Can you use shoulder belts?

Hi...
Can someone tell me if it's possible to use a shoulder belt to secure a carseat? I have a one year old who is in a front-facing convertible seat, and am giving birth in 6 weeks! We've always put my son in the middle and used the lap belt. Will we be able to put him on the one side using the shoulder belt, and put the new baby on the other side? My car is a Honda Accord (96) and doesn't have latch, etc.

Thanks so much
Rebecca

Yep, you sure can so long as it's a lap and shoulder belt (don't know why it wouldn't be).

Seeing that it's a '96 your belts should have a special locking mode for car seats. Your owner's manual will tell you exactly what to do.

You will likely need to use a locking clip for the infant seat because of how the seat belt locking mechanism interacts with the infant seat base (assuming you're using a seat with a base). The owner's manual for the infant seat will tell you how to do this. It's actually very simple.

Good luck and post back if you have any trouble!

Michelle

Yes & your vehicle & safety seat manuals should both have more specifics that you really ought to read over {I like to go over mine every season just to be on the safe side because it seems I find something new & important each time!} & it's always a good idea to take your vehicles & safety seats to your local certified technician to have the installation checked

Also, it would be safest for your 1 year old to continue to be rear-facing ... some countries require kids sit RF till 3-5 years old & there has never been a recorded case of leg/foot injury, but many cases of neck/spine injury from FF too soon ... most convertable seats now RF till 30-35 pounds in the US:

• Car Seat Basics
• Why Rear-facing is Safest
• Rear-facing Unmatched Safety
• The Basics of Rear-facing
• Extended Rear-facing Photo Album
• Frontal crash test with Rear-facing child safety seat
• Frontal crash test with Forward-facing child safety seat

My daughter is 3 years, 30# 40" & RF in a Britax Wizard ... I bought that seat with it's "enhanced side impact protection" {& built-in lock-offs making installation a breeze, plus her 6 year old big sis fit in it!} because I drove a Chevy Blazer with horrible role-over statistics, no side air-bags & the driver manual says child safety seat must NOT be installed in the center position @@ But, any 5-point harness seat is quite safe in the oubtoard position, & I think especially the newer ones with EPS foam {like in bike helmets}.

As you can see below, my daughter's seat is installed with the lap/shoulder belt She's actually happier RF than FF because she had pressure on her back from her dangling feet.

Thanks so much

Hi Michelle and Papooses...
thanks so much for your replies...they were very helpful!!
Becky

If you chose to keep your 1 year old forward facing, make sure his seat is tethered with a top tether-this significantly reduces the forward movement of the child and car seat in the event of a crash. I would also try to keep him in the middle and install the infant seat in an outboard position. This may not be practical if the 1 year old is big enough to touch or poke the new baby.

If your vehicle does not have a top tether anchor, many cars can be retrofitted. If you post your vehicle someone will be able to tell you if it can be retrofitted, and the part number you need from the dealer.

Many chilred really do like being rear-facing, so if he is under the RFing weight limit of your convertible and the top of his head is below the seat back you may want to try him RFing again. I turned my oldest FFIng around 1 year, and wish I hadn't. Luckily we were not in a crash! My middle child is almost 3 and 30 lbs. She was rfing until a little past 2.5 years until she started crying that she was uncomfortable in her car seat. It turned out that around 38 or 39 inches the straps on her Wizard were digging into her thighs and sides of her torso when RFing, and causing welts. I don't really understand it, but it was what it was. Prior to that she had never complained about RFIng, even though in DH's car she rode FFing from around 18 months when she outgrew her Roundabout RFing by height.