Newborn Car Seat: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly Choosing Between an Infant and a Convertible Newborn Car Seat

A newborn car seat or infant safety seat or baby car seat, is a way to protect babies from injury and death from car accidents. They are fitted with a harness that distributes restraining forces over the child's body and head instead of the neck and spinal cord.

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

Rear-facing

Rear-facing newborn car seats offer unmatched protection for infants in crashes. They are designed to support and cradle children, ensuring their spine, neck and head. They also help to reduce injuries by keeping the impact of an accident from striking your child. This is because your child's body is not hitting the car seat or the front seat, but instead a soft, cushioned surface inside their car seat.

Parents should ensure that their child is rear-facing until they reach maximum height or weight limit of their car seat, as per the AAP and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The majority of children will outgrow their infant car seat around the age of 1 at which point they can move to a convertible car seat that is able to face forward. Many parents will put their child in the rear-facing seat until they turn two.

There are two kinds of rear-facing car seats convertible car seats. Both are equally secure and safe, but they each offer different features. For instance, infant-only seats are smaller, lighter, and come with an easy release base that can be easily detached from the car, and then reattached to the base of a stroller. Convertible car seats are larger and heavier. They also don't include a stroller base.

Whatever seat you choose, it is important to adhere to the manufacturer's guidelines and ensure that you use the seat in the back seat of your vehicle. You can also put a blanket that is tightly rolled or washcloth between the crotch harness and your child to ensure that the harness is tight. Ensure that the lower anchors of your car seat are properly installed and are connected to the lower anchor points on the lower anchor bars.

Research suggests that babies who sit in the rear of the car are less likely to be injured in a car crash. Babies in rear-facing car seats also experience less impact when they strike the front of the car, as opposed to the back of the car seat which can result in serious injuries.

Forward-facing

The majority of parents have given plenty of attention to their baby's car seat. It was a key item on your baby registry and the way you brought your child home from the hospital. Now that your child is older though, you might be thinking about changing the car seat facing forward. But, it's important to remember that children aren't ready until they reach the height and weight limits set by the manufacturer of their car seat.

Rear-facing is recommended until your baby weighs at minimum 20 pounds and has reached the age of one year. Children under one year old do not have the neck muscles needed to withstand whiplash when hit in a crash. Moreover they are at a higher chance of suffering spinal injuries from head-on accidents.

You can purchase a convertible car seat or an all-in one seat that will allow you to keep your child facing forward until the child is at the weight and height limits of the seat. These seats are typically bucket-style infant car seats that connect to a base that can be installed in your vehicle. The base can then be removed and attached to strollers to form a travel system. They tend to have lower weight and height restrictions than a standard car seat.

You can also purchase a booster seat. These are typically fitted with a harness for younger kids and convert to a belt-positioning seat when your child is ready for it. The main advantage of this type of car seat is that it will remain in your vehicle throughout the child's life which makes it simple to move your child from one place to another.

Whatever car seat you pick be sure to read the instruction manual and follow the installation instructions. It's recommended to speak with a certified car safety technician to ensure that the child's car seat is properly installed and used in a safe manner. It is typical for parents to misuse car seats, and even well-intentioned parents can cause injury to their children. 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 to purchase convertible infant car seats because they can expand with your child, allowing them to travel in a safe manner from infanthood to toddlerhood. These seats are cheaper than infant ones and have a a longer lifespan. However, it is important to select a seat that is simple to install and fits your vehicle. Be sure to ensure your child's safety by securing them in a proper manner each time.

Snug straps keep the head from shifting into the dangerous chest-to-chin position that could lead to strangulation or even asphyxiation. Many infant car seats come with straps that are not buckled or loose. This is a major safety concern. Straps that aren't buckled can cause a dangling neck which is the cause of many accidents. If the crotch strap isn't enough tight to pass the pinch test, it could pose a danger. This test determines whether the crotch buckle is tight enough to prevent a baby's legs from sliding down the seat, result in them being trapped or cut.

Some convertible newborn car seats come with an adjustable torso height that lets you alter the height limit based on your child's growth. The minimum torso height should be at least the height of the shoulders of your infant or one inch lower. Some models come with an infant insert to help raise your child to the proper height for the seat.


The ideal convertible car seat for babies should be comfortable, with soft padding and a slim base so that you can put it in your vehicle. It should also have a snug, tight harness that can pass the pinch test, and a small, tightly rolled towel or blanket in case in the event of an accident. infant car seat travel should also have a tether strap that attaches to your vehicle's anchor points that can help reduce the risk of collision injuries by decreasing the force of impact on your infant. It should also include a travel set, which is a stroller and car seat that can be used to transfer your infant from the vehicle to the stroller.

Safety features

Parents must consider when they're choosing the best car seat for their babies. Car seats are an important purchase for families with new children, as their correct use can reduce the likelihood that a child will suffer a fatal motor vehicle accident injury by 71 per cent. The decision between a baby car seat and a convertible seat is based on some key factors, including safety features, compatibility with your vehicle and the ease of use.

Car seats for infants are designed with a newborn's fragile physiology in mind. They usually come with a base that stays in the car and an infant carrier that snaps into place, making it easy to move your baby from car to stroller, and then back without causing any disturbance to them. They come with a crotch as well as a harness built in to keep your child safe.

Some infant cars are equipped with side-impact protection that distributes the crash force away from the baby's neck and head. Plastic, metal and foam absorb energy and protect the baby's face from direct contact with a vehicle frame or any other object involved in a collision. Some come with a special pod that extends from the door to shield the child's head.

A chest clip is a different safety feature that is becoming more prevalent on newborn car seats. It keeps the straps of the harness flat against the chest of your baby. This prevents the straps pinching or twisting around the shoulders which can expose your child to the risk of injury. If you opt for a seat that has this feature, ensure that the chest clip is at armpit height. It is also important to be sure to avoid dressing your baby in bulky clothes which could hinder the fit of the harness.

Whatever kind of car seat you pick, check that it's installed in your vehicle as per the manufacturer's instructions. Look for the lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system that consists of an attachment that clips onto a car's lower anchor points and an tether strap that is attached to the top of the seat. It then connects to an anchor inside your vehicle. If your car doesn't have LATCH, you may use a seat belt to secure the car seat.