If you are new at the child car seat game, you should know that toddler car seat covers for Graco can be installed using two different methods. You can use the seat belt in the vehicle or else Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH). Many parents want to know which option is the safest method to install their child’s car seat with toddler boy car seat covers or girl toddler car seat covers. In instances where either installation method is permitted, one way is not usually safer than the other.
However, makers of toddler car seat covers for Graco point out two noticeable exceptions. Firstly, as children get heavier, most car seats need you to use the seat belt instead of the lower anchors of the LATCH system, as the seat belt is more robust.
Secondly, car seats that have a rigid LATCH system rather than a lower anchor strap are usually safer when installed with LATCH rather than the vehicle’s seat belt. For many seats, it isn’t safe to use both lower anchors and the seat belt simultaneously.
Overall, LATCH and the seat belt are both just as safe, but whether one is safer than the other relies entirely on your child, your vehicle, and you. The only special case is rigid LATCH, which is a safer installation method than a lower anchor strap or a seat belt.
How To Use A Seat Belt To Install A Car Seat?
You can use the vehicle’s seat belt in the conventional way, where it is passed through the belt path of the car seat and buckled in. The seat belt maintaining a car seat has to lock each time, which means the belt can’t loosen at all. This is a far cry from how our seat belt is when riding in a car; it only locks when the driver slams on the brakes.
Since 1996, all seat belts have a method to lock themselves to be used with a car seat. Many feature a mechanism where if someone pulls the seat belt slowly out to the very end, as you allow it back in it will carry on to lock and shorten. It only returns to normal when you allow the belt back in all the way. There are some car seats that have built-in locking devices for the seat belt that usually makes installation easier. Additionally, the seat belt needs to be tightened, so that the car seat moves less than one inch in any direction when inspected at the belt path.
How To Use Seat Belts
Seat belts are effortless to find in any vehicle you are in. Also, you will be ready in case you have to install the car seat in an older vehicle that isn’t equipped with a LATCH system. Nevertheless, an older vehicle will probably be very different and more difficult than a newer car. If the vehicle is pre-1996, it probably won’t have the locking mode built into the seat belt. Additionally, older vehicles without LATCH won’t have tether anchors, so they are not appropriate when you do forward-facing installations.
You can put the car seat in more of the rear seating positions because you aren’t limited to positions with lower anchors.
Some car seats have built-in seat belt lock-offs that are a breeze to use. These built-in lock-offs let you lock the seat belt without having to understand how it works.
Some car seats have seat belt tensioning devices, many of which also lock the seat belt. These tensioning devices usually significantly lower how much force is required to tighten the seat belt.
How To Use the LATCH
The LATCH system has numerous components. The lower anchors are metal U-shaped or horizontal bars. Typically, these are hidden within the vehicle’s seat crease, and are often visible and sticking out from the seat crease. Many vehicles have two sets of lower anchors, one on the driver’s side and the other on the passenger side in the back.
A small selection of vehicles have sets of lower anchors in all three backseat positions. Typically the center seat in the second row and many positions in the third row (in vehicles with a third row) will not be equipped with lower anchors.
Most vehicles do not let you acquire the innermost lower anchors (belonging to the driver and passenger seats) to install a car seat in the center; the spacing is not similar. Even if you have one of the few vehicles that permit this, make sure you are using a car seat that lets you do this.
There may be an issue if you are new at the child car seat game, you should know that toddler car seat covers for Graco can be installed using two different methods. You can use the vehicle seat belt or else Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH). Many parents want to know which option is the safest method to install their child’s car seat with toddler boy car seat covers or girl toddler car seat covers. In instances where either installation method is permitted, one way is not usually safer than the other.
If you want to put the car seat in a rear center position, that usually means utilizing the seat belt. Many vehicles do not have a set of lower anchors meant for the middle seat, and many do not permit the use of the inner anchors from either side for installation in the center. have a look at the vehicle owner’s manual to see if you can do this. Also, it is a good idea to look over the car seat owner’s manual to check if the manufacturer allows the use of their seat with a non-standard spacing of lower anchors.
There may be a tag, button, or imprinted lower anchor symbol to let you know where the lower anchors are in the vehicle. Even if you just locate those lower anchors, you should still read through the LATCH section of your vehicle owner’s manual. It will give you installation advice specialized to your vehicle.
The safest LATCH installation method for parents is the one that provides the most secure installation. For instance, the seat moves just a little bit, and always less than one inch in any way).
However, if it is easiest for you to install your baby‘s car seat properly with LATCH, it is fine to use one of the outer seating positions when LATCH is not available in the center or doesn’t work properly within that area. If the vehicle manufacturer placed lower anchors and tethers in the outboard spots, they clearly wanted the kids to ride there, and the vehicle has been tested in that manner.
