loose seat belts

twiztidangel

New member
it been a while since my kids were in infant/convertible carseats (youngest is almost 10 and still in her high back booster) anyway i have a friend thats having a baby and i was showing her how to install her seat both forward and backwards and how to get the vehicles seat belts to be super tight so the seat doesnt move...

my question is:

is the advice from years ago still relevant? when i installed my seats i put my knee in the seat and use my full body weight to sink the seat down into the vehicle's seat so the belt would tighten....AND if i couldnt get the vehicles seatbelt buckle to clear the carseat's belt path i twisted the buckle part so it would get closer to the crack of the vehicle seat and not grind up against the side entrance part of the baby seat

any new advice out there? she's due in less than a month
 
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mommycat

Well-known member
Sounds like you are on the right track, with pushing on the seats to get them in firmly so they do not move around. :thumbsup: Make sure you don't twist the buckle down more than 3 complete turns. Also, you want to make sure her belts are locking in some way - either at the latchplate, by pulling out the shoulder belt at the retractor to switch it into locking mode, or with a lockoff or locking clip - the answer to Maedze's question about the kind of car (plus model year) should help answer this question. And of course, for a newborn, you need to make sure that the seat is installed at the correct angle so the baby has enough recline to keep their head from flopping down and blocking the airway.
 

Pixels

New member
No more knees in seats. You can break the seat that way.

You can twist the female buckle stalk up to three full twists to get it away from the corner of the belt path. No more than three full twists, and no more than are necessary.

Keep baby rear facing as long as possible, preferably until they reach the maximum height or weight limit of their convertible. 1 and 20 is the absolute minimum for turning forward facing, but it's an old limit. Newborns are safer rear facing, 1 year olds are safer rear facing, even you and I are safer rear facing. Babies have these big ole heads, and floppy, weak necks with bones that aren't fully formed until they are 4-6 years of age.

What seat does she have? Not all convertibles rated from 5 pounds actually fit a 5 or even 10 pound baby.
 

twiztidangel

New member
i bought her this seat:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Graco-MyRIDE-65-Convertible-Car-Seat-Alma/11037459

she has an 98 chevy astro van...she will be using the 2nd row in the middle position (it has the auto retract belt)

thanx for the advice about not puttin knees in seats now! and i told her dont twist more than 2X (which is all it needed) but good to know you can twist up to 3X. i had my kids ride backwards untill about 14-15 months which back when my kids were small(the oldest two are now 13 and 15) it wasnt the norm (got many weird looks and was called a bubble-parent) and i STILL get odd looks with my almost 10 yr old in a booster, but guess what? the regular seat belt by itself still tries to ride up on her tummy! bad for the internals in event of a crash...plus she likes her seat!

thanx for the input guys!
 

mommycat

Well-known member
Way to go keeping the kids safe despite anti-bubble-parent pressure. ;) Please stick around the board, you will fit right in. :D
 

twiztidangel

New member
PS im SO jealous of the seats now...especially the cute girly colored ones...and they look SO much more comfy than my kids had!

her seat hasnt been delivered yet...does anyone here have this seat? i'm wondering if there is new instal methods as far as belt paths etc on this model....the seat i used to demonstrate how to install a seat as far as tighness, correct, belt path, etc was this one...the two at the bottom...thats my kids and my baby girl was in the carseat (the 2 older ones were in belt postioning booster seats, YES! you can fit seats 3 across in an 89 chevy celebrity! LOL)...its an outdated(for today's standards) touriva

15308_1365674575126_1029499298_1099984_1455146_n.jpg
 
Last edited:

NannyMom

Well-known member
You can go to www.gracobaby.com and search for the My Ride's manual. It'll have the info you need on how to install :)

There are 2 belt paths, 1 under the legs for RF and 1 behind the back for FF. It also has a unique recline feature. To put it in recline mode for RF, there are feet on the bottom that flip sideways, into the bottom of the seat. It'll show you how in the manual ;)
 

twiztidangel

New member
You can go to www.gracobaby.com and search for the My Ride's manual. It'll have the info you need on how to install :)

