Baby Car Seats - 3 point check on How to Buy Safe Child Car Seats for your Baby
3rd January 2010 by Babies No CommentsThe most important thing to keep in mind when preparing to buy your first safe child car seats for your baby is that you will need to buy a number of car seats relative to the growth of your child.
1. The first step to keep your child safe on the road is the choice of a car seat that works for your baby’s age and weight.Always consider your baby’s height, weight and age to choose the type of car seat for use.
Rear facing baby car seats are used by babies until they reach about 20 pounds in weight.
Convertible car seats are used facing the rear until your baby is at least 1 year of age and weighs at least 20 pounds. The convertible car seat can be used forward facing upto the weight limit listed in the car seat instructions.
Height-wise, for rear facing car seats, the baby’s head should be an inch or more below the top of the car seat. For front-facing seats, the top of the baby’s ears must be below the top of the seat.
Once your toddler is at least four years old and weighs at least 40 lbs, booster car seats will help the vehicle seat belt fit better.
2. The second step in ensuring your child’s safety on the road is to make sure that the car seat fits your vehicle. It is essential to find a car seat that can be installed tightly, with the proper angle and less than an inch of side-to-side wiggle.
Check the car seat manual to be sure you can install and use the car seat as it is intended.
3. The third step in ensuring your child’s safety on the road is to ensure that the car seat you buy has gone through severe crash tests.
All toddler car seats sold in the U.S. pass the same federal crash tests. Some car seats may have extra features like built-in locking clips or non-twisting straps which make them easier to install correctly.
The best way to keep baby safe in the car is to use a car seat with the most crash protection for as long as it fits your baby. Many car seats offer higher rear-facing and forward facing weight limits.
Always look for higher forward-facing weight limits on 5-point harness seats, and keep your toddler in a booster seat as long as possible after he or she outgrows a regular car seat.
Finally, before you purchase any car seat, you should check whether the car seat has been recalled by the manufacturer for any reason.Always follow these instructions to make sure that you purchase the safest child car seat for your baby.
