How tight do you strap your kid into the carseat?

[Melonious]

My husband and I have an ongoing debate about how tight we should fasten our 18-month old son into his carseat. I read that it should be nice and snug, and that if you can barely fit two fingers in between your child's chest and the strap, that's the right tension. (Truth be told, I personally like to make it a little tighter.)

DH, on the other hand, thinks this is insane and never tightens it enough, in my opinion. He usually has it so that the straps are touching DS's body, so that he can lean a little forward if he wants. DH thinks that carseats have the same mechanisms that seatbelts have, in that if the car undergoes some kind of impact, inertia will enable some counterweight below the seat and snap the straps (and baby) tight against the back of the seat.

So who's right, and what do you do?

Thanks,
Donna

[luvbeinmama]

You are.

You want it snug, but comfortable. Has your DH actually looked at the underside of the car seat? There is no "mechanism" that will make the seat belts tighten down in an impact. They are as tight as you make them and that's it. It's a very simple system. The belt goes around the plastic seat and the baby and the tension is held by the ratchet where you tighten & loosen the straps. If your DH wants proof, have him actually look at the underside of your seat and follow where the straps go. It should be something you are both familiar with anyway.

I make it snug, and my kids will complain if I make it too tight. Just also make sure that the chest buckle is at armpit level when you tighten it. That holds part of the tension.

HTH!

[Joolsplus2]

The PP described it perfectly. The straps MUST be snug so that the child can ride down the crash with the seat. If they are loose, he will SLAM forward into the straps, and his head will move much, much farther forward than it should (he could stil be rearfacing unless he's over 30 or so pounds, and that would be way safer than forward facing, even).
I wish the crash tests of 'tight' versus 'loose' harness straps were online to show him, but I saw them in my cps tech class, and they were dramatic and frightening. Trust me, the harness must be snug...like an underwear or bra band...so that they don't squish your baby, but so that they are ON his body and holding him IN that seat.
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[ad_astra]

I agree with the other two replies. You want a finger or so of space so that your DS can tack a deep breath but not enough space to lean forward. If you always strap them in snug it will be what they are used to and won't complain as they get older. Most car seat manuals say two fingers of space. My hubby (who wears a 5-point harness when he flies with the Navy) came up with the room-for-a-deep-breath rule and it works well for us.