By Lauren Dzuris
When searching for a car seat there is a lot to consider. It's not something that should be done overnight, but instead researched and taken into consideration. There are a lot of car seats out there, but finding one that is right for your baby in particular is what is important.
Always consider the weight and age of the baby:
Overall, it is much safer to put infants and newborn babies into the rear facing car seats. Typically, these rear facing car seats are for babies who are 20 pounds or less. Once your baby falls into the 21-35 pound range, you would likely want to get a convertible car seat. These can face the rear or front of the car, however, for safety reasons, most recommend that you use a rear facing car seat for as long as possible. Once your child reaches around 40 pounds or 3 years of age, it is typical to have them in a booster seat, which positions the belts around them and offers head support. It is important to know your local laws, as some states require children to be in booster seats at a higher age than the national law.
Read online reviews and do your research:
Online reviews are great when trying to find the perfect seat. However, often times there are ways for a manufacturer to pad their reviews to show that a product is better than it really is. Although this is unethical, it does happen. Sometimes the best products are advertised by simple word of mouth! Talk to other parents that you know to see what they have used and recommend, or even better, what they don't recommend. You can sometimes even get advice from the stores that sell car seats. Although they personally may not know which one is the best, they will usually let you know what a top seller is, or what is frequently returned.
Shop around:
You may think you have found the perfect car seat, but it is important to always shop around by calling other stores or checking online for the best deal. Many stores are willing to price match, so talk to them about your options. And always be sure on what their policy is about returns, as well as the manufacturers.
Remember safety is a priority:
Now that you have that perfect car seat at home, make sure that the instruction manual is clearly written and read before installing the seat. No matter how great your seat is, it does no good if it is not properly installed. If you didn't know already, about 3 in 4 car seats are installed improperly in some way. And finally, make sure to periodically check with the manufacturer to make sure there isn't a recall issued on your seat.
Finding the right car seat may take a lot of patience. Although it can't be done overnight, you can consider a few of these tips to make your searching a lot easier!
Find the best Convertible Car Seats as well as more of my work at Findmycarseat.
Source:www.isnare.com |
