A baby Car seat is the most ideal approach to ensure child safety which can reduce the danger of conceivably deadly damage while traveling. But choosing the right position is the most important step for a safe journey as the baby is the most vulnerable in a crash. So when choosing a car seat, keep it into the top priority to consider the right position for your baby inside the car.
Type of Position
There are three types of position that baby seat can carry inside a car
- Rear Facing
- Forward Facing
- Convertible
Rear Facing Car Seat
Rear Facing baby seats have an energy absorbing interior which provides greater protection for the baby’s head, neck and spine in a crash. For adults, seat belts distribute enough force to the strongest parts of the body where Infants don’t have many body parts which might strong sufficient to withstand crash forces.
There are several types of rearward facing child seats depending on child’s weight and height. For newborn babies and premature or low birth weight babies, Group 0 seats are more suitable to lie flat. But most of the people are prefer Group 0+ seats as it lasts a bit longer. Group 0+ and 1 for keeping the child rearward facing until they are 18 kg in weight.
How To Install a Rearward – Facing Car Seat
In a sudden stop or crash, a rearward facing car seat can be proven as an angel to support your child’s head and neck.To install the car seat, you should follow the steps:
Step 1: Check the fitness of the harness and adjust it’s straps to make sure they are at or just below your child’s shoulders.
Step 2: It should be installed in the back seat of the car and attach it to the car buy using either a seat belt or lower attachment. Just don’t use both at the same time.
Step 3: If you are using a seat belt, pull it all the way out and test to make sure it’s locked.
Step 4: Next steps, press down with your hand to put weight in the car seat or the base and tighten the seat bow or lower attachments.
Step 5: Then check the angle indicator. This will ensure, your child’s head is properly reclined.
Step 6: Finally take the inch test if your car seat doesn’t move more than an inch side to side or front to back when pulled at the belt path. Now you are good to go.
Benefits of the rear-facing baby car seat
- The infant’s head which is massive and heavy to support a delicate neck is likely higher supported with a rear – facing seat.
- Very lightweight and easy to carry
- Apart from the greatest safety advantage, it is transportable and easier to snap in and out of their base
What Should be Aware of Rear-facing Baby Car Seat
- The rear-facing seats should not install in the front seat with an active passenger airbag
- Install the seat using either the latch system or the seat belt but never both.
- Make sure to keep this rear-facing seat at the proper angle.
- The seat should not move more than an inch
- The harnesses should be at or below the child’s shoulders while placing them in the seat
Front – Facing Car Seat
When your child is outgrown for rear-facing car seat according to weight and height limit, only then you can switch it to forward facing car seat with a harness for as long as possible. Forward-facing car seats are designed to restrain a child in a collision, which when they are correctly fitted and used – they do very well. Ideally, you can not spin to forward facing until your child is at least 18 kg.
How To Install a Front- Facing Car Seat
It is extremely important to install your baby car seat correctly. To do it correctly, you should follow the steps:
Step 1: First read all the guidelines of the car seat manual properly
Step 2: Put the seat inside the car with the back up against your car seat backrest and base and stabilizer bar folded back within the child seat.
Step 3: Take out the long top-tether strap from the top of the child seat and pull out the strap to its maximum length.
Step 4: Lift the headrest up and thread the tether strap over the backrest, ensuring it takes the most direct path.
Step 5: Keep pulling the loose end of the top-tether strap to make sure that the strap is tight.
Benefits of baby car seat front facing
- Front facing car seat is easy to convert to be backless booster
- Its belt path helps the child to get a tight and secure fit.
- Its tether strap reduces forward movement of child’s head in a collision
What Should be Aware of the Front Facing Baby Car Seat?
- Since all the cars have airbag in the front dash, the front-facing car seat should be installed in the back seat so that the baby won’t get hurt due the airbag during a sudden stop
- You should make sure that the seat is at the right adjustment position during installation
- Always attach the seat with both the universal anchorage system and the car seat belt and also with the top tether strap
Convertible Baby Car Seat
Convertible is a kind of baby car seat that you can utilize raise confronting when your infant is a baby and front aligned as your tyke develops into a little child. Most seats achieve that by having two diverse belt-directing ways for the vehicle’s safety belt or LATCH belt.
