All About Car Seats

Having a child and don’t know too much about which Car Seats you need or which ones you need to buy? Just as we don’t go anywhere without putting our Seat Belt on, this is the same way that we should feel about the Car Seats that we purchase for our kids.

“So, Why Do I Need A Car Seat Again?”
When you get into an accident and your car comes in contact with another object, it’s immediately stopped by the impact. Anything in the car that’s not held down by something like a Seat Belt or something else will keep moving - this includes the people that aren’t strapped down. All this happens because of a little something called inertia.

Since a Seat Belt is designed for adults, there are three different Car Seats that you can choose from:

1. The rear - facing seats for infants and convertible seats
2. The seats that face forward
3. The booster seats and booster seats that are backless

Rear - Facing Seats
These are the Seats that are for babies up to 22 pounds and under the age of one year old. You can put these in the front if you have no backseat, but in all other cases, they need to be placed in the back. When the seats are rear - facing, it gives more protection for the babies head, neck, & spine; these are the most sensitive part of their body.

What’s cool is that some of the infant seats will come with extra safety features for the babies. These features are made to increase safety and to make the whole process easier.

Seats That Face Forward
For kids that are older than a year and weigh more than 20 pounds, they can start using these seats. You may not like it because it means that your baby is growing up so fast, but you’ll get over it sooner or later.

The forward facing seats are best used when you put them in the back seat where the “LATCH” system is used. This is the system that is used to safely secure the seat and integral restraints that are on the car seat to keep the kid safe. Even though you can install it in the front of the car, you should never do this. The main reason why is because of the air bag - you don’t want it hitting the baby by any means.

Booster Seats
When your child reaches the age between 4 & 6, this is when they’re going to start needing a Booster Seat. When it comes to these seats, the seat belt that’s in the backseat is designed to fit across the pelvis and ribcage of the kid. The booster seat is designed to work by raising the kid so that the seat belt that’s used for adults will protect the child the right way.

When the child is in the seat, you want be absolutely sure that the belt is fastened securely being as tight as can be (without choking the child), the belt will go over the pelvic region and not the stomach, and that the diagonal strap part rests over the shoulder and not the neck.

I know there’s a bunch of different Seats to choose from for your child, but they’re all designed to keep that little treasure of yours as safe as can be. So next time you say that one of your kids needs a new seat, don’t complain (: