How to Choose Infant Car Seats
Many parents of newborns choose to buy infant car seats for their babies, rather than relying on an infant-toddler car seat. Infant car seats are safer for young infants than infant-toddler car seats. They are also more convenient because you can install only the base, and snap the body of the car seat in and out of their base. Choosing an infant car seat for your newborn or older infant can be mind-boggling. Fortunately, only some of the details truly matter for your child's safety and comfort.
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Instructions
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Skim through the user manual. Some car seat bases are easier to install than others, and if it looks complicated to install, avoid buying it--unless you plan on bringing it to a professional car seat installer. An improperly installed car seat can be dangerous for your child.
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Make sure that the car seat uses a five-point harness, as opposed to a T-bar restraint or plastic shield. The five-point harness includes a strap over each shoulder, one over each thigh, and one between your baby's legs. This type is much safer than the alternatives, especially for a young infant.
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Ascertain how the straps can adjust--from the front of the seat or from the back. Adjusting the straps from the back of the seat will be inconvenient, which may prevent you from doing it often enough, leaving your baby's safety compromised.
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Check whether the material on the car seat is washable. Keep in mind that the car seat will get dirty from spills, exploding diapers, and spit up, and washable fabric on an infant car seat is therefore a necessity rather than a luxury.
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Feel the padding on the headrest and the bottom of the car seat. Your infant will be sitting in the car seat for long periods of time, and she will appreciate comfortable head support and a soft cushion under her bottom.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not pay more for the head supports included in some infant car seats. You can buy another brand of head support for much less, and the ones included in the car seats are often of inferior quality and do not support the head well.
You may be able to find an infant car seat for as cheap as $60, or for as much as several hundred! Choose carefully, focusing on safety and comfort for your baby.
Do not buy any secondhand infant car seat that may have been in an accident.
Check the expiration date on any used car seat to make sure that it has not yet passed.
References
- Photo Credit child in a carseat image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
