithe.ly, the church’s pay link. Select “Designated Funds” in the drop down menu and add “Preschool” in the memo line. Then email a copy of your receipt to the preschool. This link can also be found on the Cost, Terms, & Ages page as well as the Program page (Look for the green and white Tithe.ly button). Additionally, we still accept currency and checks.

We still have openings for both preschool classes. If you are interested in signing your child up for preschool, please fill out the registration form. You can reach out to Jen with any questions.