Harness Tightening

[tmahanes]

Ok so I am posting this here because they can get kind of harsh at c-s.org. I was reading a thread today and they were talking about adjusting the harness every time you put the baby in and out of the seat. So am I totally doing this wrong?? I do not loosen the harness to get B's arm out... I just wiggle his arm out. I check and make sure it is tight enough when I put him in but I don't ever loosen the straps when I take him out.

WDYD???

[KrisM]

That's what I do, unless I know it'll be too tight for next time, like if DD is wearing only a leotard and I have to snug it up quite a bit. No way will she fit in in regular clothes the next time.

But generally, no I don't loosen past the infant seat stage, when it was just so easy to do.

[WolfpackMom]

I loosen and tighten each time, I just find it easier to get ds in and out that way.

[boolady]

I don't, unless, as a PP noted, there's been a change in the thickness of what DD's wearing. Recently, with the changing weather, we've had to adjust a bit more because it's been no coat weather, fleece weather, then back to no coat weather, etc.

[Joolsplus2]

If I don't loosen it when I get the kiddo out, I loosen it when she's trying to buckle up, it's just easier to buckle if there's a bit of slack in the harness, I've found.

It's no biggie, people should do what works for them, I just tend to recommend doing the loosen and tighten thing (like untying and tying shoes...sure, you can pry your feet out and shove them back in, but it's a little easier to do that if the laces are untied, usually... maybe shoes are a bad example, think ice skates were you need a very firm fit, lol) to get kids in and out *particularly when someone complains of a tight crotch strap*, that's usually when loosening prior to buckling makes the biggest difference in ease and comfort :)

[MoJo]

I've never considered loosening to get the child out. I frequently loosen the harness when putting the child back in. I never have a hard time getting them out, but it's a little harder to get them back in IME.

[salsah]

i always loosen and i hate with others (dh, grandma, grandpa) don't loosen it only because it is hard to get them in and buckle it next time. i just find it easier to do it when they are loose.

[Smillow]

i always loosen and i hate with others (dh, grandma, grandpa) don't loosen it only because it is hard to get them in and buckle it next time. i just find it easier to do it when they are loose.

:yeahthat: I have a squirmer.

[LMPC]

I don't, unless, as a PP noted, there's been a change in the thickness of what DD's wearing. Recently, with the changing weather, we've had to adjust a bit more because it's been no coat weather, fleece weather, then back to no coat weather, etc.

Yep, that's me. DD is at the stage where she jumps out of the seat the minute I release her into the wild....so there's really no time to loosen it when she's getting out.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I don't, unless, as a PP noted, there's been a change in the thickness of what DD's wearing. Recently, with the changing weather, we've had to adjust a bit more because it's been no coat weather, fleece weather, then back to no coat weather, etc.

:yeahthat:

I don't loosen to get out either. I only make adjustments when loading him in. I've never felt any reason at all to loosen to get them out of the seats.

Beth

[AshleyAnn]

For me it depends on the seat. Our infant seat was nearly impossible to get her in and out with loosening and tightening the harness every time but our convertible's adjuster is buried against the seatback and 100x more difficult to adjust so we just fight to buckle it without loosening the harness. Either way is fine as long as you can't pinch any slack at the shoulders.

[HannaAddict]

I always loosen to get the child out, it is just much easier and never thought about trying to wriggle the kid out.

[liamsmom]

Hmmm...DS wears cloth diapers most of the time, but we'll often put him in a disposable for a road trip or while we're out. The diaper really affects the harness, and I often have to tighten it once he's in a disposable. And then loosen it if he's back in cloth.

I've never had to loosen the harness in order to get him out of the seat though.

[arivecchi]

:yeahthat:

I don't loosen to get out either. I only make adjustments when loading him in. I've never felt any reason at all to loosen to get them out of the seats.
:yeahthat:

[vonfirmath]

Depends on the seat

On the Maestro -- DS complains when I don't loosen the harness that I am "pinching" so I loosen and tighten.

On the marathon, we just wiggle him on out of there without messing with it.

[Uno-Mom]

We must have her straps extra-tight because I don't think we could wriggle her out w/out loosening. That's why I'm thankful for our Evenflo's tension knobs! They make it so convenient to loosen/tighten. I put her into my parents' borrowed snugride bucket seat once and that pull strap was so dang annoying to me! Maybe it's just what you're used to.

[carolinamama]

That's what I do, unless I know it'll be too tight for next time, like if DD is wearing only a leotard and I have to snug it up quite a bit. No way will she fit in in regular clothes the next time.

But generally, no I don't loosen past the infant seat stage, when it was just so easy to do.

:yeahthat: Except my boys don't generally wear leotards. ;) But sometimes they do have thinner clothing like swimming wear in the summer and I have to tighten it for those trips.

[AnnieW625]

For DD2 I definitely loosen the harness on her Safe Seat each time because it's just easier to get her out. For DD1 if I get her out of the seat, which isn't often then I also loosen the harness; if she gets out on her own (which is most of the time these days) she doesn't loosen it, but I always pull it all the way out each time she gets back in.

[tmahanes]

i always loosen and i hate with others (dh, grandma, grandpa) don't loosen it only because it is hard to get them in and buckle it next time. i just find it easier to do it when they are loose.

See think I am the total opposite because I don't trust anyone else to make sure its tight enough. He gets buckled in by different people and no one listens very well to me so if I have not loosened the straps then there is not any user error if it is not me buckling me in!

[edurnemk]

i always loosen and i hate with others (dh, grandma, grandpa) don't loosen it only because it is hard to get them in and buckle it next time. i just find it easier to do it when they are loose.

:yeahthat:

OP I think that if you're checking that the straps are tight enough each time, there's no problem wether you loosen and tighten or not. It's just a matter of what's convenient to each person.