There are 2 belt paths, 1 under the legs for RF and 1 behind the back for FF. It also has a unique recline feature. To put it in recline mode for RF, there are feet on the bottom that flip sideways, into the bottom of the seat. It'll show you how in the manual ;)

oh! it thread just like my daughter's touriva did! thank you so much for answering! i'm gonna go over as soon as it comes and help her...now that i know im not too 'behind the times' lol
 

mommycat

Well-known member
Argh. Lost a post. :(

Anyhow, did you find everything you needed? The seat has 2 sets of LATCH straps, which I guess she won't be using, one for RF and one for FF and they are diff colours, one set grey and one black. Ball indicator for the correct recline range. Feet that flip in for RF and flip out and stick down for FF. If she has a tether anchor she should use the top tether once she needs to turn FF (or she can get one retrofitted). I think that was it...
 

twiztidangel

New member
Argh. Lost a post. :(

Anyhow, did you find everything you needed? The seat has 2 sets of LATCH straps, which I guess she won't be using, one for RF and one for FF and they are diff colours, one set grey and one black. Ball indicator for the correct recline range. Feet that flip in for RF and flip out and stick down for FF. If she has a tether anchor she should use the top tether once she needs to turn FF (or she can get one retrofitted). I think that was it...

ok, yup im behind the times...LATCH? whats that? mine never had that...my daughter's infant seat had the ball indicator so i know how to use that...and i have located the tether anchor in the floor of her van behind the seat...she just needs and extender i believe
 

mommycat

Well-known member
LATCH: Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren
These include the top tether anchor as well as the lower attachments, which are metal bars in the seat bight which allow you to attach the seat with LATCH straps rather than the seatbelt. All new passenger vehicles (since at least Sep 1, 2002) come with certain positions with these anchors installed. All seats since that date need to have LATCH straps attached. It was supposed to make installs easier for parents but is basically equivalent to seatbelts, you use one OR the other, not both - choose the one which gives a good install. Of course, LATCH comes with weight limits and with new seats you often need to switch to seatbelt at a certain weight anyway... See here:
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/safety/car_seats_safety/latch.html
http://www.ehow.com/video_4440673_latch-system-works-car-seats.html

I can't remember how long the strap is on the MR but I'm not sure you would need an extender.
 

Maedze

New member
ok, yup im behind the times...LATCH? whats that? mine never had that...my daughter's infant seat had the ball indicator so i know how to use that...and i have located the tether anchor in the floor of her van behind the seat...she just needs and extender i believe

You do not use a tether anchor for a My Ride in the rear facing position.

I strongly recommend your friend see a CPST when she installs her seat for the first time :)
 

twiztidangel

New member
You do not use a tether anchor for a My Ride in the rear facing position.

I strongly recommend your friend see a CPST when she installs her seat for the first time :)
oh, for sure! my youngest had a top tether assembly with her touriva and i remember distinctly the directions said only use FF! were poor folk we have old vehicles, LOL
 

mommycat

Well-known member
Argh. Lost a post. :(
No, I did lose one - that one was the second version. Unless you are seeing an almost identical version that I am NOT seeing? Only thing I left off from the original was how fun it is to see pics of seats from years gone by. I had zero experience with carseats until I got pg with DS1 - and I mean ZERO. I never had one as a kid and we didn't know anyone with a seat ever that I ever saw. My mom babysat 2 4yos in 1990 and they just used the regular belt in the car.
 

twiztidangel

New member
No, I did lose one - that one was the second version. Unless you are seeing an almost identical version that I am NOT seeing? Only thing I left off from the original was how fun it is to see pics of seats from years gone by. I had zero experience with carseats until I got pg with DS1 - and I mean ZERO. I never had one as a kid and we didn't know anyone with a seat ever that I ever saw. My mom babysat 2 4yos in 1990 and they just used the regular belt in the car.

nope no dups...i was thinkin you meant you didnt answer me 1st, lol...i had experience with seats before i had kids, only cuz i babysa alot...ant that was in the early 90's...my son came along in 1995 and i always had him in a seat...i was the bubble parent of that era
 

Mommy2Marcus

New member
Sounds like you're on the right track. Also note that the seat you bought her has a 40lbs RF weight limit. It is not reccomended to keep a child RF till the limits of the seat, but a bare minimum of 2 years old. However most here reccomend to at least 3, some to 4 years old. My own son rode RF in the My Ride untill 3 1/2 years old. It is a great seat! I loved mine.

So you should not have to think about top tethers or FF for quite a long while to come.

I also found the My Ride pretty straight forward to install RF & FF. So you should not have any trouble installing it really.
 

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