Proper carseat buckling

I've come to realize that, on average, people know diddly squat about properly securing a car seat. At least, I HOPE it's a lack of knowledge and not the alternative..."Eh, takes too long."

9 years ago...I didn't have a clue. I was the worse car seat buckler IN THE WORLD. Not kidding. I can't tell you how many times I only clipped the chest clip and left the rest hanging.

Seriously.

I'm honestly not sure WHY that seemed like an okay thing to do in my head. I've wracked my brain, but I can't answer that. I might have been an 18 year old idiot. My kids' straps were NEVER tightened enough and I had them both FF by 11 months.

But then...nobody told me that I was doing it wrong. Nobody said "Hey, you should probably fasten that a little bit tighter...because your kid could die in an accident."

I was probably still under that generic teen impression that I was immortal. You know we all do it. That "it will never happen to me" mindset. But like I said in my previous post, you may be the bestest driver EVAR...but you can't control what the guy next to you do is doing.

It is a miracle...a MIRACLE...that I never got into an accident worse than backing up into an ATM machine (true story). Or the mailbox fatality...but that happened before I had kids. I'm very thankful that I got this far without a bad accident and I feel much more prepared now that my kids are in appropriate seats.

So, onto the buckling!

 

Right, so you can see above the 2 different photos.  One of these days, I'll make one with my own kid...I swear.

On the left, this is what I see the most. Loose straps, chest clip down to the belly. This isn't going to do anything good for your child in a collision.  The chest clip (aptly named the CHEST clip) needs to be at their sternum (armpits). This is because the sternum is very, very strong and won't break easily. As opposed to the ribs that will break VERY easily if the chest clip is where it's at on the picture on the left.

Second, the straps on the left are much too loose. I know, you don't want to make your child uncomfortable...but tight straps aren't going to hurt them. They shouldn't be killing the poor kid, but you shouldn't be able to pinch the fabric between your fingers at their shoulders, either. 

So, chest clip UP and straps TIGHT. Seems pretty easy. I am not a car seat expert or tech, by any means, nor do I claim to be one...this is just a friendly reminder that there IS a correct way to buckle your kiddo in. Oh and in infant seats (aka bucket seats), make sure the handle is back. Like the image says, it's designed to hit the seat back and create a protective shell.

Drive safely!