TobyMc, what is it about the Touriva that makes it hard to use?

[stella]

I have the RA in my car since that's where we almost always are, but my mil has been so insistent on having a carseat that I bought 2 tourivas - one for dh's car and one for her.

I installed the Touriva myself and am looking for a carseat check to make sure that it was done correctly, but what is it that I should be looking for?

She makes me so nervous - I don't think she takes this carseat thing seriously so I'd like to know what pitfalls there are to the Touriva so I can be aware.

Thank you so much for all your insight.

[tobymc]

The biggest pitfall to the Touriva, in my opinion, is that the straps are hard to tighten. You are used to pulling the strap, and the straps easily tightening. In my experience, it doesn't work like that with the Touriva, once it is installed in the car, and the child is in the seat. Rear facing, you can reach one hand around and pull down on the harness from the back of the seat, while using the other hand to pull the strap tighter. Forward facing, I often kept the straps just a bit too tight, then loosened them for my son since that was easier than tightening them.

Another pitfall is the twisty straps and the paper clip style harness retainer clip. Make sure that both your MIL and dh keep the straps flap all the time (you can always tell if they've been doing that because once you let them twist, they get creases). They need to keep the harness retainer clip at armpit level too.

And once the seat is forward facing, the tether can be a pain to adjust. Until then, attach the tether to the seat or put it somewhere safe that you will remember later. I'd just go ahead and thread it onto the seat and then tuck it inside the seat out of the way. Forward facing, it is a pain to adjust the tether the first time, but then it can just stay attached. It doesn't have the tilt lock on the tether strap that the RA has.

Those are the biggest things. Oh, and when you switch to forward facing, make sure you flip the recline bar to make the seat upright, and put the straps in the top slot. This is VERY important.

Unfortunately, many Tourivas are given to folks who don't put a lot of attention on carseats, and they are really the ones who need the foolproofness of a RA more. But with just a bit of attention, she can do it right.