How to Install a Graco Car Seat

Installing your child's new Graco car seat properly is crucial to your child's safety. Making sure the car seat stays securely in its place could mean life or death for your child if you are hit by an oncoming vehicle or get into another type of car accident. Fortunately, most car seats are easy to figure out, and knowing a few tricks to ensure the car seat stays in place will give you a greater peace of mind when traveling with your child.

• 1

  Place the car seat in the back seat of your vehicle. If it is a car seat for infants, place it to face the back of the car. If you have a car seat for a toddler, place it so the seat faces the front of the vehicle. Don't place the car seat in the middle. Instead, put it to one side or another for increased safety.

• 2

  Feed the car's seat belt through the car seat's vehicle belt guide. You will find the belt guide underneath or to the side of the child's seat, and you will notice it is shaped to pass a seat belt through it. For example, in a Graco Nautilus, a car seat for toddlers, the vehicle belt guide is located directly behind the child's lower back. In a Graco Snugride for infants, the vehicle belt hook is located on the sides of the baby seat. Buckle the car's seat belt into place.

• 3

  Tighten the seat belt of the car. Use the buckle of the seatbelt to tighten the car seatbelt as much as possible so the car seat stays in place and doesn't move around. If the car has seat belts that go over the shoulder, pull the seatbelt out all the way until it locks. Feed the belt back in as far as it will go.

• 4

  Test the security of the Graco car seat by shaking the seat around. If the seat moves more than an inch in any direction, continue to tighten the seat belt until the car seat is secure and safe for the child.