Rear-facing carseat without LATCH?

[MrsSlocombe]

My eleven-year-old car does not have a LATCH system in its seats.  It has regular seatbelts, as well as anchors above the seats (towards the back, near the window).  As a nanny, I have had luck fitting families' forward-facing seats in my car, as the belt and the anchor work together to make a sturdy fit, but the one time I tried to put a rear-facing infant seat in my car, it was a disaster.  It worked for a few days, but then, I noticed that the seat had tilted almost sideways.  We were only a few blocks from home, and the baby was not a newborn, nor was she particularly bothered by this, but needless to say, we had to return home immediately, and I could not transport her until she moved to a forward-facing seat.

Now I am shopping for a carseat for my own baby (coming in June), and I wonder what I'm going to do for a rear-facing seat.  I have heard that rear facing is best even after age one, and certainly, it is required before then.  I can't afford a new car.  Do you know of models that would work?

[BabySmurf]

we used a graco snugride infant carrier and had to swap it between several cars.  ours we only had a lap belt in the middle and it was relatively easy to hook in, but cars with a shoulder strap it was a PITA....but possible.  The snugride came with a metal piece that you attach to the shoulder strap so that it doesn't turn the carseat sideways.  Now we have a britax, and that works with the seat belts too, although it didn't come with that handy metal thing, so it's way more difficult to hook in properly, but it is possible.  congrats and good luck!!

[dot1]

We have a Britax Marathon (big wide seat) that is super easy to install with seatbelts and has a large opening for the seatbelt to pass through (easy for big hands) and a built-in belt lockoff.  The rear facing tether makes it easier to get the right recline angle when they're young (not as big a deal for an older baby with good head control).  The cons:  Large seat so it's not ideal when wanting to fit many seats side by side in a small car.

If you post in the family safety forum you should get more replies.

[MrsMike]

One of our cars doesn't have LATCH and our Britax seats work just fine with it. You may need a locking clip to keep the seatbelt from loosening over time. Definitely check the Family safety board here as well as www.car-seat.org.  

[nilatti]

My car doesn't have LATCH and I've used a Graco Snugride and a Combi Coccorro. Around here, you can actually take your carseat to the fire department and they have trained technicians who can help you figure out how to install it safely. I highly recommend doing this!

[Ola_]

We have a 1999 VW Passat and use a Radian convertible rear-facing for DD in the center spot (lap/shoulder belt).  It is in there solid.  It too some effort to install the first time but then we learned and now it's not so bad.  It's not as easy as with LATCH but definitely doable.

[katelove]

I would highly recommend getting a locking clip. We have them for both our cars and can get the seats rock solid.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by katelove 

I would highly recommend getting a locking clip. We have them for both our cars and can get the seats rock solid.

But do you still need this if you have locking seatbelts?  I didn't think so...

[katelove]

Originally Posted by Ola_ 

But do you still need this if you have locking seatbelts?  I didn't think so...

Are locking seatbelts just the standard inertia lock ones? I couldn't get a solid installation without the locking clip. If it's something different then I'm not sure. I'm in Australia and we sometimes have different systems.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by katelove 

Are locking seatbelts just the standard inertia lock ones? I couldn't get a solid installation without the locking clip. If it's something different then I'm not sure. I'm in Australia and we sometimes have different systems.

Locking seatbelts, as far as I know, are the retractable ones where if you pull it out partway they retract back and you can pull it out again, but if you pull it out all the way they retract back and lock (so you can't pull it out again).  That is not on all cars though, some older models don't have it.

[katelove]

Originally Posted by Ola_ 

Locking seatbelts, as far as I know, are the retractable ones where if you pull it out partway they retract back and you can pull it out again, but if you pull it out all the way they retract back and lock (so you can't pull it out again).  That is not on all cars though, some older models don't have it.

Ah ok, not sure about those ones. Neither DHs nor my cars have them.

[weliveintheforest]

I've never had a vehicle with latch, and we can get good installs with either the middle seatbelt, or a locking clip with the shoulder belt.  Right now we have a britax marathon and a safety first infant seat rear facing.

[MrsSlocombe]

Thanks, guys!  I am enthused by the simplicity of the middle seatbelt idea.  It was an option when I was a nanny, because I had to fit two carseats in the back, but we're most likely only having one child, and if we have more, who knows what car we'll have later, anyway.