The 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.You should use your baby’s height, weight and age and chhose an appropriate car seat for use.
Rear facing, infant car seats are used by infants 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, the baby’s head should be an inch or more below the top of the car seat when facing rear. For forward-facing seats, the top of the car seat should be above your baby’s ears.
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 to keep your child safe on the road is to ensure that the car seat can be suitably installed in your vehicle. It is paramount to find a car seat that can be installed firmly 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 to keep your child safe on the road is to ensure that the car seat you buy has gone through severe crash tests.
All safe child car seats sold in the U.S. pass the same federal crash tests. Some car seats may have extra features that make them easier to install correctly, such as built-in locking clips or non-twisting straps.
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.
You should also 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.