Car Seat Installation Service

Curbside Car Seat Checks, Full Instruction Courses & Home Service Appointments

Thank you to all my clients for over 20 years in business!  Due in part to anti-small-business practices in the City of Naperville, I regret that SeatCheck will temporarily close for business, effective November 22, 2024.  At this time, I do not know if business will re-open in 2025.  This Seatcheck.net domain name and/or website may be for sale in 2025, please contact me.

SeatCheck is the first and most experienced professional car seat checkup service in the Chicago area serving Naperville, DuPage and most of Cook county!  Seatcheck may offer mobile service right to your home, office, retail store or hospital parking lot.

For more information about Seatcheck’s expert car seat checkup service, please see why Seatcheck is the best choice for you, the safest choice for your baby and also about what to expect from my expert service!  You also can read about me and below you can find Seatcheck’s rates for a course that may take up to an hour for a full instruction on a typical carseat.

Seatcheck is now a part-time small business.  I generally accept appointments Monday to Friday, from 10 am – 3 pm, though November 22nd, 2024, weather permitting.  Thank you for your understanding that appointments are limited, due to my part-time schedule. (Winter appointments and travel service are very limited, weather permitting, and subject to cancellations).

  • Child safety seat instruction, installation or inspection: $50 for each car seat – By appointment only.  Seatcheck offers two options:
    1. “Full-Service” In-person at Seatcheck’s location in Naperville or to your home or office.  Instruction class usually takes about an hour for one car seat and includes demonstration of all features, adjustments and fit.  Hands-on discussion teaches you how to install it yourself in the future!  Added travel fee for mobile service to many cities in the Chicago area, see below.  No added travel fee when you make an appointment at our NHTSA listed fitting station at our Naperville address near Naper Blvd. & Hobson Rd.  No walk-ins or drive-ups, sorry, all services by appointment only.
    2. “Quick Check” In-person curbside car seat check only at Seatcheck’s Naperville location, limited to installation-only or quick verification to minimize time and contact.  I am fully vaccinated and will wear mask and gloves upon request for quick check appointments. Usually takes less than 30 minutes.  Questions about proper use, features, adjustments and fit to the harness system can be done via email, text, WhatsApp or video call after the Quick Check.  Applies to most car seats installed behind the driver or passenger side seating positions in the rear seat of 4-door vehicles.  Limitations apply#
  • Seatcheck makes convenient house calls to your home, office, hospital or baby retail store!  For mobile service, please ADD a travel fee below. Travel service may only be offered on select weekday mornings and only for full-service appointments.  Seatcheck is green and uses a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle for service.  May not be available after Nov 22nd, 2024.
    1. Travel service to Naperville and Lisle only: add $10*
    2. Travel service to other nearby towns in DuPage County: add $20**
    3. Travel service to parts of Chicago, Cook, Kane and Will County: usually add $80***
  • To make an appointment or contact us, please email Seatcheck, use the contact form below, call, text or WhatsApp to Darren at 630-708-SAFE (+1 (630) 708-7233) from 9am to 5pm weekdays or leave a message anytime.
  • Inspections are performed by appointment ONLY. No walk-ins or drive-ups, sorry.
  • Appointments usually Monday-Friday, 9 am to 4 pm, Mid-March to Mid-November.
  • Winter appointments are very limited, scheduled tentatively up to a week in advance, usually if temperatures are forecast above 40 degrees.  Travel service may not be available.  I do not have a heated indoor facility, so please dress warmly.  Subject to cancellation and re-scheduling.
  • Includes expert installation, demonstration, recall check and car seat safety school lesson with instruction on proper use
  • Check for seasonal specials & discounts. Any discounts will be quoted by email or text when making the appointment.
  • Carseat Consults & Shopping Service:  Questions on using a car seat?  Want a demonstration of correct use?  Buying a new carseat and overwhelmed by all the options?  I will consult by phone, zoom or facetime to help answer your questions and give you options on what models may work best in your situation: Starting at $40
  • Please bring your child(ren) and owners’ manuals if at all possible
  • Safe Kids USA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) since 2001, fully insured and experienced with almost every brand including Britax, Chicco, Graco, Nuna and more!
  • All installations done personally by the owner.  NO random sub-contractors or inexperienced employees, ever.
  • Locally owned small business! Seatcheck is NOT owned or operated by SafeKids, Tot Squad or any other organization or franchise.
  • Please arrive within 30 minutes of your appointment time or call to re-schedule.  Please give as much advance notice of cancellation as possible for weekday morning and afternoon appointments.  In fairness to my family and to other clients, I may not be able to honor an appointment beyond 30 minutes after the scheduled time.
  • I prefer exact cash or Zelle.  I may also accept Paypal/Venmo, but only friends/family payments.  I do not accept goods/services payments through these services.  For cash, I may not have change available, sorry.
  • I generally do not accept other payment methods.  Personal checks issued on major Illinois or national USA banks and credit cards (subject to additional fees) may be accepted only if necessary and arranged in advance.

