Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Making the Choice of Which is the Best Car Seat

By Josephine Archibald

Your choice of car seat will depend on your childs size and age. Newborn children will need either an infant seat or combination type of seat while older children will require a booster type of seat. Let us have a look at both types.

Rear-facing Infant Car Seat

This type of seat is suitable for babies up to the age or around 15 months or around 30lbs in weight. The seat is designed to be rear-facing to increase safety, thus in the case of an accident the impact is spread over the area of the childs back, which is the strongest area of the body.

What are the benefits of the rear seat? - uses a 3 or 5-point safety harness to increase safety - easily secured using the car seat belt - mobility is a premium with this type of seat so they are very light weight

What should we be looking for? - facility of a recliner to allow for full head and back support - nicely cushioned head pillow which is removable - front adjusting 3 or 5-point safety harness

Forward-facing Car Seat

Once the age of one year onwards is reached (or 20lbs or above in weight) then is the time to move on to the front-facing car seat.

The benefits of the forward-facing seat are:

- 5-point harness provides extra security - Adjustable for more comfortable use - Seat is secured by the car seat belt

Convertible/Combination Car Seat

The benefits of this seat mean that there is no further investment when your child reaches a certain age or weight. The seat can be changed from rear-facing to front-facing when the right time comes. They tend to be good for children up to the age of about 4 or about 40lbs.

The benefits of the combination car seat

- cost effective option - 5-point safety harness is used - this type of seat is secured by the cars seat belt

Booster Seat

These seats are designed with children who are between 20lbs and 80lbs in weight and can be converted for an older child. They are forward facing and can be placed either in the front seat or in the rear. They are secured by using a lap and diagonal seat belt.

The benefits:

- secured by either the car seat belt or a 5-point safety harness for younger children - adjustable height " helps to alleviate car sickness and boredom - headrest is adjustable for comfort - often the features can include drink holders and mesh pockets

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