With today standards for child safety, having a car seat is a must. When choosing the right one for your child you need to consider a few things. First what age is your child, there are different car seats that will fit your child weight, height. Most important are the car seat safety standards. Parents sometimes go for the cheaper options, but this is not the best choice. Better safety standards, your child will be safer. Remember the old days when we all had road trips with our parent are as said in the past. Modern times bring better knowledge about child safety, so don’t wait choose the best for your child. Here is a short guide to choosing the right car seat for your baby.
Infant car seat: This is a car seat specifically used for newborns up to approximately 20 pounds. The car seat fits into a base that stays in the car, which is strapped in using the car’s existing seatbelts. Infant car seats should only be used in a rear-facing position — the best position for children in a car for as long as you can keep them that way.
An infant car seat can be taken out with your baby in it — leave the base in the car or you’ll look pretty silly — and attached to some strollers. They’re not meant to fit over a shopping cart, no matter how many people you see using them that way. Baby car seats also have a movable handle so you can carry your baby around in it like Red Riding Hood’s basket of goodies. However, the seat will constantly bump your legs, jarring the baby and bruising you. Putting it into a stroller is easier for both of you.
Child car seat: Some car seats are convertible, meaning you can use them all the way up from newborn to your child’s 21st birthday — or almost. An insert holds your baby in place when he’s tiny and is removed when he’s older. Car seats usually have straps that attach to bolts in the back of the back passenger seat or to the floor when in the rear-facing position. If your car doesn’t have bolts, they can be purchased and put into the car by a mechanic for very little money.
Booster seat: Every state has its own laws about when your child can sit in a booster and how long he needs to use one.
Photo credit: juhansonin on Visual Hunt / CC BY-SA
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