RF, harness getting caught on thighs, stay RF, or move to FF?

Jenny487 · Nov 8, 2012

Hello,

My son is 28 months, about 27-28 lbs. He is rear facing in his Britax BLVD. Lately, I've noticed that when I tighten the harness, it gets caught up on his upper thigh (when his legs are straight). I am able to take care of it by bending his legs a bit, pulling the harness tighter by his thighs with my hand, and then pulling the adjuster strap. I can easily show my husband this *trick* but my mother also uses my car every other week and I do not have faith that she will pay as close of attention to the harness issue, even if I show her.

Should I turn him forward facing, to ensure the harness is fitting correctly EVERY time (I think if his legs were hanging down, it wouldn't be an issue)? OR, should I just do some training and hope they follow through?

Thanks!

jjordan · Nov 8, 2012

Can you leave the harness at the proper tightness when you know your husband or mom are going to be buckling your son into his seat? That's usually what I do. IME dh doesn't really know how tight a harness should be, no matter how many times I show him.

Jenny487 · Nov 8, 2012

That's a good idea, but it is so difficult to get him in there with the straps as tight as I have them. My mom never loosens the straps when she takes him out, and I really struggle to get him in there when they are tight. I could try it and see if she is able?

jacqui276 · Nov 9, 2012

I would give it a try seeing if your mom can buckle him in with the straps at the appropriate tightness. Both me and DH don't adjust our harnesses when removing DS and don't have an issue getting him buckled back in (unless he grows a bit...in which case DD had to show DH how to adjust the harness properly

)

If she is unable to, then I would show her how to adjust it and stress that it is really important for his safety.

aeormsby · Nov 9, 2012

I've always tightened the harness as a 3-step process.
1 - pull the adjuster to remove slack
2 - pull up on the straps at the chest clip to tighten at the thigh area
3 - another 1-2 tugs on the adjuster to get the remaining slack out.

It shouldn't be too hard to show others how to do that. My parents stayed with the kids recently when DH & I went away and my mom had no problem when I showed her how to buckle DS into his seat.

Jenny487 · Nov 9, 2012

Hi Ann,

Thanks! That's pretty much what I do. I just don't have the confidence that my mom will do it. It's hard to explain. I'll do my best show her and explain it.

safeinthecar · Nov 9, 2012

Plan c: Teach the kid to put his legs where they need to be and keep them there until the door is closed.

rverrone11 · Nov 9, 2012

That's how it is for my daughter as well (having to put her legs in a certain position). We just leave the straps at the proper tightness and rarely adjust them (we've always done it that way). It is hard to get them buckled in, but I think it's easier than readjusting every time.

Jenny487 · Nov 10, 2012

Thanks, everyone. It sounds as those everyone feels keeping him rear facing and training everyone, including him (although at 2, sometimes getting him into the seat is a feat much less getting his legs in any cooperative position!

) is the best thing to do. I appreciate the tips.

henrietta · Nov 10, 2012

Jenny487 said:
Thanks, everyone. It sounds as those everyone feels keeping him rear facing and training everyone, including him (although at 2, sometimes getting him into the seat is a feat much less getting his legs in any cooperative position! ) is the best thing to do. I appreciate the tips.

Honestly, at 2, getting him into the seat and buckled is going to be a PITA some of the time no matter which way he's facing...because he's 2.

So, yep, keep him rearfacing and teach others to do it right. It's not that difficult as long as they don't have any extenuating physical problems. The solution for that would be a seat w/a harness that's a bit easier to tighten and loosen, though.

RF, harness getting caught on thighs, stay RF, or move to FF?

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