Child Safety Seats Points To Remember

All parents use car seats for babies in their vehicles. They might even spent money on fancy car seats with toys or tassels. Still, at the end of the day lots of people feel that the child safety seats did not provide the type of safety that they expected it to provide and that the child got injured despite being strapped inside it. More often than not, the problem might not be the seat itself, but the incorrect way in which it has been used. Remembering the following points will help in the better handling of safety seats.

Back seat is the place for children below the age of 12, especially in cars with air bags.
Till they are one year old, and weigh 20 lb, they should ride in a convertible seat or infant seat. They should be placed within it facing backwards. Even if they weigh 20 lb before they turn one, they should still face backward, though maybe in a convertible seat.
After the first year\20 lb mark, they can ride in the seat with face forward till they weigh 40 lb or their ears are level with the car seat top
After the 40 lb stage, a booster seat that will raise their height is the best for them.
The seat belts in the car meant for adults can be used on the child only after he has a height of 4 9, or after he turns 8.
Till the shoulder portion of the strap fits the childs shoulder, and the lap belt fits his hips, he is not ready for the adult seatbelt.
For installing the child safety seat, read the manufacturers instructions carefully.

The importance of facing backward

The child safety seats that are designed to keep the babies facing backwards, are made so because that position supports the babys back and head in case of a crash. The more commonly used seats for that position are the following:

1.There are infant only seats meant for placing the baby in the rear-facing position only. These are designed for a baby weighing between 17 and 22 pounds. These can be flattened to form a bed and are suitable for a baby till his head remains within the seats upper rim.
2.Convertible seats are larger ones, catering to the requirements of babies up to the weight of 40 lb, though some may handle only a weight up to 32 lb in the rear-facing position. Convertible seats can be placed in the forward-facing position when the child turns one.

Choosing Child Safety Seats

With baby seats, costlier ones are not guaranteed to perform better. The first requirement while buying child safety seats is that it should fit rightly the model of the vehicle in which it is to be used. While buying convertible seats that can be placed both ways, fix it in the vehicle to see if they will perform well in both directions.

It is better to opt for baby seats that can be used in the rear-facing position for a comparatively longer time. Seats meant for babies with a weight below 20 lb will outlive its utility pretty fast. Convertible seats, which can be kept rear-faced, and can cope with more weight, are always the better choice.