To make an appointment or to contact me, please email Seatcheck, use the contact form below, call, text or WhatsApp to Darren (“SafeDad”) at 630-708-SAFE (+1 (630) 708-7233) between 9am and 5pm weekdays or leave a message anytime. Please be ready to provide the following information:

  1. Age and approximate weight of all children
  2. Brand and model of all carseats
  3. Make/model/year of vehicle

Effective January 1st, 2019, Illinois state law requires that children remain rear-facing until at least their 2nd birthday.  The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to keep their toddlers in rear-facing car seats until they reach the maximum height and weight for their seat.  Seatcheck strongly endorses this policy.  Some carseats also require children to be at least age 2 before they can be forward-facing.

Effective January 1, 2011: Illinois State Law states that motorists who are ticketed for first time violations of Section 4 of the Child Passenger Protection Act shall not be convicted if they possess an approved child restraint system and also complete an instructional course with a certified technician.  Completion of this course prior to their mandatory court appearance date noted on the citation will also allow for the fine to be waived on a first offense.  As a fully NHTSA certified technician, my service and rates above also qualify as the mandatory instructional course required by the court as per section 6a of the new law.  Motorists must provide me a copy of the citation and bring an appropriate child safety seat with their vehicle.  Upon completion of the course (usually about an hour), I will provide the required IDOT form stating that you have voluntarily participated in the course and received instruction on proper use of your child restraint system.   If approved by the judge or officer of the court, this should allow for a first conviction to be dropped and the $75 fine waived. No refunds in the event the court does not honor the form for any reason. (May require advance payment via Venmo or QuickPay/Zelle)

#Curbside Quick Checks cannot be done for ticketed violations of the Illinois Child Passenger Protection Act, for special needs situations, school buses or other services.  Curbside Quick Check rate does NOT apply for 3rd row seats, center seating positions or multiple carseats in adjacent or 3-across seating positions. In general, this means these services only apply to one or two carseats installed in outboard seating positions behind the driver and/or passenger seat in the 2nd row of 4-door vehicles. No additional discounts apply to Curbside Quick Check service.

*For addresses in Naperville and Lisle only, including Edward Hospital.

**Full Local travel service area is roughly an 8 mile radius from Lisle, Illinois within DuPage County.  This includes addresses in Carol Stream, Clarendon Hills, Darien, Downers Grove, Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights, Hinsdale, Lombard, Oakbrook, Warrenville, Westmont, Wheaton, Willowbrook, Winfield, Woodridge plus parts of Aurora (east of Eola Road) and Bolingbrook (roughly north of Boughton Road).  Buying a carseat?  Travel service includes retail stores in this area such as Target, Walmart and Kohl’s.  Having a baby?  We will meet you at your hospital including Northwestern Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. May not be available after Nov 22nd, 2024.

***Extended service area is roughly a 25 mile radius from Lisle, Illinois, including parts of Cook, Kane and Will counties, including Arlington Heights, Aurora, Barrington, Batavia, Des Plaines, Elmhurst, Geneva, Glenview, Hoffman Estates, La Grange, Lemont, Oak Park, Orland Park, Oswego, Palos Park, Park Ridge Plainfield, Romeoville, St. Charles, Schaumburg, Skokie, Western Springs and some of Chicago.  Please call for rates and to see if your address is in our service area. (May require advance payment via Venmo or QuickPay/Zelle. Extended service area mobile appointments may not be available during the winter) Effective Nov 1, 2024, I will generally not be able to offer travel service outside DuPage County.

Updated: Nov 15, 2024

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