Last Saturday, our Dallas Dads Group had the honor of working with Britax to hold a car seat safety workshop at the DFW Family Expo. I’m not sure why, but I enjoy going to expos even though I’m not a big fan of crowds. Even more so when the crowds have crazy kids running all over the place. Oops, that was us!

Avery running wild at the #dfwfamexpo2015 with @britaxus and @dallasdadsgroup! @britax #BritaxSafety #citydads

A video posted by RC Liley (@going_dad) on Mar 21, 2015 at 11:18am PDT

We went into the event with our crazy animal toddler safely contained in her Boba Baby Carrier nice a snug with Going Mom. Britax was setup in a prime location at the entrance for all to see and had their car seat safety workshop sign displayed for all to see. Britax is a major supporter of our nationwide City Dads Group, and it was exciting to be part of their event! First, we rendezvoused with all of the dads and the Britax team who graciously provided lunch for our group, it was time to explore. But, I think it was right after the picture with the abominable snow-dog that Avery could no longer be confined to staring up at and pushing Mommy’s chin. With that, Kelley set Avery free into the wild, errr….expo. Avery wasted no time! Even with the two of us, Kelley and I could hardly keep track of our little girl. How do those little legs get so far so fast?! Not that I ever want anything to do with Nesquick or the like, but we were thankful for their booth having these large dice. Until, that is, she tried to run away with them. We took the dice away and returned them which obviously meant toddler meltdown. Using our brains, we tossed Avery in a nearby bounce house in hopes of cheering her up Phew, I think it worked! Silly kid had a ball dancing, clapping and even playing with other kids. Or getting pushed down by them, but she had fun and that’s what matters most! The hard part was getting her back out, and then figuring out how to calm her down again. Thankfully, the force was with us when something strange caught her attention. Storm Troops and Darth Vader?! Score! Obviously, we had to pose with the Dark Side, and Darth Vader was there too. 😉

I wasn’t there, but some of the dads and their kids gathered for a (friendly?) group photo.

Pretty cool stuff, huh? Avery was getting very obnoxious and hungry, but she wasn’t nursing with Going Mom very well because so much was going on. I gave her some organic applesauce in a squeeze pouch, yes, like I once said I’d never do, which only helped for maybe 3.23 minutes.

Then it was off on another rampant tour of the expo grounds.

No fear, this child, no fear. It was almost time for the main event, Britax’s Car Seat Safety Workshop, so we made our way back to the front to join the rest of the crowd eager to learn about #BritaxSafety. The beautiful and kind Britax ladies, Kate and Sarah, put on an excellent workshop jam-packed with useful information.

Did you know heavy jackets and other winter clothing should be removed before putting your kid in their car seat and that the chest clip on car seats should be at armpit level? Or that you should keep your child rear facing at least to 2 years old and longer if the weight limit of your car seat allows? Also, it’s better to tighten the straps until you think it’s good enough, and then pull some more since 60% of the harnesses are not tight enough.

When it comes to our kids and safety, Britax has us covered. We have their Boulevard ClickTight Car Seat, and Avery loves it. Not to mention we love all of it’s safety features and easy installation.

Unfortunately, Avery kept on getting more and more irritable, and Kelley had to put her back in the Boba and try her best to keep her calm.

But it wasn’t long until all was lost and Going Mom gave “the look” letting me know we were already pushing our luck.

She frantically went to the car in hopes that Avery would nurse better there, and I stayed until the workshop was over. Right after it ended, I had to bail. I know we were already pushing our luck, but I wish we could’ve stayed just a little longer since we missed out on the great group photo taken just minutes after we left.

Great group of dads and their families right there! Sorry we missed it, but at least we were able to get our photo with Kate from Britax. Thank you, Kate, for taking time to pose with us!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RC Liley (@going_dad)

All in all, it was a wonderful experience, and despite Avery’s craziness, I’m glad she got to experience something new. Plus, she slept very good that night!

Are you part of any parenting groups?

Do you still have a kid in car seats? Do they still sit rear-facing?