Car Seat Question - Seatbelt vs. LATCH

[judecorp]

So I decided to get my car seat professionally installed by a cute fireman. Hey, why not, right

Comments

[artjax]

You should really pose this question to Estelle at faggotsonthethirdfloor.blogspot.com - she is a car seat safety EXPERT. Tell her I sent you:)

She's also got some links to seat safety sites that may be helpful.

[judecorp]

I have e-mailed. Thanks! I also know that there is someone (ginky) on LJ who is all certified and stuff. I like experts.

[indigodove]

I didn't vote because I just have no idea. But good luck with the "final days" here!

[judecorp]

Heh, yeah. Most of the Googling I've done says that seatbelts should be just as safe as LATCH buckles... but you can never be too careful.

With other people's kids that I've transported, I've always used the seatbelts in my car(s) and have never had a problem. But yeah.

[grrlpower]

I never considered the side impact stuff, but I know Katishna uses the latch. Personally I've never felt the middle was all that safe, since it has a clear shot from the windshield to the child's face....

[judecorp]

Well, for at least a year the kid is rear-facing in the car seat, so you don't have to worry about the windshield so much.

The reason they say center is mildly safer is in the event of a side-impact collision.

[thatpatti]

i'm gonna link ginky to this. she's the (certified) carseat queen.

my guess would be middle, with seatbelt.

[judecorp]

Yeah, I was hoping someone would ping ginky. I would have just felt like a turd showing up on her LJ to be like, "HELP ME!" Thanks, Patti!

[kjames]

haha! i've totally done that to her, so you're not the first.

[judecorp]

Heh, that's good. :)

[artemis44]

Okay, I'm no expert, but I have done a TON of research on this car seat stuff, and what it seems to come down to is this - latch is better/easier for parents, but center seat is almost always best for the baby. So if you can latch in center, great, but if not, and you are able to get a good fit using the seatbelt in the center, then definitely go with the center!

From what I understand, latch and seatbelt are pretty equivalent - it's just nice to have the option, since in one car one might work better than the other, so good to have choices. But seatbelts are perfectly good and safe, so don't worry about that!

I know, it's scary, trying to sort through everything and make the right decisions... but I think you've already got it, and yay for you for having it professionally installed! :)

[artemis44]

Oh, and the good folks on teh pregnancy/general moms chat side of fertility friend have a LOT of info on this stuff - several car seat technicians over there...

[judecorp]

Yeah, I posted over at FF, too. :) You know, I like to cover my bases.

I'm inclined to agree with you and think both systems are probably at least mostly equivalent. And I'd prefer to have my baby in the center, just in case some yahoo decides to run into the side of my car.

You're right that LATCH is easier, because doing that "pull the seatbelt as far as it will go and make sure it locks and then release slowly" stuff is a little daunting, but I bet we will become old pros in no time. :) I'm sending Jen to get her base checked, too. Cute firemen for everyone!!

[rebasayre]

call me crazy, obessive, whatever. i use both.

[rebasayre]

oh. both at the same time. yeah.

[judecorp]

You're totally giving Jen ideas, heh. I know you can pull it off with a convertible car seat but with the infant one, at least mine, he had to drop the LATCH belt down to put the seatbelt through, so I don't think we could use both.