Child booster-car seats/seat belts

[cypress822]

This goes out to those who use the seat belt to secure their car seat.
After installing the car seats and securing them with LATCH, we also secure the seats in (as recommended by Graco) with the seatbelt. We did this following the LR directions in the LR4 users manual.
The problem I am having is that the seat belts to not remained locked for more than a couple seconds. How is the car seat supposed to be secure??

 

[jamgolf]

I have a car seat for my son and have it latched as well as secured by the seat belt as you are trying to do. I do not have any problems with this. The two mechanisms are separate from one another and using latch does/should not somehow incapacitate the normal seat belt system.

Perhaps the release button inadvertently remains depressed and is not securing the belt???
Try to buckle/unbuckle the seat belt (without the child seat in the mix) to make sure it is working.

Cheers!

 

[cypress822]

So, your back seat belt IS staying locked at all times, correct?

 

[jamgolf]

So, your back seat belt IS staying locked at all times, correct?

Yes. Its been locked ever since I put it in last December and stays locked.

 

[cypress822]

I don't mean to sound ignorant, but could you please tell me the method you are using to secure your seat belts please???

 

[baobay]

I have 3 car seats in the back. You need to pull the seat belt all the way out untiul you cannot pull anymore then as you release it you will hear a clicking noise. that means it is locked and should not unlock unless you disengage the seat belt all together. I did not know that you had to use the seatbelts in addition to the latch!

 

[rostov]

I did not know that you had to use the seatbelts in addition to the latch!

Me either. And I never did, but always used the top (third) anchor with those latches. … What I think though, may be that is because those latches are not secured to the body on LR since seats are removable?... That would be my only explanation. But again, it is never too much when we talk about kid’s safety.

 

[rostov]

Just to make sure, we are not talking about Booster seats, but full child seats?!

 

[cypress822]

In terms of using a seatbelt in addition to latch graco recommends using a seatbelt in addition to the latch on a normal child's car seat once they are over a certain weight...48 pounds I think...reason being is that the latch can sometimes give way once the child weighs over a certain weight amount. When used together the child car seat is safer than a booster seat using a seatbelt. Our child is eight years old and weighs 56 lbs. We still have him in a traditional car seat. The only one that is made to fit older kids is called the frontier 85. Graco recommends using the seat over any booster seat as long as he can fit in it.
The booster seat when using a seatbelt to secure the child in the booster seat itself puts the child at increased risk for injury during an accident compared to a traditional child car seat. When comparing the two types of seats when it comes to safety there is really no debate that the child car seat is superior than a booster. One of the main reasons is the use of the five point harness used in child car seats. The placement of the five point harness on a child is much more anatomically safer than that of a booster seat. I am not saying booster seats are bad of course; they are of course much safer than having nothing at all and they are much safer than using a seatbelt instead of a booster seat with a seatbelt, I am just saying that using a car seat is safer than a booster.

 

[baobay]

In terms of using a seatbelt in addition to latch graco recommends using a seatbelt in addition to the latch on a normal child's car seat once they are over a certain weight...48 pounds I think...reason being is that the latch can sometimes give way once the child weighs over a certain weight amount. When used together the child car seat is safer than a booster seat using a seatbelt. Our child is eight years old and weighs 56 lbs. We still have him in a traditional car seat. The only one that is made to fit older kids is called the frontier 85. Graco recommends using the seat over any booster seat as long as he can fit in it.
The booster seat when using a seatbelt to secure the child in the booster seat itself puts the child at increased risk for injury during an accident compared to a traditional child car seat. When comparing the two types of seats when it comes to safety there is really no debate that the child car seat is superior than a booster. One of the main reasons is the use of the five point harness used in child car seats. The placement of the five point harness on a child is much more anatomically safer than that of a booster seat. I am not saying booster seats are bad of course; they are of course much safer than having nothing at all and they are much safer than using a seatbelt instead of a booster seat with a seatbelt, I am just saying that using a car seat is safer than a booster.

Agree 100%. I also have my 6 year old daughter in a child seat. I will also use the seat belt now in addition to the latch. I have the frontier car seat and am very happy with it.