Benefits of Convertible Baby car seat
- Convertible baby car seats give guardians the upside of both back and forward-looking positions.
- It is useful for infants and will keep your kid in a back confronting position for somewhere around one year.
- These are flexible and can be settled as back confronting or forward-looking as indicated by the age of the child or your inclination.
Cons
- A convertible seat can stay settled in the car and you can’t take it out and convey it along in the event that you need to move around.
- It very well may be settled in an upstanding position. On the off chance that you need your infant to rests easily and nod off, you will most likely be unable to do as such. Child may not feel good to rest
Baby car seat Choosing guide by AGE
While carrying your lovely baby with you in your car, you must think about keeping him or her safe in riding. Car seats designed for babies can confirm the safety as well as comfort to your baby. There are various types of car baby seats available according to age and weight level of the baby. Some of them are rear-facing, some are front-facing and some are convertible to both.
Now, Let’s move into the business. An infant needs a baby seat which should be front-facing as that will lessen the possibility of injury or death in a deadly crash or accident. Before buying a seat for your infant you must remember the age and weight of your infant and buy one which conforms to your infant. You also need to ensure that those are small and contain handles. While using, you must ensure that you are using the seat for travel purpose only, not for feeding, sleeping or anything else outside your car.
If your baby reaches 6 months or 1 year, you need to stick to rear-facing seats as those are yet the best options. You can use rear-facing seats until your baby reaches 40 pounds. By the way, you are supposed to keep in mind that your children must be placed in the back of a car to avoid injuries as that is the safer part. There should be a gap of one inch between the top of your head and the top of the car seat. You need to ensure that the car seat is properly installed and your baby is safely positioned.
For a baby of 2 years, you may now choose either rear-facing and front-facing car seats. But, most of the manufacturers and safety authorities recommend using rear-facing or one with convertible features.If the children is placed in the front-facing seat, it is very important to remember that a harness is used as long as possible.
At the age of 3, your baby should feel comfort in any kinds of car seats available to him. At this level, you are free to choose one according to the age, weight and comfort of your baby. But, you always have to remain vigilant to your baby that he is never alone in the car. You should ensure that he can easily move without suffocation.
So, these are common things that you must prioritize while using a baby car seat. Hope it helps you to choose the right seat for your baby.
How Should You Maintain Your Baby Car Seat and Cleaning it Properly?
Well, we all know that kids are messy and as usual things around them pay the price of it. One of those things is car seats. From vomit to spilling liquids, from poop to mashing them by your little ones, it can really be so much hard work to clean things up. Baby car seats always get messy by your little superheroes and it’s a day to day thing. It is really a good idea to clean your baby car seats as much as possible. If your child spits a lot then there should be a lot of stains so it’s very important to clean your baby car seats quite frequently. It is also a good idea that, whenever you clean your whole car try to clean the car seats thoroughly. You should always clean baby car seats twice a week and weekend could be one of those days. For your baby’s good health this is what you really need to do.
To clean your baby car seats follow these steps:
- Always have a backup seat. Whenever you want to clean baby seat put the other one on and then try cleaningthe first one. That way if you need to use for an emergency you could use other cleaned one.
- While cleaning, the first thing you should do is put it on a blanket and take off all the toys attached to it. Get your vacuum cleaner and vacuum up all the dust, food and all the big particles. Clean everywhere from little crack to every little hole in the seat. Shake it, brush the surface of it.
- Remove the whole seat cover and wash it with hands. All the stains should go away. But never use the washing machine to do it. It’s not good.
- Use a small portion of damp cloth to wipe down the entire plastic portion of the car seat. And then rinse if off.
- Always choose a good time to do this because it will take time. So make sure you have enough time and patience.
- Finally clean straps and buckles. Never use a washing machine. Try to wipe down harness straps gently with water.
Baby seats are very important to always keep clean because it is related to baby health directly. So if anyhow it gets stains which are hard to get rid of, it’s always a good idea to replace it with a new one. Also, you should never put your baby on car seats for more than 2 hours. Now that you know everything about your baby car seats, let’s always make it this way.
