Whether it’s a long drive, a vacation on wheels, or a short trip with family, spending time with kids and family is always fun and exciting. However, along with fun, parents’ sole responsibility is to ensure safety for their little ones while your car drives. Baby Car Seat Safety – Top 5 Baby Car Seat Things Every parent should know about.
In most Australian SUVs or cars, car doors are nowadays crafted with armrests, curves, and designer bumps to enhance posture comfort. According to the Transurban Road Safety Centre at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), these bumps stick out and increase the threat of injuries and death to children in case of accidents by as much as 52%.
Therefore, many people think of a baby car seat as an essential accessory for cars. Now you also can choose baby car seats to differ in type from age to age and in design. So, before you plan to buy one, know what to look for in car seats for babies.
Top 5 Baby Car Seat Things Every parent should know
1. Child Seats as per Age
Choosing the right seat for a child is very important for car drives. At the same time, smaller kids need comfy and highly supportive built seats since they need extensive neck and back support and cushioning for the head. Again, toddlers need seats that offer tighter grip and cushioned seating so that they don’t hit some parts of the seat itself and hurt since they are more playful at this age. Similarly, every age has a different requirement since the growth, playfulness, and activity of a kid differs with age. Here is the basic categorization of baby car seats available in the market.
2. 0 to 6 months – Capsule
A baby/infant capsule has a design that offers extensive grip and support for little ones. The built-in harness allows you to position the baby firmly, with the entire capsule rearward facing. Capsules are specially designed for smaller ones aging between 0 to 6 months with added cushioning and support, and these are highly portable. These capsules can be utilized multidimensionally in cars and a carrier to carry your baby around the mall, garden, shop, etc., or you can attach them to a pram to offer your baby better comfort.
3. 6 months to 4 years – Forward-facing car seat
Designed particularly for toddlers aged 6 months to 4 years, forward-facing or front-facing car seats are crafted with an in-built six-point harness. However, this kind of seat has its limitations in harnessing since older kids will not prefer being harnessed. Therefore, these are useful only for 3 or 4 years.
4. 0 up to 8 years – Convertible car seats
Spending on front seats, booster seats, and capsules requires repeated investments and makes the seats used previously useless. Therefore, many prefer convertibles, which can be modulated as per the age requirement.
5. 4 years to 8-10 years – Booster Seat
Just like a forwards facing seat, booster baby car seats are also designed to be front facing. But in terms of design, these have a few differences with front-facing seats like these are slimmer and do not have integrated harness. Instead, these come with adult belts.
There is an additional tether in some seats, while others just might seem like regular seats added to the seat with a belt. However, many manufacturers these days offer better comforting designs for booster seats with reclining high backs, cushioned sides, and armrests for intensive side-impact protection. Besides, this kind of design structure also allows kids to sleep comfortably in cars. This is all about Baby Car Seat Safety – Top 5 Baby Car Seat Things Every parent should know.
Final thoughts
There are different brands selling baby car seats, so if you are planning to buy one, then you must check out the different models and their key features. You should zero down your options only on a quality baby care seat.