Have you had your car seat checked?
As much as the technicians at CSFTL.org help people online every day, it is always a good idea to have an in-person carseat check done on your car seats. Nothing can replace working with a CPST and learning hands-on how to use your own seats in your own car properly.
One big decision plaguing many caregivers who visit our Facebook group is deciding when it’s time to turn their child’s car seat forward facing. When the child is at least two years old, and has outgrown the rear facing height or weight limits on their convertible car seat, the decision has been made for us, and it’s time to convert the car seat to forward facing mode.
When the Britax ClickTight Convertible car seats — Marathon ClickTight, Boulevard ClickTight, and Advocate ClickTight — were introduced, they were completely different from most car seats on the market. While they may look like other traditional car seats, the installation method is what sets these seats apart.
Sometimes it seems manufactures are out to confuse parents as much as possible.
For years Child Passenger Safety Technicians stated that you don’t use LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) with boosters. The booster simply sat on the seat under the child, then the seat belt held in both the child and the booster.
You want less than one inch of movement when you give it a firm handshake at the belt path with your non dominant hand.” I have said that statement many times to parents and caregivers. It’s one of those times where I wish English had a few more words so I could describe that in the same detail, but with less verbosity.
What does it mean, though? Let’s go through it a bit at a time.
Little ones can make big messes! Rear facing is safer for your child, but it sure can make a mess of your vehicle seat. What can be done about the dirt and grime left by little feet? There are several options for covering the seat from repurposing household baby related items, or other basic items, to purchasing specialty mats.
LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) was phased in between 1999-2002 with the goal of giving parents a standard, foolproof method of installing their children’s seats. However, the advent of larger seats, and older children being restrained in those seats, has led to a concern that never occurred to the experts of 20 years ago; how much weight can those anchors actually bear in a crash?
Do Britax ClickTight series Convertible car seats, such as the Britax ClickTight Advocate, Britax ClickTight Boulevard, or Britax ClickTight Marathon fit next to each other?
Now that your little has outgrown her seat, you may want to keep it safely stored away for future use. Unsure about how to do it properly? You’re not alone. While there is no one singular “correct method” for storing an unused restraint. Different things may work for your particular climate and storage space.
It’s potty learning time here at CSFTL. We have a little handful of kiddos who turned two this past year and new potties and undergarments abound.
