Question for Joolsplus2 :O)

[KentuckyRK]

You seem to know the most about car seats and installation and safety, so I hope you don't mind me addressing you personally...

I own a new Cosco Touriva which comes equipped with the Latch system and though we plan to keep Connor rear facing as long as possible, he will be a year in two weeks and he's quite the lengthy boy already.

The problem is that my Grand Am only has the upper Latch tether and not the bottom two. So regardless we will always have to buckle the seat in with the belt. We always place it in the middle seat and I'm wondering if it's best to use both the seat belt and the upper tether once he's forward facing? It makes sense to me... but you never know? It says nothing about that in the manual... just shows to either use the latch system or the car belts. So if you have any ideas... I'd love to hear 'em!

Thanks in advance!
~Rachel

[kijip]

Not Julie, but I am a tech and I can answer your question.

Once you are ready to FF, use the seatbelt to install the seat AND use the top tether. Since you do not have lower anchors, this is the only way to use the seat in your car. Don't worry, the seatbelt install plus the top tether is a GREAT and safe installation solution. Use of the top tether will greatly reduce head excursion in a crash situation.

Top tethers (the T part of the word LATCH) were required in cars before the lower anchor portion of LATCH (the LA portion of the word LATCH).

[KentuckyRK]

>Not Julie, but I am a tech and I can answer your question.
>
>
>Once you are ready to FF, use the seatbelt to install the seat
>AND use the top tether. Since you do not have lower anchors,
>this is the only way to use the seat in your car. Don't
>worry, the seatbelt install plus the top tether is a GREAT and
>safe installation solution. Use of the top tether will
>greatly reduce head excursion in a crash situation.
>
>Top tethers (the T part of the word LATCH) were required in
>cars before the lower anchor portion of LATCH (the LA portion
>of the word LATCH).

Thank you!

That helps a lot. I figured that was the case but just wanted to be sure :O) I dug around for nearly an hour attempting to locate the lower anchors before finally realizing that maybe my car just didn't have those!
I'm hoping that we can keep him in the rear facing positing at least through the winter though.

Thanks again!
~Rachel

[kijip]

What make/model/year do you have? Sometimes those lower anchors are hard to find but I can tell you what your car has if you tell me what kind. We get a magic green LATCH book at CPS Tech training...

[Joolsplus2]

Magic Green LATCH book! Tee hee!

Anyway, I'm agreeing with everything you said, thanks for beating me to it!

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[Joolsplus2]

You might be surprsied how long that Touriva works rearfacing...check out a big guy named William here happily in his (OLD blue model, but the same basic seat) http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/William.aspx

And if it's any consolation, I find the Touriva fits MUCH better with the sesatbelt than with LATCH, anyway :)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[KentuckyRK]

>What make/model/year do you have? Sometimes those lower
>anchors are hard to find but I can tell you what your car has
>if you tell me what kind. We get a magic green LATCH book at
>CPS Tech training...

I have a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am SE, it would be wonderful if you could check.
Thanks so much for all the help Katie!

You girls are a Godsend :O)

~Rachel

[KentuckyRK]

>And if it's any consolation, I find the Touriva fits MUCH
>better with the sesatbelt than with LATCH, anyway :)
>Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
>http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

Thanks for the link and info Julie

I agree that it fits better... in fact I've found that quite a few seats fit better with the seatbelts than the latch.

I think the one thing we are concerned about with Conner is that he since he started walking a month ago he's become increasingly bowlegged and pigeontoed so at his one year appointment his mom and dad are going to address the issue of putting braces on (apparently it runs in my friends side of the family). I've noticed that in rearfacing often times the child has to keep their legs bent quite a bit more as they grow? and we're just wondering if that will be possible for him. So I guess the main thing we're concerned with is that he the safest possible in whatever position we have to put him in.

Thanks again!
~Rachel

[kijip]

For that year you are correct!, you have the top tether but no lower anchors. You missed it by one year but it really does not matter since the belt works better IMO that the lower anchors.

[Joolsplus2]

I haven't been keeping up with my "special needs" carseat list, but from what I've seen, for a kid that young, you can just kind of prop their legs up on the seatback if they are braced. If he were older, then maybe a seat with lower sides would be a little better so there's more legroom.

When my dd was 4 she usually put her feet straight up on the seatback for comfort reasons, so I should think a kid up to age 2, even in braces wouldn't be TOO uncomfortable...but of course each situation is unique! (If he's got overall skeletal issues underlying the bowleggedness, it's even more critical to keep him RF for spinal protection... just something to think about, you know?)

:)
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx