infant car seat help!!!?

Question

My husband has a 1988 dodge daytona and the back seat only has lap belts. Our child is due in less then 3 weeks and we went to go get the car seat ready and we realized theres only lap belts in older cars....what are we sapossed to do? Is it illegal to just use the lap belt or do we have to get a different kind of belt installed??? Maybe there is a diffrent way to hook it up...i mean, their is a bunch of different straps with hooks coming from the bottom of the car seat- so i assume their is an alternative for cars that only have lap belts. Any help would be great- so far i cant find any websites pertaining to that.

Answer 1

Please read this site before you intall your seat.
http://www.epinions.com/kifm-review-1933-8CA3EA1-397DF02A-prod1
I used to work in a baby store and was the in-house car seat expert. The center seat lap belt is the best place to install your seat. The center position is the safest because if you get hit from the side you will have less worry about the door crushing or the window breaking and hurting your baby.
Make sure the seat is in as tightly as possible, push it down as hard as you can, belt it, tighten the belt and try to move the seat, if it wiggles it's not tight enough. If you are still concerned about the belt then buy a locking clip.
When you are ready to upgrade to a larger seat, or if your baby out grows the infant seat before they are a year old, then I reccomend a Britax Roundabout or a Decathlon ( http://www.bestbuybaby.com/britaxcarseats.html they are a little pricey, but you will have it for years to come, and they are convertable.

congrats on your little one! stay safe!

Answer 2

The lap belt should be fine...The belt only goes through the back of the seat...For the tightest installation, put your knee and some of your weight into the seat as you pull the belt tight. The extra straps are there for some of the newer cars that have hooks in and under the seats to brace the carseat. My car has the hooks, but I mostly just use the seatbelt. If your carseat has a base, then the lap belt is probably the best anyway. Good luck with your new baby!!!

Answer 3

I found that the convertible car seat worked well for my first but my second and third were to small at birth for the convertible seat ( the straps were above their shoulders at the lowest setting ) my forth baby out grew the infant seat between 4-6 months. . If you baby is long enough than you don't need an infant seat I used a sling, snuggle carrier or stroller when shopping ( I hate going to the mall because I see so many people with travel systems that the baby stays in the whole time even propping up bottles in the car seat ). It is not recommended to buy a used seat since you don't know the history of the seat ( was is in an accident ?) you can't always see damage from an accident.

Answer 4

Lap belts are perfectly safe. In fact, the cars with shoulder belts in back are sort of a pain-- you have to use this little clip in order to push the shoulder part down.

I think MOST people still use lap belts because the middle of the back seat is safest-- and even on newer cars, the middle seat is still typically a lapbelt only.

The strap things are for the LATCH system, which is basically metal loops that are welded into the seat base. You wont find this on older cars.

Just use the lap belt, and cinch it down as tightly as you can.

Answer 5

Did you read the manual that came with the car seat?
Most car seats only need a lap belt...in fact I had to use the little adapter clip because of the shoulder belt so it wouldn't release and create slack. But if you don't have a manual because you bought the seat used...shame shame. They state that you should always replace a seat after 2 years or an accidents because they can become less effective and outdated...not to mention sun exposure weakens the plastic that most of them are made of. That is why so many funds are available through the state and child advocacy groups for new car seats.

Answer 6

Just use the lap belt. A shoulder strap is nothign but a pain when installgin car seats. The lap belkts only are actually safer for full sized car seats as they ALL lock whereas the shoulder straps in newer cars usually do not lock into position unless the brakes are hit sharply.
All those extra straps attached are for when you turn it around, some newer cars have an extra safety feature available that those would hook to up behind the seats.

Answer 7

my husband and i had the exact same situation to deal with. we have a 1987 isuzu trooper (i probably spelled that wrong!) and it only has the lap belts. there isnt anywhere to hook the clips to either. in our other car which is a 2000 the car seat base fit very tightly because there are the hooks for the clips and the shoulder/lap belt for more security. anyway, it is legal to just use the lap belt and nothing else. you just have to make sure it is as tight as it can get. to make me feel better about the situation we called the police/fire dept to ask what to do and they said to simply put the car seat in the middle of the backseat (if there is a safety restraint available there). you can go to your local fire or police dept or even a hospital and someone can put it in for you. or even your health dept.

Answer 8

Is your car seat one with a base where the car seat clicks into it? If it is, i thin you only need the lap belt. The car seat is fine if you only have to click it into the base. if not, then do the side seat belts have the shoulder straps? Can you put the car seat on one of the sides instead of the middle?

Answer 9

an infant seat u should have a place on it that it goes over the carseat... a toddler on u put it thru the back... and a booster seat goes thru the back or across depending on booster style.. read the directions... all carseats are made for lap belts....

Answer 10

it is ok just to use lap belts all the other straps are for anchors that are in newer cars. Just make sure it is sturdy and everything should be fine.