Buying the Best Baby Car Seat for a Safe Drive with Your Little One

If you are becoming parents for the first time and have no idea about which infant car seat is the best one, you should remember that the best baby car seats are the one that fits your baby, your car and one that fits into your budget as well. Here is more information on how to choose a car seat for baby that suits you:
 

The Car Seat must fit the Baby  

Car seat sizes can be confusing as many of them conform to European standard requirements. When choosing a car seat, it is essential to keep your baby’s age, height and weight in mind. Your baby’s comfort level should be kept in mind – the child needs to be comfortable in his car seat.

The baby car seat must fit the vehicle
This is another point you should keep in mind while hunting for a car seat. There are several types of vehicles on the market now and not all car seats will fit every vehicle. Find out if you can take the car seat to your car to check whether it fits properly. If the car seat does not fit properly or does not fasten properly, do not buy it. The safety of your baby will be compromised if the seat does not fit properly. Keep in mind that the seat should be held tightly by the seat belt. There should be very little movement.

Tanmaya Karmarkar, a mother of two suggests buying a car seat which can be fixed into the seat belt. Such seats, she feels are more practical from the Indian perspective as they can be easily removed when not required. Fixed car seats can cut down on the amount of space in the car.

Weight limits
Ensure that you check the weight limit on any car seat that you are buying. Car seats can generally accommodate a baby up to 10 kilograms; however, there may be seats that have a higher weigh limit. It is advisable to purchase seats with a higher weight limit as you can use them for longer periods of time.
 

Safety Features
This is the most important point to keep in mind while purchasing a car seat. After all the main reason why you are buying one in the first place is that you want to keep your baby safe while you are driving. Pay close attention to the way the harness is adjusted on the car seat. This harness will have to be adjusted periodically as the baby goes through growth spurts. Buy a well padded seat with plenty of neck and back support. Ensure that your baby can move her arms freely and be able to look around as well.

When buying a car seat for infants, it is best to buy ones that face backwards. This is essential as infants cannot support their necks and therefore need neck support. Put your child in a rear facing seat if she weighs up to 13 kilograms. Look for accessories like little pillows in the car seat which make sure that the infants head does not wobble too much while she/he is traveling.

Shuchita Singh Basu, another mother, recommends buying a car seat which has a long enough seat to keep the child strapped in. She feels this is important as it prevents the child from being thrown in case the brakes are applied suddenly. Another aspect she feels that should be looked into while buying a car seat is whether the car seat can also double up as a baby carrier. Hence the car seat can be taken out and used to carry the baby at times as well. Some infant car seats can also be used as a rocking chair in the house.

Convertible baby car seats are that can face either forwards or backwards. They can be used by both infants and older children. If you decided to buy an infant car seat, you will have to switch to a convertible car seat once your child outgrows the infant car seat.

Keep the above in mind and you are sure to pick up a seat that you will be able to put to good use in the years to come.