Chicco NextFit: Seat Belt Install

As mentioned in the Disclaimer, I am very active in the Facebook group Car Seats for the Littles (CSFTL, for short).  I also happen to own the Chicco NextFit car seat.  It's a very nice seat, and over the last four months since I've bought it I've learned quite a few tricks related to the proper usage of this seat.

One of the questions that gets asked often in CSFTL is "how do I do a seat belt install for the Chicco NextFit?"  Now, I'll admit, there is a small learning curve with the NextFit seat belt install, as opposed to the LATCH install.  However, once I figured it out, I actually find the seat belt install to be consistently easier and tighter than the LATCH install.

Car Seat Safety Advocate Disclaimer

I plan on posting more than a few articles about car seats, car seat safety, and probably more than you care to know about my Chicco NextFit and Graco SnugRide 30 car seats.  In the interest of making sure everyone is as safe as possible on the roads out there, I offer this disclaimer.

If you have a child, that child should be in a car seat of some kind (AAP recommends kids be boostered until 10-12 years old).  If you have a child in a car seat, you could probably benefit from having the child, car seat, and install in your car verified by a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST).  To find a CPST near you, look at http://www.safekids.org/.  From here you can find a nearby tech, find out when the next car seat check event in your area will take place, and learn more about car seat safety.  There is also no substitute for reading the manuals for your car seat and your car.

Now for the disclaimer part:

I AM NOT A CPST.  I have not taken the training course, I do not have access to the training materials that a tech does, and I don't actually know that much about that many car seats.  I am, however, a very active member of the Facebook group Car Seats for the Littles, where I learn more every day about car seat safety, and how to make adults and children of all ages safer.  Anything I put up in this blog will most likely be a result of conversations with moms and techs about car seats and car safety.  If you have a concern about your child and the car seat they are in, I urge you to join the group and pose your questions there.  The group follows best practices, and is passionate about keeping the littles safe.  You can also learn a lot about car seat safety at the CSFTL website.

The term Car Seat Safety Advocate was coined by one of the moms within that group.  I warned her I am going to steal the term, and she said I could.  So, I may not be a trained tech, but I am a staunch safety advocate.

Minivan Shopping: Here I Come

I am looking for a new car.  Not just any car.  A Minivan.  Not just any minivan.  The perfect minivan.  Of course, perfection takes many forms, so here's my checklist (it will be expanded* as I find more things I do/don't need in my next vehicle):

• ABS Brakes!  Would you believe my 2008 Impala does not have ABS?  Ugh!
• As many top tether spots as possible, more for the options this opens up.  I have no desire to have up to 6 kids, but I could become the designated soccer mom :)
• As many lower anchors (LATCH) as possible, though this isn't as necessary since I love the seatbelt install on DS's NextFit car seat.  I have a hunch I'll be using the lower anchors for the Graco bucket when we finally have kid number 2, though, so it's still important.
• It would be lovely to fit 2 kids in car seats and 6 adults in the van.  I can see this happening at least 2-4 times a year, if not more.
• Comfortable seats, all the way around.  Refer to previous post about 6 adults.
• A tailgate that lifts high enough so that hubby isn't clonked in the noggin whenever he walks back there.
• Back-up camera.
• As many controls on the steering wheel as I can get away with.
• Probably every safety feature required by the Car Seat Lady that hasn't already been discussed.

I know, that's a lot of stuff to wish for, but I think I can actually get all this in the Honda Odyssey.

I'm not dead yet!

Hey everyone!  Long time, no write.  And you don't know just how true that is.  I originally opened this blog over a year ago with the intention of posting something at least once a week.  Certainly no less than once a month.  Here we are a year later, and I finally return like the prodigal writer.  Better late than never, right?

Okay, so it's not like I've told anyone about this blog.  I mean, hubby knows I've started it, and he also knows I haven't written anything for it.  Instead, I've been trying to keep up with my D&D write-ups, which is what he'd prefer I work on instead :)

So, with no further ado, I will soon posting a WIP entry dealing with car searching.  I'm in the market, and have been hoarding links.  But, why am I talking about that here?  Onwards, to the next post!