How to Install Infant Car Seat

The Do's of Infant Car Seat

1. Always install your infant car seat / booster seat on the rear seat of your car. That's the safest place for children below 12.
2. Ensure that your rear facing infant car seat is installed in proper angle. If you are using a Graco infant car seat the instruction manual would explain how to use the level indicator to ensure that the seat has been installed in proper angle.
3. The harness should fit in snug. It should not be loose nor should it press on the child's body. A fun way to ensure that it is fit in optimally is to try and pinch the harness - if it is properly fitted it would lie in a straight line and you would not be able to pinch it.
4. Check if your car has got the LATCH system, if yes, it would be immensely helpful for you to install your infant car seat.
5. Always read your car manufacturer's manual and your infant car seat manual in complete details before installing a baby seat.

The Dont's of Infant Car Seat

1. Never install an infant car seat in the front seat with an active air bag.
2. Never put a child less that 1 year of age or weighing less than 20 pounds in the front seat.
3. Always buy new infant car seats, never go for used one. Safety standards change over time and you should alway get the latest model for your kid.
4. While using a infant car seat don't put your child in sack sleepers or wrap them in towels. These prevents that harness from fitting snugly.
5. Don't let the infant car seat move. It should fit in firmly to the rear seat of the car and shouldn't move more than an inch in any direction even when it is pulled.

These are just a few easy to follow steps that we can follow to ensure that our children are safe and comfortable in their infant car seat even when they are traveling.

Labels: car, car seat, Do's, Dont's, infant, latch system

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It might appear to be a pretty simple thing to understand how to install an infant car seat, however, if you are reading this I am sure you must not have found it that simple. In fact installing an infant car seat is often such a big problem that the federal Government has passed a new mandate called the LATCH system (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children). All new vehicles and car seats must have this system. At present most of the infant car seats are incorrectly installed which is a serious security threat, expectedly, with this LATCH system in place it would no longer be a major problem for parents to understand how to install infant car seats.

As I mentioned in my earlier post How to Install an Infant Car Seat, that it is extremely important to read your car manufacturer’s manual and also the manual that comes with the car seat before you get on to the installation process.

The LATCH system provides two metal anchors in the back seat between the seat and the seat back to which the infant car seat snaps securely. The latch portion of the system includes a strap that securely fastens the base of the infant car seat to keep the infant seat from moving.

How To Install Infant Car Seat – LATCH system

• Attach the latch to the anchors set at the base of the seat and then tighten the seat belt to make it firm. It is easier to tighten the seat belt if you kneel in front of the seat while doing so.
  
• On a toddler seat you will need to attach the tether strap to the anchors at the base. Then let the tether strap fall back behind the seat and hook it to the base of the seat back. However, if you are using a rear facing infant car seat you will not need to use the tether.

With the risk of sounding repetitive, I would again mention, that these are just general instructions on how to install an infant car seat. Please read your car manual and the manual that comes with infant car seat in details before you actually install the seat. Also, once you are done with the installation of your infant car seat please get I checked by some certified technician.

Labels: car seat, federal Government, How to, infant, Install, kids, latch system, mandate, security

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