So you’re got your child’s car seat properly installed (rear facing for children under two and as close to four as possible; using LATCH or seat belt, not both; less than 1 inch of movement at the belt path). So how do you know if the seat is properly adjusted and fit to your child?
Here are four easy “tests” to make sure your little one’s car seat is properly adjusted:
1. Butter knife test:
This test is used to help determine if the harness straps are above or below the child’s shoulder. Simply put a butter knife (or other flat object like a narrow ruler, tongue depressor or chopsticks) into the slot where the harness comes out of the plastic shell of the car seat (make sure you go into the shell as covers can shift and sometimes don’t line up with the actual shell slots). Rear facing straps should always be at or below the child’s shoulder and forward facing should be at or above the child’s shoulder.
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- Straps are EVEN with the shoulder when the butter knife is perpendicular to the seat shell
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- Straps are BELOW the shoulder when end of butter knife is pointing upwards
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- Straps are ABOVE the shoulder when end of butter knife is pointing downward
2. Pinch test:
This test is to determine if the harness straps are properly tightened. Simply try to pinch the strap horizontally at the child’s shoulder. If you can pinch the strap, it’s too loose. If you loosen and tighten the straps with each use, pinch the strap and tighten the straps until the pinch pulls out of your fingers.
3. Tickle test:
This test is to make sure the chest clip is at the right level. The top of the chest clip should be even with the crease in your child’s armpit. After you buckle the chest clip, reach your fingers across and try to tickle their armpits while you push the chest clip up until you are able to tickle their armpits.
4. 1″ test:
Many car seats have a rule where a child’s head must be 1 inch below a certain point to be used rear facing so find something that is 1″ thick (a book works or I use Little People Builders blocks which are exactly 1″ thick) and stack them on top of your child’s head to see how much room they have before outgrowing their rear facing seat (remember the room left is torso growth, not overall so you’ll have more time than it looks like!)
This picture shows Sugarplum has just under 4″ of shell above her head in this seat (which requires 1.5″ inches of shell versus the usual 1″) so she has more than 2″ of torso room before outgrowing this seat which at her age can take up to 2 years (meaning she might be able rear face in this seat until she was 6!)
For more on car seat safety, see my Car Seat Safety post.
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Can you tell me why you should only use the latch or seatbelt and not both? I have asked a few people and all I have is that it just isn’t required?
I certainly can! Car seats are not tested for use with both (with the exception of the Clek Foonf when forward facing) which means that if you use both the car seat can fail to work properly in the event of an accident. Each car seat is very specifically designed in order to function a certain way in the event of a collision and using both LATCH and seatbelt can change the physics of the way the car seats moves (though it’s important to note you should ALWAYS use the top tether for forward facing whether the car seat is installed with the lower LATCH anchors or seatbelt). A lot of people think the tighter the better when it comes to car seat installs but it is actually possible to over tighten and damage the seat, 1″ of movement or less at the belt path is as tight as you need it to safely protect your child!
Very informative post. But I don’t have a car YET lol. Thanks for linking up to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board.
Thanks for stopping by, Kareen! Even if you don’t have a car, if you have kids, car seat safety is still super important anytime you’re in a car including taxis!
Awesome post. :) Makes it very clear, and good tips as well!
Thank you for linking up to #carseatsunday , I have pinned you in our pinterest board. :)
Thank for stopping by, ERFMama and happy to be a part of the #carseatsunday link up!
Hi Melissa, Were traveling to the States next week and I’m reading your blog to check out what’s best for girls’ car seats there. Thanks for the informative research! Best wishes to you and your growing family :)
Thanks for stopping by, Beth! Hope you found the information you needed and have a great visit!
Thank you for sharing this informative post with us.