How to Install a Car Seat

Installing a car seat is a rite of passage that every parent must go through. It can be very scary when you look at all the statistics about car accidents and child safety seats that do not keep the child safe. But it is not that scary when you read all of the information that is provided to you by both the car companies and the car seat companies. Take a deep breath and carefully follow the instructions below for installing the seat.

Instructions

Car Seat Basics

• 1

  Choose the seat which is appropriate to the child's age and weight.

• 2

  Read the car seat and vehicle manuals.

• 3

  Place the seat in the back seat of the car. This is the safest place in the car for a child's safety seat.

Latch Installation for a Rear-Facing Infant-Only Car Seat

• 4

  Install the base of the car seat. An infant-only car seat usually comes in two pieces so that you can remove the carrier with ease.

• 5

  Find the anchors in the vehicle's back seat or the second row window seat. The car seat should lay flat against the seat's bottom and back and between the anchors.

• 6

  Attach the latch attachment furthest from you onto the anchor.

• 7

  Use your weight, climb on top of the seat and put your knee into the top, push the vehicle's seat down, hooking the attachment to the anchor and pull out the slack.

• 8

  Pull on the base of the infant seat to be sure that it will not move.

Installation of a Rear-Facing Infant-Only Car Seat Without Latch

• 9

  Thread the lap and shoulder belt through the correct slots on the car seat. There should be a picture of this on the car seat or in the manual.

• 10

  Take the latch plate, or male, end of the seat belt and put it into the buckle, or female, end.

• 11

  Using your weight, repeat Step 4 from above.

• 12

  Pull on the car seat to be sure it will not move.

Installation of a Forward-Facing Toddler Seat Using Latch

• 13

  Put your weight on the vehicle seat to compress it.

• 14

  Push the Latch attachments onto the anchor.

• 15

  Pull the seat belt straps as tight as possible.

• 16

  Hook the tether (check your car's owner manual to find out where this is) to the anchor point.

• 17

  Pull the belt tight to get all the slack out.

Installation of a Forward-Facing Toddler Seat Using the Shoulder and Lap Belts.

• 18

  Thread the vehicle's lap and shoulder belt through the correct holes on the car seat.

• 19

  Buckle the seat belt.

• 20

  Using your body weight compress the vehicle's seat cushion.

• 21

  Check to be sure the seat does not move before putting your child in it.