@tegandavis16 thank you. Ill double check them.

@stormtroopers, she is in the 3rd harness slot from the bottom. We just moved them to that slot about a week and a half ago. Thank you though!

ETA: I did think they looked off originally. They don’t seem to go down as much as they seemed to on my other daughter’s Radian (years ago) so I contacted Diono because they looked high and they said as long as she’s in the 3rd slot it’s fine. But I literally can’t get them down any further. They are all the way down to the plastic of the seat.

@mommytotheo, he looks great! Harness looks tight and chest clip is in the appropriate place. Just double check his harness straps to make sure hey are below the shoulder - they look like they are but it’s hard to tell in a picture :)
And make sure when you install his seat you lock the seatbelt 😊

@paige_1999, I honestly don’t know much about Australian seats. I do know their RF laws are much different than ours. And I have had Mother’s special order RF seats to go past the national law of 6 months.

But to keep him forward facing I would check his straps because one of them looks a bit twisted :) and maybe put the harness pads up on top of his shoulders. Also, I can’t tell from the picture (and check your manual because I’m not sure if Australian seats are the same) but for forward facing here the straps need to be above the shoulders.
And then just make sure the strap are pulled snug, tight enough that you can pinch any slack at his shoulders 🙂

Just checked my notifications @tegandavis16, thank you so much!!

Headwings on your Diono Rainier need to be at the highest setting until she’s in the 3rd strap harness slot from the bottom. 🙂

@laniejay even if I could do that I cant. My son kept trying to turn around in the car seat with his buckles on so me and my partner came to the decision that 8 months and he can be forward facing. Now he isnt twisting himself around in the car seat.

@paige_1999, i know the law is 6 months, but why not keep him Rearfacing since it’s safer?

Just checking in on everybody! Does anybody have more questions or updated/new pictures to share? 🙂

@sammybumblebee, evenflo does allow the use of a rolled towel. But you should have a line on the side of your car seat that says it has to be parallel to the ground. You need to check that first and see if it level or if it’s off 😊

@paige_1999, I could try, but if I’m not sure about your question I would tell you I didn’t know. I wouldn’t give you information I wasn’t sure was accurate 😊

@sammybumblebee, could you take a picture of it for me? There should be an indicator to how reclined it should be on the side of your seat. You don’t want to recline it more that the manufacturer allows.
And also let me check and see if they allow a noodle or towel. Not all manufacturers do.

@tegandavis16, it’s an evenflo symphony elite. Would I roll the towel or fold it?

@tegandavis are you able to help even if I'm not from US?

@sammybumblebee, at 20 months old in a neurotypical child head slump is not a safety concern. So as long as he is healthy and developmentally on track it’s not a big deal. It bothers us because it looks uncomfortable, but when they get uncomfortable they move :) it is only a safety issue before they have good head and neck control, between 4-8 months for most children.

If you still want to fix it you absolutely can - I just wanted you to know safety wise it’s no big deal :)
You can recline some seats back with a pool noodle or a rolled towel but it depends on you car seat manufacturer and if they allow that. What type of car seat do you have?

@phoebesmommy, car seats aren’t really supposed to tilt.
And how do you know he was a CPST that was at your local fire Dept? Did he just tell you? Or did you see certification? I ask because many fire depts. and police stations will say they have a CPST but they are *actually* CPSTs because they aren’t certified. OR they got certified once 4 years ago and say they are. The certification is only 3 days long. It take a lot of continuing education and work to re-cert. every 2 years. Always ask to see their Safe Kids Worldwide tech number. They should be able to pull it up as long as they have data or WiFi access 😊

Next issue, the tilt! It would really help me if I had pictures.
But typically this issue happens if you over-tighten the shoulder portion of the belt. You don’t have to jerk the baby up and thread it back into the vehicle as far as possible to get a tight install. Lol I used to do that all the time before I was a tech and could NOT figure out what the problem was. During my tech class I was like ohhhhhhh 😂

When you install your child restraint, run the seat belt through the correct belt path in the seat and buckle it. Next slowly pull the belt all the way out of the retractor to lock it, when you release it back into the retractor it should make a sort of ratcheting noise and shouldn’t allow you to pull it out anymore.
Then position yourself by the seat on the opposite side from the buckle (by the side the shoulder belt is on) and push down as much as you can with one hand while pulling the slack out of the lap portion with the other other - do this by grabbing the shoulder belt right above where it’s buckled. Next, hold that slack as tight as you can and with the hand you pushed your seat down with reach down and pull the shoulder belt slack and thread it back into the vehicle - while maintaining a tight hold. You may have to repeat that a couple times.
I know it’s super confusing to understand through a text. So if you have any questions PLEASE don’t hesitate to ask! 🙂

I love this.. question though, my son is 20 months and rear facing. When he sleeps, I find his head “slumps” forward. Is there anyway to fix this? I did read online that you can place a pool noodle under but I’m such a nervous nelly. I believe I’ve also read a towel would work but how would that be installed with it? Thank you!!

