SUV rides are supposed to be fun instead of frightening for your children. But how could it be fun if their safety is not guaranteed due to one reason: you had difficulty setting up the child safety car seat? Indeed, it can be difficult. But there is a great solution to that - the child safety LATCH system.

LATCH, acronym for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, is some kind of a universal standard for mounting a child seat into the vehicle. It has been found out that although child seats alone may enhance safety, a good 80% of these are installed incorrectly which actually defeats the purpose why they are even there. And so, with this LATCH system, installing the child safety seat becomes easier since it eliminates the use of the SUV’s seat belt system.

But how do you install this LATCH system correctly? Here are some LATCH installation quick tips to guide you:

Consult your owner’s manuals to identify the correct attachments to use and the location of the anchors. Make sure the LATCH attachment straps are loose.

Start with the carseat sideways on the vehicle seat. A front-facing seat with its back toward you, or a rear-facing seat with the front toward you. Attach the farthest attachment to the far anchor, put the seat into position, then attach the nearest attachment to the near anchor.

Push-in type connectors and rigid LATCH seats should give a positive “click” when attached correctly.

Connectors with a hook must be carefully inserted over the anchor, then pressed down before pulling back and tightening. Alternately, you may insert the hook sideways and rotate it downward before pressing it onto the bar.

Verify again that you are using the correct anchors for rear-/forward-facing use, that the anchors are in the correct orientation, and that the anchors are firmly attached to the bar and not the upholstery.

Press the carseat firmly down into the vehicle seat while tightening the straps. If your carseat has two straps, press down on each side while you pull the strap(s) tight.

For forward-facing seats, attach the top tether to the appropriate anchor and tighten the strap

It may be difficult to remove the LATCH connectors from a tight installation. Loosen the straps by pressing the seat into the cushion, then tilting the adjuster to loosen the straps. With hook type connectors, you must depress the tongue, push the hook over the bar then rotate 90 degrees before pulling the hook free.

Rigid LATCH seats are easier. Usually they only require extending the rigid attachments, locating the anchors then pushing the carseat firmly into the back of the vehicle seat. A push or squeeze of a button is all that is needed to release the seat.

Info credit: www.car-safety.org

With the LATCH system correctly installed, now you can start setting up your child safety seat. In no time, your children will find it more fun and safer riding your SUV.