On the bottom of your infant car seat or convertible car seat, you’ve probably seen a funny looking metal thing – kind of looks like a broken buckle from Santa’s belt – attached to the underside of the seat. That is a locking clip, and you may or may not need it in your car, but even if you don’t need it, don’t lose it. It may, one of these days, come in very handy.
Most cars don’t require the use of a locking clip – for example if your car employs the LATCH system or only has a lap-belt (common in the middle seat). But if you’ve got a shoulder/lap belt combination that retracts freely (until a crash occurs, that is), you’ll need to hold the shoulder and the lap portion of the seatbelt tightly together. The locking clip positions your car seat, locking it into place before a crash activates the retractor function of your seatbelt.
After you’ve positioned the car seat in place (infant seats or convertible seats, but NOT booster seats), and buckled it up, you want to put your knee into the seat and put the weight of your body into it. Pull hard on the shoulder strap so that the lap belt tightens up; at an inch from the seat belt latch, grab the shoulder and lap belt portions together, and use the locking clip to hold them together. Give the seat a good hard yank. Does it move more than an inch? Yes? Then remove the clip and try again, tighter this time. No? Congratulations, you’ve cinched it!
Tip: Keeping your children safe is your number one priority. Would it not also be a bonus to couple this with affordable auto insurance?
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