calihannah
New member
Just came across this on my local parenting board:
I wrote this:
But seriously, what else can you say to people who are recommending really potentially harmful things? I mean really, carabiners on LATCH anchor points??? *sigh*
I've put three car seats into all four of our cars (ours + grandparents'). Basically, if you have two LATCHes, I can do it. It's not magic - I just use carabiner's hooks or screw-in hooks that you can get at any hardware store to connect two seats to one LATCH. Thus, if you have LATCH setups on the passenger and driver's sides, put two of these hooks on each inside LATCH. This enables you to add a car seat in the middle.
Is this safe? Well, these hooks are rated at hundreds of pounds, which in my opinion is very, very safe. I'll put it this way: I think the straps or hooks of my car seat will give out first.
I wrote this:
To the poster who suggested putting two LATCH clips on one tether point -- even if you think it's safe, it directly defies your car manufacturer's and car seat manufacturer's instructions, which means that it hasn't been tested. If you're eager to get three across and don't have a center LATCH setup, use a seatbelt to install! Seatbelt installations of car seats, if done properly, are JUST as safe as LATCH installs and far safer than unproven/untested deliberate misuse. Also unsafe: borrowing LATCH anchors from the left and right to use in the center unless officially authorized by your car manufacturer. It's not about your car "giving out" or whatever -- it's about putting strain on the car seat that it wasn't designed or tested to handle. With child passenger safety, a little "harmless" shortcut could have lifelong tragic ramifications.
But seriously, what else can you say to people who are recommending really potentially harmful things? I mean really, carabiners on LATCH anchor points??? *sigh*