How to Find Car Seat Safety Ratings

All parents want to buy the safest car seat model for their children. You can find information about car seat safety ratings from a variety of sources, including private industry and the federal government, to ensure the car seat you select is the safest make and model possible.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Research on Paper

1. Buy or borrow a copy of the "Consumer Reports Buying Guide" for the year your baby will be born or the most recent issue if that issue has not come out yet.
2. Look up, in the "Buying Guide" index, information about car seats. The "Buying Guide" will tell you which issue of the magazine most recently published information about car seat safety.
3. Read the most recent article the "Buying Guide" has referenced, either through your own back copies of "Consumer Reports" or at the library.

Online Research

4. Go to the "Consumer Reports" website if you do not have access to the "Buying Guide" or the issue of the magazine that details car seat safety information (see Resources below).
5. Subscribe to "Consumer Reports" magazine online for a fee.
6. Read online all the information about car seats that "Consumer Reports" usually provides in its magazine. It will have a detailed chart with different categories of ratings for each car seat in a number of different areas.

Additional Resources

7. Visit the Consumer Search website for information regarding the rankings of car seats (see Resources below). This site summarizes the results of tests done by "Consumer Reports" and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). It also has a variety of links to car safety information and is a very useful tool in your research.
8. Check out the NHTSA website (see below). Although this site is a bit difficult to navigate, it does have pertinent information about the NHTSA's recent "ease of use" study. It also has records of all recalls since 1990 on its site, among many other resources.
9. Peruse as many sites as it takes to make you feel comfortable about your purchase. If you do the research, you'll feel good about the safety of the car seat you choose.
10. Subscribe to the free service of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to alert you via email about recalls of children's products, including toys. That way, if your car seat is recalled, you will know immediately.

Tips & Warnings

• Read the "code" of the index entries to understand how to look up the article.