How to Put the Car Seat Base in the Car

Many models of infant car seats come with a detachable base that can be installed securely and left in the car while the car seat carrier can be taken in and out of the car with ease. For parents of young babies, who sleep frequently and need to be carried, this allows them to leave their babies strapped securely in the carrier without disturbing their rest.

Instructions

    • 1

      Determine the height and weight recommendations for the car seat and base you are using. Car seat bases are used with rear-facing infant car seats only with weight recommendations between 5 and 32 pounds and a height less than 32 inches. If you have an older baby, she may be too big to ride safely in an infant car seat.

    • 2

      Make sure the car seat base can be safely installed in your vehicle. If you are using a seat belt restraint to install the base, there are a few types of seat belts that shouldn't be used for securing a car seat base. These include lap belts with emergency locking retractors, a combination lap and shoulder belt with emergency locking retractors or passive restraints that have motorized shoulder belts.

    • 3

      Reference your car's manual to determine if your car comes equipped with LATCH anchors. Most cars produced after 2002 feature LATCH anchors, which allow car seats and car seat bases to be tethered securely to the car without using the seat belt restraint.

    • 4

      Place the car seat base in a rear-facing position in the backseat of your vehicle. The safest position for a car seat is the center seat, directly behind the front seats. However, most cars don't have LATCH anchors for the center seat. If you plan on using the LATCH anchor system to install the car seat base, check your car's owner manual to determine where the anchors are located.

    • 5

      Install the car seat base securely using the recommendations in your car seat's instruction manual. When securing the car seat base to the car, put as much of your weight as possible into the car seat to create a tight fit.

    • 6

      Check to make sure that the car seat base is secure by grabbing the base and pulling it from side to side and front to back. The base shouldn't move more than an inch or so in either direction.

    • 7

      Place the car seat carrier into the base until you hear a "click" sound. Once secure, check to make sure that the angle of the car seat base is correct. Many infant car seats come with an indicator that makes it easy for parents to determine the correct angle. This is important to ensure proper head alignment and to keep your child's airways open.

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