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Car Seat Confusion

jasminelorraine20jasminelorraine20 member
in Parenting
I've searched the boards and couldn't find a thread on this and I have Googled this question and still I am confused. I was told by a friend yesterday that my son's car seat was installed incorrectly because I only used the seatbelt method to install and not the LATCH. From what I have read, I can install using either the LATCH or the seat belt, but that the seat belt will always be the safest method. I also read that only a few car seats even allow you to use both the LATCH and the seat belt to install a car seat, which I'm confused about because when I did it this morning it worked fine. Unless I did it wrong. Can a car seat guru please explain to me a little better which method is safest or if I do indeed need to use both the seat belt and the LATCH to install. FWIW, the tether strap at the top is always hooked regardless.
Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers
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Re: Car Seat Confusion

  • 2-Step2-Step member
    I am no expert, but from what I understand carseats are rated to be safe with either installation. There is no rating of which is safer. I think a lot of people assume that because their car has latch it means it is safer, which has not been proven as far as I know. Latch is simply a feature that makes it easier to move the seat and install it more quickly. 

    The most important thing is to make sure your seat is installed properly for your car, as in the angle is right and it fits securely against the seat the way it should. For some seat/car combos this might mean it is easier to achieve that with latch and some it might be the belt. 

    If you want to make sure your car seat is safely installed, many local fire departments and police stations offer car seat checks. 
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  • jasminelorraine20jasminelorraine20 member
    2-Step said:
    I am no expert, but from what I understand carseats are rated to be safe with either installation. There is no rating of which is safer. I think a lot of people assume that because their car has latch it means it is safer, which has not been proven as far as I know. Latch is simply a feature that makes it easier to move the seat and install it more quickly. 

    The most important thing is to make sure your seat is installed properly for your car, as in the angle is right and it fits securely against the seat the way it should. For some seat/car combos this might mean it is easier to achieve that with latch and some it might be the belt. 

    If you want to make sure your car seat is safely installed, many local fire departments and police stations offer car seat checks. 
    Thank you! The car seat is always flush with the seat in the vehicle and is installed using the seat belt. I think it's a personal preference of hers to use both the LATCH and the seat belt, which after further reading- isn't the best option.
    Lilypie Fourth Birthday tickers
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  • shaley29shaley29 member
    I didn't use the latch in my car because it still allowed for the car seat to move around. Not sure if I did something wrong but the seat belt worked much better. I guess it depends on your car, and the seat, but I think it's one or the other, not both..and either should be safe (but didn't seem so in my car-2014 Honda civic)
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