If you’re a parent who loves to travel and considers road trips all the rage, you would have definitely considered baby car seats for your toddler. If you haven’t heard of them yet, we have something to tell you that will blow your minds.
Even in this very year, with the pandemic in occurrence, 53% of traveling families expect to go on a road trip. 44 % of people between the ages of 18 and 35 travel with their children.
So if you fall amongst these people or generally like to move around in your vehicle and don’t want to leave the little one at home, here’s something that you just cannot miss.
What are baby car seats and why do I need them?
A convertible car seat is commonly referred to as a forward-facing car seat. All convertible car seats have their own inbuilt six-point harness system, and this harness is used from birth until your young one is about 4 years old, or until their shoulder reaches the upper height marker. Convertible car seats are quite highly sought after by Australian families as they easily convert from a rearward-facing baby seat to a forward-facing car seat thus allowing children to be fully harnessed for as long as they can fit in it.
According to the CDC, If your baby is securely strapped in a car seat, their risk of dying in a car accident goes down by 71%.
Here are some tips when choosing a car seat for your baby:
- Your baby’s age:
When choosing a car seat your baby’s age is a key consideration. Children of different ages prefer different types of seats. This has been suggested by leading medical experts.
From birth to age two, the child must be seated on a rearward facing seat that will reduce damage done to the head and spine. The child’s weight must be no higher than the seat limit.
From the ages 2 to 4 your child may use a forward facing child safety seat provided that they weigh no more than 40 pounds.
After the age 4, provided your child is under 4 feet and 9 inches, you may use a booster seat. With the right belt positioning, your child will remain perfectly safe.
Above the age 8 or 4 feet and 9 inches, your child will no longer require a seat and can sit without a booster seat provided the adult belt fits.
- The quality of the product:
When buying something for your baby you want to make sure that they are completely safe at all times.
So remember these factors that you cannot miss checking when buying a seat for your baby:
- Safety label: Make sure that the seat safety rating matches or exceeds that set by the government.
- A large number of harness points: A five point harness will protect your baby much better than a three point harness would. However, some companies like the Maxi Cosi baby capsules even offer a six point harness system which has proven to be even safer. If you are looking for convertible baby car seats, Maxi-Cosi is the place to go.
- Ratings and ease of use: Looking through ratings on products will give you a good grip on whether it is a preferred product and how easy it is for customers to use.
- The simplicity of installation:
Most users would prefer to use a product which is made simple to install into their vehicle. Some of today’s products end up being ridiculously easy to install and remove even though they provide such good protection.
If you are not able to install your baby capsule or seat, you could always contact your nearest car dealership or the company itself to give you detailed instructions or demonstrate how to install it.
When it comes to your child’s safety you never choose to compromise. So why compromise here? Spend some time evaluating the best possible choice for your child in terms of size ( height and weight configurations), quality of build and ease of use and installation.
Hopefully, with the time you will find it simple and quite effective as a means to transport your child from place to place, content in the knowledge that they are safe inside their capsule.
