The Most Underrated Companies To Follow In The Newborn Car Seat Industry

Choosing Between an Infant and a Convertible Newborn Car Seat

A newborn car seat is also known as a baby car seat or infant safety seat. It helps protect babies against injuries and deaths in car accidents. The harness distributes the restraining 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, and with an array of weight and height limits. They can also be part of a travel system that clicks into and out of a stroller base.

Rear-facing

Rear-facing car seats for newborns provide unmatched protection in crashes for infants. They are designed to support and cradle children, while protecting their neck, spine, and head. Additionally, they assist to reduce the impact of a crash to prevent your child's body from being hit, reducing injuries. This is because your child's body isn't collision-prone with the car seat or the front passenger seat, but rather a soft, padded surface inside of their car seat.

Parents should keep their child facing rear until they reach the maximum weight or height limit of the car seat, as per the AAP and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Around age 1, most children will outgrow their infant car seat and move on to a convertible car seat that can be oriented forward. Many parents will put their child in the rear-facing seat until they turn two.

There are two types of rear-facing car seat: infant-only seats and convertible car seats. Both are equally secure and safe, but they each offer different features. Infant-only seats, for example are smaller and lighter. They also come with a quick-release base that can be easily removed from the vehicle and then attached to the stroller. Convertible car seats are bigger and heavier, and do not have a built-in base for strollers.

No matter what type of seat you choose it is essential to adhere to the instructions of the manufacturer and ensure that you use the seat in the back of your vehicle. You can also put a tightly rolled blanket or washcloth between the crotch straps and your child to ensure that the harness is tight. Make sure that the lower anchors of your car seat are securely installed, and that they are connected to the lower attachment points on the lower anchor bars.

While there is much debate about how long a baby should be rear-facing, research has shown that babies up to 12 months old are less likely to be injured in car accidents when they are facing the back of the car. Babies in rear-facing car seats also have less impact when they crash into the front of the car, as opposed to the rear of the car seat, which can result in serious injuries.

Forward-facing

Many parents have spent a lot of time into their baby car seat. It was one of the most important items on the baby registry and was the method you used to get your baby home from the hospital. Now that your child is older though, you might be considering turning the car seat around to forward-facing. It's important to keep it in mind that your child isn't yet ready until they reach the weight and height limits set by the manufacturer of their car seat.

As long as your baby weighs at least 20 pounds and one year old, they should be rear-facing. This is because children younger than a year don't have strong enough neck muscles to withstand the whiplash that results from being forced forward in an accident. They also have a higher risk of spinal injuries in head-on collisions.

You can purchase a convertible car seat or an all-in one seat that lets you keep the child rear-facing up until the child is at the weight and height limits of the seat. These seats are usually bucket-style infant car seats that attach to a base for installation in your vehicle. The base can be removed and connected to strollers as a system for travel. They typically have lower weight and height restrictions than a standard car seat.

If you prefer, you can purchase a booster seat. These seats come with a harness and can be transformed into a booster that allows your child to wear a seat belt when they are ready. The primary benefit of this kind of car seat is that it can remain in your vehicle all through the early years of life making it easy to move your child from one place to another.

No matter which car seat you pick make sure you read the instructions and follow the installation instructions. Contact a certified car safety technician to ensure your child's car seat is installed and is used in a safe manner. The misuse of car seats is common, and even well-meaning parents could cause harm to their children if they aren't aware of what they're doing. The best way to avoid this is to read the instructions for car seats and following the guidelines of a CPST.

Convertible

Many parents choose convertible infant car seat since they grow with their baby and enable them to travel safely through infancy and toddlerhood. These seats are cheaper than infant ones and have a an extended life. It is essential to select one that fits your car and is easy to install. Also, make sure that you buckle up your baby correctly every time.

Snug straps prevent the head from slipping into a dangerous chin-to chest position that could result in strangulation or even asphyxiation. Many infant car seats come with straps that are loose or not buckled and pose a major safety risk. Unbuckled straps can lead to a dangling neck that has been the cause of many accidents. The crotch buckle could pose a risk when it isn't tight enough to pass the pinch test. This test determines if the crotch strap is tight enough to prevent the legs of a newborn baby from slouching in the seat, causing them to get cut or trapped.

Some convertible car seats for newborns include torso heights that are adjustable, which allows you to adjust the height limit according your child's growth. The minimum torso height must be equal to the height of your infant's shoulders or one inch lower. Some models come with an infant insert to aid in raising your child up to the proper height.

The ideal convertible car seat for babies must be padded and 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 short, tightly-rolled towel or blanket for emergencies. It should also come with an tether strap that is attached to your vehicle's anchor points that can help reduce the risk of collision injuries by cutting down the impact force on your baby. It should also include the travel set that is a stroller and car seat that can be used to move your child from the car to the stroller.

Safety features

When selecting the right car seats for their newborns, parents have many factors to consider. However, car seats are a crucial purchase for families who are just starting out because using them can reduce the risk of fatal motor vehicle collision injuries by 70 percent. The choice between an infant car seat and a convertible seat comes down to several key elements that include safety features, compatibility with your vehicle, and ease of use.

Car seats for infants are created with the delicate physiology and baby's physiology in mind. They typically come with a base that stays in the car and an infant carrier that snaps into place, making it easy to transfer your baby from the car to stroller and back again without causing any disturbance to them. They also have built-in harnesses and a crotch strap to keep your baby secure.

Some infant cars come with side impact protection, which distributes crash force away from the newborn's head and neck. Foam, metal, and plastic absorb energy and shield the baby's face from direct contact with a vehicle's frame or any other object in a collision. Some include a specially designed pod on the door's side that extends to protect the baby's head.

Another safety feature that is becoming more prevalent in infant car seats is a chest clip that keeps the harness straps straight across your newborn's chest. The straps aren't strained or twisting around shoulders which can expose your child to the risk of injury. If  forward facing infant car seat  opt for a seat that has this feature, make sure that the chest clip is set at the armpit height. Also, you should avoid dressing your child in bulky clothing that might interfere with the harness's fit.

Whatever kind of car seat you select make sure it's installed in your vehicle according to the instructions provided by the manufacturer. Look for the lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system that consists of connectors that clip into the lower anchor points of a car and an tether strap that is attached to the top of the seat and connects to an anchor in your vehicle. If your vehicle doesn't have LATCH, you can use a seat belt to secure the car seat.