Choosing a good car seat for your child's protection is a
prime consideration for any new parent. To give your child
the best chance of escaping injury in the event of a
collision, you'll need to a car seat suited to your child's
age and weight.
To choose a proper car seat, you'll need to understand that
there are three main types of car seats for children. These
are: infant car seats, infant / toddler (convertible) car
seats, and booster seats.
Infant Car Seats
If you have a newborn baby, or your child is under a year
old, he needs to ride in a rear-facing car seat. You'll need
to decide on buy a rear-facing infant car seat, or you can
buy an infant / toddler car seat (also called a convertible
car seat). The difference between the two is that the infant
car seat is designed for babies around 20 pounds and under,
while the convertible car seat be used facing the rear until
your child is a year old and at least 20 pounds, before
turning it to face forward. If you purchase an infant car
seat, rest assured that the new models have a five-point
harness to keep your baby strapped in securely. The
disadvantage, of course, is that you'll need to buy a
convertible car seat later when your child grows older.
Infant / toddler (convertible)
Car Seats These car seats are larger than infant-only car
seats and more expensive. However, they can be used for your
child from the newborn stage (when he is less than a year
old and under 20 pounds) right up to the toddler stage (when
he is at least a year old and at least 20 pounds). It
depends on your choice. Some parents choose to use
convertible car seats as their primary car seat from day
one. Others only switch to an infant/toddler convertible
seat when their baby outgrows the infant car seat.
Booster Car Seats
Booster car seats are meant for children age 3 and older who
weigh at least 40 pounds. What's the function of these
seats? What they do is to boost your child into a position
that makes it safe to use the car's existing seat belt
system. Booster seats will cost you (they're pretty
expensive) but they'll give your grown toddler a sense of
'adulthood' since most of the models are ergonomic, plush
and cool.