This is awesome!!!🎉🎉🎉

Ok so I don’t have a pic but both of my car seats tilt toward the belt buckle of the car. So both are tilting inward toward the middle seat. It drives. Me. NUTS. But I’ve taken them out and reinstalled them ab 3-4 times and still the same issue. The belt is tight enough but the seat starts tilting. What’s up w this??! When I had it checked out by a CPST at my local fire dept he said it wasn’t a prob.. but the tilt is so dramatic!

@amberxleigh55, yay! You’re welcome 😃 So happy I could help ❤️❤️

@tegandavis16 thank you so much I will work on fixing the straps and all other suggestions! 😄

@carmalyssh, most kids typically aren’t ready until age 6. Minimum. Usually closer to 7-8.
A 5 point harness spreads the force of impact more evenly over the body in the event of a crash.
A high back belt positioning booster is just as safe IF it it used properly, the child has a proper belt fit, and the child is mature enough - meaning they don’t lean or slouch, move the seatbelt around, scoot their butts down in the seat, slouch down while sleeping, etc.
If the child isn’t ready for a HBB yet then a harness is much safer because once buckled in with the chest clip in the proper location and the harness tightened, they can’t wiggle around and end up in an unsafe position like they can in a lap shoulder belt 😊

@a.lares, what type of car seat do you have?
If it is in the budget a Graco Extend2Fit rear faces to 50lbs. It retails for $199 BUT it is always on sale at Walmart and target. You can almost always find one for around $120-$140.
I wouldn’t even start looking until he get close to the weight limit though, chances are his growth will slow weight wise once he starts to walk more. Then he will probably slim up some, and then they usually go through a pretty significant growth spurt (length wise) around 12 months and 18 months. For example, My daughter was 27 pounds at 12 months, she has grown about 5 inches since then and now, at 18 months, is 28 pounds :)

I’m a FTM and my baby isn’t here yet, but what does it mean “straps coming from below the shoulders?” Just want to be sure when I finally do put him in a car seat.

At what age, weight and height does a child move up to a booster seat?

Sorry 9 months - he just turned 9 months on Friday!

I don't have a picture but I have a question. My son is approx 30lbs 31 inches tall and 8 months. We have a rear facing car seat up to 40 lbs. what do u recommend once he exceeds the 40 lbs. I am assuming he will be under 2 by then...

@tegandavis16, awesome! Thank you 😊

@tegandavis16, I know. We just got a new car and I’m afraid that the seatbelt isn’t as tight as it could be. I may need it make another appt with him so he can recheck it for me!!!

72% of child restraints are misused - the most common types of misuse are improper Installation (this includes many factors such as tightness of the install, proper recline use for the direction the seat is facing, how much of the child restraints hangs over the edge of the vehicle seat, etc) and improper harnessing. Other types of misuse are using the incorrect seat for a particular age/size of child, using a damaged car seat, and the addition of aftermarket products.

Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death and injury among children ages 12 and under. Roughly 650 children die, and 148,000 are injured, each year in vehicle crash. Through research we have learned that up to 71% of these deaths and injuries could have been avoided with proper child restraint usage. 71 percent! That is so many lives that could have been saved if any of those children had been checked over by a CPST.

Most CPSTs do not charge for their services. So it’s always a good idea to let one check out your seats and hour children in their seats. Because why not? There is nothing to lose, but so much to be gained ❤️

@ss3mom, yes please ask! And I am so happy you have seen a CPSt before! ❤️ don’t feel bad that the seatbelt wasn’t done properly, misuse is so much more comment than people think, and what’s important is you took the steps to correct it 😊

@tegandavis16, I’m so happy u posted this and it’s awesome to know you’re a certified car seat installer. So if I have any questions I’ll def ask. I may take pics of my kids and pm them to u. I did see a certified installer in January and thank the lord I did because I was using the seatbelt and it wasn’t done properly. And he was kind enough to watch me put the kids in their seats and told me they were strapped in perfectly. So that made me feel great that I was doing that part properly. I take car seat safety very seriously and I wish others did as well. Thanks again for sharing and I may just pm u some pics.

@scruffy.nerf.herder, I did post it there as well 😊

@christinephillips84, that’s why I was asking 😊 and yay! Great job ❤️

@tegandavis16, can you post this in the main feed so everyone will see? Thanks luv!

@tegandavis16 due to his weight we have sest belt and top tether. Ill double check strap height!

@christinephillips84, chest clip and harness tightness looks GREAT! Are the harness straps below the shoulders? It’s hard to tell in the pic but by zooming in it looks like they are JUST below the shoulders, and for forward facing they should be above the shoulders :)
Also, do you have the car seat installed with the lower anchors or the vehicle seatbelt? And are you using the top tether?

Thanks for allowing me to help! 🙂❤️

@its.a.bird, being a CPST I see this all the time, as parents it is extremely hard for us to admit we made a dire error in judgment especially when it comes to the safety of our children. People seem to think that when people try to help them, they are judging and assuming that the parent chose not to keep their child as safe as possible on purpose. When in my case, that is definitely not what I am thinking at all! Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in children under age 12. And I know the statistics for child restraint misuse is extremely high, and it’s common to not know every detail about car seat safety if you haven’t been trained on it. I love to help and wish that more people could accept that help than to feel offended by me offering ❤️