car seat for baby?

Question

when getting a car seat for my newborn, what do i look for and what type do i need.

Answer 1

The recent Consumer Reports car seat study has been recalled. Don't use their ratings to make a decision.

There are two types of seats: Infant seats, which can only go rearfacing, and convertible seats, which can go rear- or front- facing. While rear-facing, the tops of the harness must be BELOW the baby's shoulders. For this reason, most convertible seats don't properly fit a newborn, so it is recommended to get an infant seat to start out with.

The baby must stay rear-facing until 20 lbs AND 12 months of age. If your child turns one and only weighs 17 lbs, sahe must stay rear-facing. If she reaches 20 lbs before she turns one, she must still stay rear-facing. For that reason, I would reccomend buying an infant seat that has a higher weight limit, such as the Graco Safe Seat.

Once your child outgrows the infant seat, you can replace it with a convertible seat and keep the baby rear-facing until she reaches the weight limit for the seat rear-facing. For many seats that limit is 30 lbs. It is safer for a child to rearface as long as posible. The seat back protects the spinal column, which doesn't really solidify until a child is about 6 years old! It's okay if the child's legs are scrunched up, to. There have been no documented cases of a child breaking a leg because they were rear-facing in a collision, but even if it were a risk, a broken leg is much better than paralysis!

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx This page has crash-test footage for rear-facing and front-facing scenarios. you'll have to scroll down a little to get to it.

Answer 2

Some good advice so far. An infant seat is usually best to start with, even though convertible seats say they are good from 5 pounds. Most do not fit newborns well from birth.

Consumer Reports is not the best place to go for carseat advice. Every certified Child Passenger Safety Technician I know takes CR with a grain of salt.

The latest CR findings on infant seats has been recalled due to flaws in the testing methods.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16691288/

The fact is, 97% of all crashes occur at speeds of about 30 mph or less. The more severe crashes at high speeds, where no one slows down before impact, rarely happens, and if they do, a carseat will do little to protect anyway. Those types of severe crashes will almost certainly do horrific damage no matter what.

All seats sold in the US pass the same federal testing. Some are just easier to use than others, some have more features than others (like bike helmet foam).

Just make sure to get one with a five point harness, not a three point harness, and one with a front harness adjuster. Those two things will keep your baby safer and make the seat easier to use properly.

Answer 3

You probably want to get an infant bucket seat. All of the seats on the market have to meet the same safety standards, but there are some that are "better" - easier to use, extra safety features, etc. The best seat is the one that fits your budget, your car, & your child, that you will use correctly every time!

Any seat you buy you'll want to have a 5 point harness (straps at each shoulder, 1 between the legs, and 1 at each hip), and a front pull adjuster (this is a pull strap between the legs that tightens and loosens the harness).

I like the Graco Snugride... some of the models have the 5 point and the front adjuster and can be purchased for $80 or so. You can also find models that have EPS/EPP foam (like bicycle helmet foam) in the head area for added protection.

Make sure you read your manual before installing, and have your seat checked out by a certified car seat technician - you can find one at safekids.org.

Answer 4

Congratulations on your pending arrival!

The best fit for a newborn is an infant seat. Important features to look for are a 5 point harness, front harness adjuster (so you can tighten the straps EVERY time) and fit for your vehicle. Not all seats will fit properly in all vehicles - make sure that you either test the seat out prior to purchase or purchase from a store that has a good return policy in case it doesn't fit. Once you have purchased and installed the seat in your vehicle, take it to a certified car seat tech and have the installation checked.

I am planning on getting a new infant seat for our next baby and will probably get a Graco Safeseat 1 or a Graco Snugride.

Answer 5

Travel systems are wonderful and really convenient. However, the little ones usually out grow the infant carrier car seat at 4-6 months of age due to length (most only are safe for a baby up to 26 inches in length.) Then they have to go into this big monstrosity known as a convertible car sear ( it can face forward and back ward and is good until they are three.) We have the evenflo Triumph DXL for the convertable seat and I would highly recommend it over the pricier britax, same safety ratings. So I would looking back have still gone with the travel system ( stroller and infant carrier/car seat) but would have also purchased the convertable car seat and installed it is the second car that the baby almost never ended up riding in instead of a second base for the travel system. Good Luck, and check out consumer ratings for safety rating. And your local fire department will be happy to check and see that the car seat properly installed, I think that something like 40% aren't Scary.

Answer 6

The best seat for your child is the one that fits your child, and you will use correct each and every trip.

While there are some convertible seats that fit newborns, they are the exception rather than the rule. Generally speaking, infants fit better in infant carriers (also called "baby buckets.")

What to look for in an infant seat:
- a 5 point harness
- low bottom harness slots
- multiple sets of harness slots
- front harness adjuster

Consumer Reports is NOT a good source of information regarding ease of use or the safety of seats because they are not child protection experts.

Some seats are notoriously difficult to use properly. Your best bet to find a seat that will work for you is to post your vehicle information at http://www.car-seat.org and ask the certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians what fits best in your car.

Answer 7

For the record, the original consumer reports article has been retracted, withdrawn, because the testing was flawed and inaccurate.

Like others have said, the best seat for your new born is likely to be an infant seat, because convertible seats just aren't made for tiny newborns.

And while there are seats that are more recommended--because of a variety of things, it is true that all the seats must pass the same government safety regulations.

Answer 8

All infant carseats pass government safety recommendations, some just do it with flying colors! Go to the consumer reports website and see what they think, their testing standards are more stringent. After that, get one that you like. Honestly, you won't know what you're missing in another one, because you will have never used it. *word of advice-the front latch goes over the baby's chest, not the belly, many people put it too low and the baby could fly out of the seat in an accident*

Answer 9

Consumer reports has ratings on the best ones. However, just about any newborn car seat properly installed (with baby facing toward the back) will work well. It is suggested that if you get a "hand-me-down", get one only from a reliable source, as garage-sale carseats may have been in an accident which can reduce its reliability as a life-saving device.

Other than that, choose the newborn car seat that suits your lifestyle (such as one that doubles as a carrier, or has a stroller it can attach to) .

Answer 10

Check consumer reports for best rated car seats.
I know this may not be helpful, but I know there is a website that has tested different seats with different makes of cars and gives ratings for how they did in crash tests. Maybe a google search will find it? I think all (or at least Graco does) carseats come with a "use by date" printed on the bottom now. This is pretty new. They recommend not using the seat after that date.