[redbonec]

I feel silly asking this since our daughter is now almost 1 year old, but what is a LATCH system for the car seat?

I plan on buying the Britax Marathon car seat next week, and on reading the store's consumer reviews, a review said it was hard to install without the latch system. Also said would not install with the center lap belt.

Well, our infant seat is currently installed with the center lap belt. I do not know if we have a latch system, but we have some type of hook above the back seat--3 hook looking things. Someone said all cars were required to have latches after a certain year.
Our car is a 2000 Nissan Maxima, if that helps.

I am hoping it will work in our car, or it is back to the drawing board to find out what car seat instead!

Thanks for any info,
Michelle

[Stormster]

I don't know everything about it but I'm going to a class at our local police dept about it!!!!

You should see if there are any demonstrations or anything where you live because I heard it can get a little complicated the first time.

PS We just looked at a Subaru which had the latches but think it's a relatively new thing.

[OnTheJourney]

I think it is the slang for the UAS (universal ancorage system). I may be wrong but have heard it refered to before as 'latch'. I think cars 2004 and newer have the hooks for the UAS. They are between the seats where the back and seat parts meet. From what I know, seats can be installed with either the UAS or if that is not present in the car, the seatbelt is fine. From my experience (we have a Eddie Baurer in my jeep, a 2005, and Alpha Omega Delux in the truck, a 2004) the UAS system is alot easier and seems to be steadier without having to add the locking clip. I could never figure that one out very well. I have installed my seats in other cars with the belt and I couldn't get it as tight, but they are made to work that way if UAS is not there. I think from when I did it, it probably says the center belt doesn't work because you need the shoulder belt. (Although some cars have shoulder belts in the center)

The hook on the top of the seat is the teather to hold the seat back when it is front facing.

Hope this makes sense and is right. Just speaking from my own experiance.

[court5505]

My car is a 2001 and does not have the latch. It is a total pain to install without it, but it's possible.

[sugarbabysmommy]

I've installed a Britax Roundabout, Marathon, and Regent both ways, with the (lap shoulder) seat belt and with the LATCH (in addition to the top tether anchor in both cases). I found it pretty easy to do both ways. I've also installed the Roundabout with a lap belt and top tether. If you go to Britax's web site you can read the directions for the actual seat yourself and it will say if it can or cannot be installed with a lap belt rather than a lap shoulder belt. It's important to know if your car has retractible seat belt that has a locking mechanism.

LATCH stands for "lower anchors and tethers for children." If your car doesn't have the lower anchors, it hopefully has the top tether anchors. These really help secure the seat. (I wanted to add, our car didn't have the top tether anchor- it's one year too old- so I asked the dealer and it was installed free.)

The thing about the lower anchors is that they aren't safer than the seat belt, they are just supposed to be easier to use (though I suppose ease of use can increase safety)- ironically though, they can sometimes be more cumbersome depending on a car's design. The other thing is many lower anchors are only rated for 48 pounds max, whereas seat belts are obviously rated much higher to hold an adult. So once your kid passes that 48 pounds the seat belt needs to be used regardless. The only way to know for sure is to check your car's owner's manuel (not all lower anchors are created equal), and if it doesn't specifically state a weight limit higher than 48 pounds, it's safest to assume the limit is 48 lbs.

Unfortunately many car models only have lower anchors on the outboard seats and not in the middle seat (however top tether anchors are often in the middle seat). You should never use the lower anchor from one side/seat and the lower anchor from another side/seat to try and install a seat in the middle, because of the way some anchors are designed it can be very, very dangerous to do so.

Car-safety.org has some great info.

[mumofone]

We had the dealership put the kiddos' seats in our van. They have a special person there that installs them free. They even ask that you bring the children with you, so they can be fitted properly. They also had lots of great safety advice.

Also, it is best to leave the seats in one vehicle and not transfer them back and forth between cars. They told us, it would be less wear and tear on the seats and straps

We have built-in seats in our van and still opted for the 5-point harness seats for the children.

[shortlittlemama]

When in doubt, contact your local law enforcement agency. They usually have technicians, or they know how to put you in contact with one. I highly recommend having someone trained and certified inspect your seat once it's installed- or just ask them to do it for you. It's amazing how something that seems so simple can actually be so complicated.