How To Choose The Right Child Car Seat

 Parents need to select the right child car seat for their child that is appropriate to the child’s age and size and properly install it. It acquires importance considering what the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has to say – in just the year 2005 motor vehicles accidents killed about 2000 children under the age of 14 and injured 230000. We need to follow a few guidelines to select the right child car seat from the huge choice of brands, styles, stages and fixings.

Here are a few guidelines that would help you select and install the right child car seat: 

• Firstly read the specific instructions given in the child car seat manual carefully regarding use and how to install it. You can then decide before buying which one you want to use and then look for a seat based on how you want to install it.

• Choosing the right car seat for a child requires not only considering the age, but also the height and weight of the child. The car seat has also to be the right fit for your car; besides you have to take into consideration whether you are going to use it for short or long journeys and if it should be easily transferred from one car to another. The convenience of the parents is of paramount importance.

 

• Make sure you choose the right child car seat according to the age, weight and height of the child. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics it is best that children especially infants and newborns travel in rear-facing seats as long as possible. The first indication that the child has outgrown the rear-facing seats is when his/her head is within 1 cm from the top of the seat.

• You could switch to forward facing seats when the child is at least 2 years old; it would also be advisable to switch to it when the child has reached the maximum height or weight capacity of the car seat. When the middle of the child’s head or top of ears are above the top of this seat it means he/she has outgrown it. Another indication could be when the shoulder level is above the top harness slot.

• You could switch your child to a booster child car seat when the child is over 40 pounds. A child who is 8 years old could start using an adult seat in the back seat with both the lap and shoulder belts fitting snugly. Ensure that the seat belt fits properly with the lap belt lying snugly across the upper thighs and the shoulder belt lying snugly across the shoulder and chest without crossing the neck or face.

• Choosing the right child car seat also involves taking into consideration how much room you have in the back seat and the number of children you have and those in car seats. It would be wise to go in for a car seat with a narrower base if you have a small car. Also measure the back seat and number of car seats and take a measuring tape with you when you go shopping for child car seats.

All this would ensure you go in for the right child car seat for your children.

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