What is a "LATCH" attachment system?

What is a "LATCH" attachment system?

Stephanie Tombrello (Child Passenger Safety Educator & Executive Director, SafetyBeltSafe USA) gives expert video advice on: Where should a child safety seat be installed in a vehicle?; How do I install my rear-facing child safety seat using the LATCH system?; How do I install my child safety seat using a safety belt? and more...

LATCH stands for "Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children". The LATCH attachment system is a system for installing safety seats without the use of a vehicle safety belt. The idea was that many safety belts were designed for better protection for human beings, and so they weren't convenient to use safely with safety seats anymore. The safety belts were too far forward from the crack where the vehicle seat back and seat bottom come together, and so they weren't pulling back on the safety seat and holding it tightly in place. Instead, starting in about 2002, some bars were put into the crack at the back of the vehicle seat that were designed specifically to attach the safety seats. At the same time, lower attachment connectors and attachments were put on the safety seats so that they could match up with the bars.