Carseat anchor vs seatbelt question
I need to switch from the anchors to the seatbelt attachment for DD's carseat since she is over 40 pounds. I was talking to DH about the fact that I find it stressful to make sure the seatbelt is locked and trust only that to hold the carseat. He said:"Why don't we use the anchors and the seatbelt together?" "We can't, it's not made to use both at the same time" "So what, it would just be more solidly installed, why would it be a problem? The anchors and seatbelt don't interfere with each other"
Also to add on to what Nancy said, carseats are designed to move a certain way during a collision to lessen the impact on your child. Using both systems may hinder or change the way the seat moves during an accident and injure your child. I don't know which seat you use but I recommend looking at carseat installation videos for your seat so you can get a good idea on how to do it. I can tell you, from watching those videos I realized I missed a step or two and it was pretty scary to think that I couldve put my baby in harms way. Thankfully nothing has happened but I want to make sure I do my part in keeping them safe :).
The car seats were not tested using both mechanisms and one may interfere with the other. The car seat was tested with one OR the other.
Seatbelts are not back up mechanisms for the latch and vice versa, thus they are not tested for use in conjunction with one another.
Most latch systems also have a weight limit which, in most vehicles, includes the weight of the car seat.
After you install your carseat via seatbelt, pull the seatbelt all the way so when you let it go, it locks then pull it to tighten it more.