WTH is a six-point harness?

[LISmama810]

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This is from an article on Pampers' website:

Route the seatbelt through the forward-facing belt path. Convertible seats have four types of harnesses:

Five-point harness. It has five straps: two at the shoulder, two at the hips, and one at the crotch.

Six-point harness. There are two straps each at the shoulders, hips, and crotch.

T-shield. This is a padded T-shaped or triangular shield, attached to shoulder straps, that goes across the child's chest.

Overhead shield. This padded, traylike shield swings down around the child.

(Emphasis mine.)

Lots of other gems to be found in that article, too.

I discovered it because I saw a "car seat tips from Pampers!" commercial today. The tips were to read the manual (showing a seat with toys hanging from it), and if you can't figure out how to install it, "take it to your car dealership or a fire station."

So I went on their website to see what other great ideas they had. (Type in "car seat" to bring up a couple more winners.)

I have sent an email.

But anyway, is there really such a thing as a six-point harness? I can't for the life of me figure out what they're talking about.

[ketchupqueen]

Uh, didn't Britax once have a 6 point harness on something, like something funky with the crotch strap? But those are not very good explainations...

[BeckC]

A 6 pt harness basically has two crotch straps that run along each inner thigh.

Pic

I've never heard of one on a US seat, although I think I remember hearing about on in another country.

[UlrikeDG]

Just like they say: "There are two straps each at the shoulders, hips, and crotch." So, it looks like a 5-point, except the crotch strap is split into an inverted "V". It's a popular style in Australia, IIRC, where they're concerned that a single, centered crotch strap might squish the genitals in a crash. You can see images of 6-point racing harnesses and child restraints here. The only US model that I'm aware of is the discontinued Britax Galaxy (which was originally an Aussie model).

[LISmama810]

Originally Posted by BeckC

A 6 pt harness basically has two crotch straps that run along each inner thigh.

Guess that would take care of the "squishing the crotch" issue.

Edit: Cross-posting.

Well, you learn something new every day. Although I hope not many parents turn to Pampers for their car seat advice. Sheesh.

[BudgieStew]

Have no idea if they are used in child car seats but they are used in race cars( ie. NASCAR).
Not sure if it is standard safety equipment or an optional one over the 5 point harness. I watch NASCAR and noticed my favorite driver was using one earlier this season when other years he was using just the 5 point.

edit posting at the same time....

[The Bjorns]

Take the seat to a dealer to install it correctly?! On what planet??? Geesh I used to work at a Saturn dealership and no one there knew anything about car seats--including me! (pre-kid days) When I bought my current car I loved messing with the salespeople by trying out my seat and insisting it be installed in the center. Most car salespeople couldn't figure out why I would want to do that or even find the tether!

Unreal.