One of the best ways to protect your kids when they are in a car is through the use of a baby car seat. One of the leading causes of death and injuries to both babies and adults is car accidents. Accidents are unpredictable however, you can keep your child safe by investing in a safe and quality baby car seat.
How do you know the right car seat for your baby? Baby Car Seat Safety Tips
The best car seat for your baby is one that fits your child perfectly when it comes to weight, size, and age. The ideal baby car seat should also fit your vehicle properly. In order to choose a seat that’s right for your baby, here are some of the important things to take note of.
- Choose a seat whose label says that it meets Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
- Purchase the car seat early and learn how to install and use the harness before your child arrives. Don’t rely on store displays to teach you how to do it.
- Be careful about getting second-hand car seats. The seat might be damaged in ways that you can’t see or even have some parts missing that might jeopardize your little one’s safety in case an accident occurs.
- Make sure that you check on the seat for the published date of expiry. Car seats typically expire after six years from the date of manufacture.
- If the car seat starts to develop cracks or starts to show other signs of tear, don’t use it. Get in contact with the manufacturer and ask if the seat is still safe to use as well as how long the seat can be safely used.
In order to protect your baby or toddler when an accident occurs, here are some of the car safety rules to follow:
- Never put a rear-facing infant car seat at the front seat of a car that has a passenger-side airbag.
- Always make sure that you place child safety seats at the back seat.
- If your car happens to be a two-seater one, and you find yourself with no choice other than placing a child in the front, try and push the passenger seat as far as it can go.
- Kids below 13 years of age should always ride in the backseat and in the middle of the backseat whenever possible. All passengers including kids should have their seatbelts buckled.
- If you must place a child in a booster seat at the front seat, and your car happens to have this cut-off switch, use it to disable the airbag for the entire ride.
Finding the Safest Car Seat for your child
In order to find the safest car seat for your child, here is what you need to consider.
- Choose the right model.
As your child grows, you will need to transition from one car seat to the other. Baby car seats come in different models which include:
- Infant car seats.
This is the first seat for parents with newborn babies. An infant seat can only be installed rear-facing and it comes with a removable carrier that connects to a base installed in the car. Such a seat provides a perfect fit for newborns and babies with small bodies who weigh from 4 to 40lbs. You will find that most kids will probably get too tall before they get too heavy for infant car seats.
- Convertible car seats.
The next step after your kid has outgrown his infant car seat is a convertible seat which should be purchased after your child’s first birthday. A convertible seat must be installed rear-facing for kids younger than 1 year and weighing less than 20 lbs. Depending on the seat, convertible seats can be used rear-facing for up to 40 or 50 lbs. some manufacturers recommend rear-facing after the age of 1 year, however, CR recommends rear-facing until at least 2 years of age. Depending on when your child is ready, the seat can be turned around and used forward-facing until it’s time for a booster seat. Another good thing about convertible seats is that many are designed in a manner that they can hold kids as heavy as 65lbs.
- Booster seat.
After your child has outgrown the height and weight limit of a front-facing convertible seat, then it’s time to upgrade to a booster seat that uses a car’s own seat belt. Boosters raise a child up in the car so that the belt fits them perfectly. Booster seats come in two main styles, high-back and backless. Although backless models are simple to install and portable, high back models are better off because they position they not only provide a shoulder belt but also provide some side impact protection and more comfort for kids to lay their heads.
- All-in-one car seats.
These car seat models provide great value by accommodating a child from birth to booster seat. Although these seat models try to accommodate babies through different stages, they don’t do any single task all that well. Most models are made to accommodate kids from 4 to 50 lbs. when sitting rear face, 20 to 65 lbs. for forward-facing with a harness, and 30 to 120 lbs. in a booster mode.
Baby Car seat Safety FAQs
- Which is the best baby car seat model to choose from?
There are many car seat choices, but they are all fall under these three main categories. Rear-facing for kids under 2 years old, forward-facing baby seats with a harness and top tether for kids above 2 years old, and lastly, booster seat for older kids who are too heavy or too tall for a car seat with a safety harness.
- Is one car seat safer than the other?
It is important that the car seat that you choose meets and passes crash tests under the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards. A less expensive car seat might meet the same standards as the high end one, however, it might fail to have all the comfort features you will want for your baby. Make sure that you select the car seat with all the comfort features that you would want.
- How can I find out about my state law?
Every state has its own child passenger safety law and each state law is different. Some laws apply to kids up to the age of 18 years while others may have their kid’s passenger laws for kids up to 8 years old.
Conclusion
Your baby’s car seat safety standards need to be put first before putting the baby on it. If you are shopping for a car seat, the good news is that car seats sold today are held to the same safety standards no matter how much they cost. What changes is how snug they are as well as what age of babies they are able to accommodate.