One question regarding instatllation of a car seat.?

Question

My 15mth old niece is staying with me for 3 weeks and im trying to install a convertible car seat, the directions are sooo confusing. I pulled the seat belt through the opening at the back of the seat and locked it. i keep reading a bout LATCH in the manual, is that the 2nd step or am i done?

Answer 1

The latch is something different I believe- ours has a latch too- where in my husband's car we don't have to use the seat belt- it just latches to something in the car in a couple of places. If you have the seatbelt through where it is supposed to go, then you should be fine. That's how it is in my car- I have to use the seatbelt.

Hope this helps some.

Answer 2

if by latch you mean anchor strap, than no you are not done. Most cars (within the last 10 years) come equipt with an anchor up in the rear window, some also have hooks down in the seat. Anyway, now that the seat is belted in you must take that strap and clip it to the back anchor loop. Tighten as much as possible, it will keep the top of the chair from coming forward in the event of hard breaking or an accident.

Also you can go to the local fire dept. or sheriff's dept. and they usually have some one there who would be glad to get in the car and help you install it properly and show you how to do it also.

Hope this helps. And thanks for being good to your neice and sister. GOOD LUCK

Answer 3

Latch installation is for newer cars that have them preinstalled. They are little metal hooks that will be between the seat and back of the seat (somewhere near the seat belts). Its safer to use these instead of the actuall seat belt. A local fire dept is the best place to go if your unsure about installing car seats. They will make sure it is installed properly and show you how to do it. Just walk in the station and ask if someone can assist you in installing a car seat. Someone said facing it backwards... As long as your neice fits the weight requirements/ and age (which at 15mo she does) that are on the car seat manual, facing the seat forwards is what you need to do. I wouldnt worry to much about the latch system. My car doesnt have it and the seat belt and tether strap keep it in place firmly. (The tether strap is the strap that most car seats have that attach the back of the car seat to the top of the back seat. Also, the middle back seat is the safest place for the car seat. It protects the baby better in case of a side impact. Have fun with your neice. 15 months is a neat age!!

http://www.carseatsite.com/installing_your_car_seat.htm#LATCH

Answer 4

There should be 2 black hooks (latches) on the end of straps/belts attached to the car seat. If your car has metal loops in the the folds of your backseat, positioned near the seat belts, then the black hooks clip on these metal loops. You then tighten the straps so that the car seat cannot move more than an inch in any direction.

If you need help installing your car safety seat, contact a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician. To locate and set up an appointment, call toll-free at 866/SEATCHECK (866/732-8243) or visit www.seatcheck.org.

Answer 5

What year is your car? If it's 2002 or newer, you use LATCH. LATCH is a different way of buckling in the child and much easier to use. If your car is older than 2002, then just use the seatbelt. There should also be something that goes over the back of the seat to secure the top half of the car seat. If you have any doubts, drop by a fire or police station. They should always have someone certified to handle the safety check. Also, check out www.carseatcheck.com

Answer 6

Once the car seat is facing backwords and the seat belt strap is through the back, and the straps across the babys body are strapped your done. Just make sure everything is tight not to toght for the baby though. The LATCH is for cars with that feature its just a extra if you didnt want to use the seat belt to the back.. Its been awhile but just ask the mother or father or caregiver they should know further.

Answer 7

Take the carseat and the car you want it installed in to the fire department. They will install it for free. They do a wonderful job. The fact list says that 50% of all carseats installed by someone who isn't certified is insalled incorrectly.

My daughter is 17 months old and we bought a Graco Step 2 Safeseat to replace a convertable we already had. Since we had seen the fire department install a infant carrier in both cars, and the convertable backwards in both cars, and a convertable forward in one car we thought we could do this one. Well, when we brought it in to the station we figured out our car didn't have latch, it had tether anchors but not the latch. Don't know what we attached the bottom to but it was installed incorrectly.

With something like that you just don't want to chance it.

Answer 8

the latch is the part that hooks to a hook either beside the seat belts or above it ( behind the head) depending on the car, I found it easier to use the seatbbelt first ( not tigtening it) then hooking up to th elatches and then tightening the seat belt, this is a sure fire way this carseat is going nowhere!

Answer 9

try the Graco Nautilus. DW only finished getting to know automobile seats and found plenty a stable comments in this one. that's a forward dealing with in effortless terms (this is optimal for you because of the fact you have become a sparkling seat and it's time to stand forward) and as he grows, in converts right into a belt positioning seat, and a backless booster besides.

Answer 10

If you've put the seatbelt through the back and it's buckled and the seat barely budges when you wiggle it, then you're done. You want to make sure the seatbelt is strapping it in tight because you don't want it moving in case you wreck or something.