How to Adjust Car Seat Straps to Get the Safest Fit

For your kids to travel safely, they need a car seat. You know that, of course! However, it’s not just about having a car seat. In order for your little one to truly be safe, your child’s car seat needs to be installed correctly and buckled properly with every use. This ensures that the car seat can absorb crash forces in a potential accident, protecting your young rider. 

For the first part, you can read this post on how to install a car seat properly! But, in this post, we’ll be tackling another component of car seat safety. We’re sharing how to adjust the car seat harness straps to buckle your child up safely and effectively. 

Here’s what you need to know:

How to Adjust Car Seat Straps to Get the Safest Fit

Step 1: Press the car seat strap release.

To loosen car seat harness straps, press the release button. It’s located at the front of the car seat where the slack strap comes out of the seat fabric.   

Step 2: Pull the straps simultaneously to loosen evenly.

Once you hit the release, you can loosen the harness straps. When you pull them loose, ensure you pull both sides simultaneously to avoid unevenness when you tighten again. If you do find that they are uneven, just loosen the harness all the way.

Step 3: Place your child in the car seat and check the harness settings.

Next, put your child in the car seat. Before buckling, confirm the car seat settings are appropriate for your child’s age, proportions, and size. Here’s a checklist of things to look out for:

• In a rear-facing car seat, the shoulder straps need to be at or just below the child’s shoulders. Britax requires them to be below.
• In a front-facing car seat, the shoulder straps need to be at or just above the child’s shoulders. Britax requires them to be above.
• The crotch buckle should be at the setting that allows the buckle to be closest to the child without going under them. Check your manual for further rules.

Check the manual for how to adjust the shoulder strap and crotch buckle position. The shoulder straps may be pretty easy if you have a no-rethread car seat. However, the crotch buckle will need to be manually switched and so will car seats without the no-rethread feature. This will likely require you to remove the seat from the vehicle. 

Step 4: Buckle the crotch buckle and chest clip. 

Once you’ve confirmed everything is the way you want, go ahead and fasten your child by buckling the crotch buckle and chest clip. 

Step 5: Pull the harness strap at the crotch to tighten. 

To tighten the harness, put one hand on the adjuster strap and pull it tight. If you have trouble tightening the harness in rear-facing mode, then put your other hand on the straps where they meet at the back of the car seat (if possible) and pull both together until the harness is tight around your child’s chest.

Step 6: Adjust the chest clip and tighten again if necessary. 

If you can’t get the harness any tighter because the chest clip is too high, pull it down and tighten the harness again, if necessary. The goal is for the straps to be snug on the child’s body. 

Step 7: Ensure you can’t “pinch” the straps at the shoulders.

Now, you need to also do the pinch test! Attempt to pinch the harness straps at the shoulders. If there’s enough slack to pinch the fabric between your fingers, it’s not tight enough. Tighten and adjust further until you pass the pinch test!

Step 8: Double-check for tightness at the legs. 

Sometimes things can be tight enough around the shoulders and chest, but not around the legs. Check your little one’s legs to confirm the straps are snug around their thighs. 

Step 9: Position the chest clip at the armpits. 

Finally, position the chest clip at your child’s armpits or nipple level. It’s important that it's on the sternum. Once your chest clip is in the appropriate place, you’re ready to ride! 

Bonus Tips:

• Don’t dress your children in bulky clothes like winter coats and Halloween costumes in their car seat. Thin fleece layers are best, because wearing bulky clothing can hinder proper car seat buckling. 
• No aftermarket car seat accessories are safe to use. 
• Ensure your car seat straps aren’t twisted when buckling. Use the triangle trick if you’re struggling to make them straight! 
• Even buckle your child into their car seat properly when it’s attached to a stroller. 
• If your child likes to undo their buckles, here’s how to keep your toddler from unbuckling their chest clip. 
• Car seat straps must be adjusted for every ride. It’s not a “set it and forget it” situation.
• For more, look over this list of common car seat mistakes! 

How Tight Should Car Seat Straps Be?

Car seat straps should be snug, but not restrictive. To confirm you’ve found the sweet spot, pinch the harness straps at the shoulders to see if there’s any additional slack. If that's good and you’re certain the harness strap height and crotch buckle position are correct, you’re ready to go! 

Adjusting car seat straps every time you ride is an essential part of car seat safety! 

There are a lot of components to car seat safety, which can be intimidating! However, it’s important you know all the ins-and-outs of proper car seat use to keep your family safe on every drive. 

We hope this post helped you fully understand the buckling process, but when you’re ready to learn more about other aspects of car seat safety, head over to the Safe in the Seat blog for more need-to-know info on safe car seat use. No matter your car seat question, we have the answer! 

As an Amazon Associate, Safe in the Seat earns from qualifying purchases.