Choosing Between an Infant and a Convertible Newborn Car Seat

A newborn car seat is also referred to as an infant safety seat or a baby car seat, is a way to protect infants from harm and death from car accidents. The harness distributes the restraint force across the body and head of the child, rather than the neck or spinal cord.

These seats are available in rear-facing and convertible versions, as well as with an array of weight and height limits. These seats can also be part of a set for travel that snaps into the base of a stroller.

Rear-facing

Rear-facing newborn child car seats offer unbeatable protection in crashes for infants. They are designed to hold and support children, ensuring their spine, neck and head. In addition, they help to disperse the impact of a crash from hitting your child's body which reduces the risk of injuries. This is because the child's body doesn't collide with the vehicle seat or the front passenger seat. Instead, it's a soft, cushioned area in their car seat.

Parents should keep their child rear-facing until they reach maximum weight or height limit of their car seat, according to the AAP and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The majority of children will outgrow their infant car seat around the age of one, at which point they can move to convertible car seats that is able to face forward. However, many parents want to keep their child in a rear-facing best car seat for newborn uk seat until they turn 2.

There are two main types of rear-facing car seat that are convertible and infant-only car seats. Both are equally safe, but each offers different conveniences. For instance, infant-only seats are lighter, smaller, and come with a quick release base which can be easily removed from the car and reattached to a stroller base. Convertible car seats are bigger and heavier, and don't have a built-in stroller base.

No matter what type of seat you choose, it is important to follow the manufacturer's instructions and always use the seat in the back seat of your vehicle. You can also put a tightly rolled blanket or washcloth between the crotch harness and your child to ensure that the harness is tight. Also, ensure that the lower anchors are connected to the lower attachment points of your vehicle's lower anchor bars and that the car seat is correctly installed and buckled.

While there is much debate over how long a baby should ride with their back facing, research suggests that infants up to 12 months old are less likely to suffer injuries in car accidents if they are facing the back of the car. Baby car seats that face rear also experience less impact when they strike the front of the car, as opposed to the back of the car seat, which can cause serious injuries.

Forward-facing

Many parents have invested a lot of thought into their infant car seat. It was a major item on the baby registry and how you got your baby home from the hospital. Now that your child is older, you may be thinking about turning the car seat around to forward-facing. It's important to keep in mind that your child isn't ready until they've reached the weight and height limits that are set by their car seat newborn seat manufacturer.

Rear-facing is recommended until your baby weighs at minimum 20 pounds and reaches the age of one year. This is because children younger than one year old don't have enough neck muscles to withstand the whiplash that can result from being thrown forward in an accident. They also have greater risk of suffering from spinal injuries in head-on collisions.

You can buy a convertible car seat or an all-in-one seat that allows you to keep the child rear-facing up until the child is at the weight and height limit of the seat. They are usually bucket-style infant seats that come with the base that you can install in your vehicle. They can also be detached from the base and reattached to strollers in order to form travel systems. They are typically lighter in weight and height restrictions than a standard car seat.

You can also purchase an extra booster. These seats are equipped with a harness, and can be transformed into a booster that allows your child to wear a seat belt when they are ready. This kind of car seat has the primary benefit of being used in your vehicle throughout the duration of your child's life making it simpler to transport the child from one vehicle to another.

It doesn't matter what car seat you pick, read the instructions and follow them. Consult a certified car safety technician to ensure that your child's car seat is installed and is used in a safe manner. It is not uncommon for parents to misuse car seats, and even the most well-intentioned parents can cause injury to their children. It is best car seats infant to study the instructions on the car seat and follow the advice of a CPST.

Convertible

Many parents opt for a convertible newborn car seat since they can expand with your child and allow them to travel in a safe manner from the time of infancy until toddlerhood. These seats are less expensive than infant seats and have longer life span. It's important to select the right model that is compatible with your vehicle and is simple to install. Be sure to keep your baby safe by buckling them in a proper manner each time.

Snug straps keep the head from shifting into a potentially dangerous chin-to-chest posture, which can cause strangulation or asphyxiation. A lot of infant carseats have straps that are unbuckled or loose, and this is a serious safety risk. Straps that aren't buckled can cause a neck that hangs loose which has been the source of many accidents. If the crotch strap is not tightened enough to pass a pinch test, it can be a risk. This test will determine if the crotch buckle is close enough to prevent a baby's legs from sliding down the seat and result in them being trapped or cut.

Some convertible newborn car seat come with an adjustable torso-height that allows you to adjust the height limit to suit the development of your child. The minimum torso height should be equal to the height of the shoulders of your infant or an inch lower. Some models come with an infant insert that can help raise your child to the correct height for the seat.

The ideal convertible car seat for infants should be comfortable, with soft padding and a slim base to allow you to put it in your vehicle. It should also feature an incredibly tight, snug harness that passes the pinch test and a small, tightly-rolled towel or blanket for an emergency. It should also include a tether strap which is connected to the anchor points of your vehicle that can help reduce the risk of collision injuries by reducing the force of impact on your infant. In addition it should include a travel system, which includes a car seat that pairs with a stroller and has an handle that you can use to move the infant from the car to the stroller.

Safety features

When selecting the right car seats for their infants parents face a variety of factors to consider. Car seats are an essential purchase for families with new children, as their correct use reduces the risk that a child will suffer a fatal motor vehicle injury by 71 per cent. The decision between a baby car seat and a convertible car seat comes down to some key factors such as safety features, compatibility with your vehicle and user-friendliness.

Car seats for infants are designed to keep the delicate physiology of a newborn in mind. The base of the seat is usually located in the car, and the seat snaps into its place. This makes it easy to transfer your baby from stroller to car and back without disturbing them. They come with a crotch as well as a harness built in to keep your child secure.

Some infant cars have side-impact protection that distributes the force of a crash away from a newborn's head and neck. They are made of metal, plastic and foam that absorbs energy and protects the head of the infant from direct contact with the vehicle frame or other objects involved in a collision. Some have a special sock that extends from the door to protect the child's head.

A chest clip is a different safety feature that is becoming more popular in car seats for newborns. It keeps the harness straps firmly against the chest of your baby. This stops the straps from pinching or twisting around the shoulders, which can expose your baby to greater risk of injury. If you select a seat with this feature, ensure that the chest clip is at armpit height. Do not dress your baby in bulky outerwear as this could interfere with the harness.

Make sure that the car seat is set up according to the instructions of the manufacturer, regardless of what type you choose. Check for the lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system comprising an attachment that clips onto the lower anchor points of a car and a tether strap that attaches to the top of the seat. It then connects to an anchor inside your vehicle. If your vehicle does not have LATCH, a belt can be used to secure car seats.