Which is better…LATCH or seat belt for my infant carrier seat?
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010 at
6:02 am
I’m installing the babies car seat in my 06 camry…Which is better LATCH or the traditional method?? Using the seatbelt looks a little less complicated, but I wondered if there was any benefit to LATCH over using the seatbelt.
Tagged with: babies • benefit • camry • car seat • google • latch • script type • seatbelt • text javascript
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The latch system, if installed correctly, is safer IMO. Seat belts loosen over time. It’s easier to install the seat with the latch system as well.
I used both
I use both. I tried using just the seat belt but I didn’t feel like it secured my daughters carseat enough so now I use both of them.
i live in australia
and here it is law for all car seats of all types to be attached with BOTH for safety reasons.
using both is much much much safer then using just one.
I think they are equally safe, but the latch is easier in my opinion.
They are really just as safe as the other. The LATCH system is supposed to be easier to use though.
They are equally safe. The LATCH system is just supposed to be easier.
DO NOT USE BOTH AT THE SAME TIME! This puts stress on the carseat in opposing directions which could break the carseat if you get into an accident.
I used both…and while you’re at it…this little device made installing car seats OH SO MUCH easier…
It’s worth it’s weight in gold.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267437
LATCH seems stronger and more secure to me
Hi – first off – in an ’06 camry – you are not allowed to use latch in the center position. Check your car’s manual. This is the case for about 90% of the cars on the market. LATCH has a measured standard spacing, and most cars either do not have dedicated latch in the center, OR they do NOT allow you to take one from each side.
So – safetywise – use the seatbelt in the center position.
If you cannot get a good install in the center with seatbelt, the move it to the outboard position and you can use latch.
Latch is supposed to be easier. Its not safer.
The biggest thing to installing with seatbelt (and probably why a lot of these answer above suggest that latch is more "stable" then seatbelt) is because people don’t know how to lock out their seatbelts. All seatbelts "lock". Some lock by pulling them all the way out – sometimes a few tugs, until you hear a "click, click" sound. Others lock at the actual buckle (chrysler cars for instance). Your camry locks by pulling all the way out. Once in locked mode, it will not get "loose" until you unbucklet it.
Find a certified carseat tech near you – http://www.seatcheck.org – and learn more about your car and carseat.
My understanding is that they are equally safe, but the LATCH is easier to install correctly in most cases.
If you’re not sure about the installation, go to http://www.seatcheck.org and find a certified tech to check it for you!
I think they are supposed to be equally safe, but if you use the seat belt make sure you have a locking clip so the seat belt stays secure. For this reason I use LATCH. It is also easier to get a tighter fit in my opinion, but this depends on the car and the car seat.
You shouldn’t use both as others suggested. I know I used to, but the other answerer is right in that there would be too much pressure on the car seat. Here is a helpful article.
http://babyproducts.about.com/od/carseats/f/LATCH_SB.htm
I don’t think you are supposed to use both at the same time as some people suggested. Check your car seat user manual to see. But I think both are just as good. The Latch system is much easier to use than the seat belt. I used to have a 99 Saab where it didn’t have the latch option so I had no choice but to use the seat belt. I also had to use the locking clip and that made is so much harder to put in. I always needed help. Now I have a newer minivan with the latch system and it’s a snap to put the car seats in and it fits nice and tight. Getting someone to help you push down on the seat to pull the straps tighter is always helpful so you can get it really tight. I found that the seat belts became loose to soon after a certain amount of time. The latch tens to keep them tight longer. But whcih ever you chose both are good as long as installed correctly.