Car Seats for Infants

Child safety seats are specially designed for the safety of children, while, traveling in a car. Even though, this car accessory was invented in the 1930s, it was used for other purposes, rather than the safety of children. It was only during the 1960s, that car seats for infants were invented in England, with the intention of using them for safety. Now, it is mandatory to use such child safety seats, as per the age, weight and height of the child. These standards are fixed by the authorities and the parents must be careful to purchase the right one for their child, as per government standards. Studies show that with the introduction of these seats, the rate of death of infants and small kids has come down. As far as the stray incidents are concerned, it has been found that either child safety seats are not used or are used improperly.

Car Seats for Infants and Toddlers

It is always better to buy a suitable child safety seat and install it in your car, before taking the newborn from the hospital to your home. You cannot just buy any car seat of your choice, but, it must fit the standards set by the authorities. These standards are designed for the safety of your child only. The following are some details regarding the government standards, as far as car seats for babies are concerned.

Rear-facing Car Seats for Infants
In case of infants, you need a rear-facing car seat. Most of these car seats consist of a base, a stroller and an infant carrier. The base is installed on the car seat and the carrier can be attached to the base. Once you reach the destination, the carrier can be detached from the base or can be transferred to the stroller. It is one of the convenient types of car seats for infants' safety. These seats are meant for those infants, who are below 20 to 22 pounds in weight. The car seat should be changed to the next level, if the top of the baby's head is just one inch from the top of the car seat. These car seats have to be attached to the back seats only. Front seats are not usually recommended for this purpose, especially, in those cars that are fitted with airbags. If the air bags get activated, the baby in the rear-facing car seat (if, attached to the front seat) may suffer head or neck injuries. If you have a premature baby or a baby with low weight, use car seats under 5 pounds or 7 pounds.

Convertible and Combination Car Seats
Another popular type of car seat for infants is the convertible one. This is more economical, as you can use it as a rear-facing one, till the baby attains 20 pounds of weight and after that, it can be converted to a front-facing one, which is meant for car seats for toddlers. So, convertible car seats can be converted and used as car seats for infants over 20 pounds. Such forward-facing seats can be used till the child gains a weight of 40 to 65 pounds (around four years of age). Once the baby outgrows forward facing car seats, you have to use booster car seats. Convertible ones have three different harnesses or a five harness system.

Another type of baby safety seat is the combination car seat, which has five harness system. This is one of the different types of car seats for toddlers, which can be converted to booster seats, as the kids outgrow them. The only difference between convertible and combination car seats is that convertible can be used for infants and then for toddlers, but, combination type can be used by toddlers and older kids only. In short, infants cannot use combination type and kids with a body weight above 40 to 65 pounds cannot use the convertible type.

Now, you have a basic idea about the car seats for infants and toddlers. Above that age group, booster seats should be used till the age of fourteen. The lap and shoulder harness of the vehicle is used to secure the child, in a booster seat. Before buying the car seat for your infant, go through the different car seats for infants reviews and get a basic idea about the different brands. Even consumer reports may beneficial, in this respect. So, buy one, which is best suited to the age, height and weight of the baby. Apart from buying the best, you must take care to install and use it properly.