subject: Finding The Car Seats Suitable For Your Little One [print this page] If you are a first time parent, and are trying to make sure that the baby has every comfort available, you need to take care of a lot of details. One oft-forgotten essential is the car seat. Right from the time your baby comes home in a car, this would be necessary whenever you need to take your baby out in a vehicle. Finding the right product is essential for ensuring the safety and comfort of your little one, and to do this, the first thing you need to understand is the types of seats available.
Baby car seats are classified according to the height, weight and age of the child that they are suitable for. Getting confused is easy; however, there are ways to identify the seat that would be good for your little boy/girl. Your baby outgrows the seat in a few months, and you have to replace it whenever necessary. The car seat suitable for a newborn may not be the right one for a toddler, unless it is a convertible one. Here are the different types of seats available for your baby, and which ones would be suited to children of a particular age.
Infant carriers are the most suitable for a newborn. The rear-facing options provide ample safety for your baby especially during the first few months. In newborns, the spine is yet to develop fully. In this situation, a front facing seat would not be able to provide the necessary support in case of a collision. This may result in severe damage to the spine. This is the reason medical researchers recommend that rear-facing seats are better as they spread the impact throughout the body instead of affecting the spine alone. Opt for better ones, like Maxi cosi car seat, and there would be no need to worry about the quality.
Convertible seats are also good choices, especially if budget is a concern for you. While you would have to replace an infant carrier when your baby achieves the maximum height and weight suitable for it, there is no such necessity when you opt for a convertible. These seats offer rear-facing seating for a newborn and front-facing seating when your child passes the height and weight limits. You dont need to get a new seat when your infant becomes a toddler; all you need to do is switch from rear-facing to front-facing seating.
Combination seats and Boosters are good for kids who have passed the age, height and weight limit pertaining to the aforementioned options. These secure the baby with a five-point harness or a three-point seat belt to ensure their safety. However, recent medical studies show that sticking to rear-facing seats for your babies for as long as he/she does not pass the maximum height or weight limit is a good decision. This implies opting for such seats until your baby is about 2 years old. This minimises the chances of serious injury to your precious one even if the vehicle is involved in a collision.
Some car seats are also compatible with a stroller, making it a complete travel system, which is quite advantageous for you too. You may also consider getting other accessories for this travel system like storage basket, for keeping nappies, toys, and so on, sun parasol, for protecting the baby, foot muffs, for keeping them warm, and so on.
