Babies Buckled And On The Go - Which Car Seat Should You Choose?
by Megan Oltman

You're about to head home from the hospital with your new baby. Or you're bringing home your newly adopted baby or child, or going out with your new baby for the first time after a home birth. Life as you know it has changed. Riding in your car is going to be very different for the next ten years as well. Like my friend Carol, who traded in her new sports car for a Sport Utility Vehicle when she discovered she was pregnant, your transportation needs have changed. Traveling with infants and children is very different from traveling on your own.

You can't make that first trip without a car safety seat for your baby. All fifty states have laws requiring car safety seats. But even if you could go out without your baby buckled, you wouldn't want to. More than 1400 children die each year in motor vehicle accidents in the United States, and 280,000 are injured. It is the use of car safety seats and seat belts that keeps these numbers from being even higher.

My son Adam (4 years old and 42 pounds) is still in the recommended age and weight range for a belt- positioning booster seat. Adam uses a seat-belt, but no matter how many times we tell him not to, he routinely puts the shoulder belt behind him, and sits on his feet so he can see out of the car. I had told him that we would get him a special big kids' booster. A day later I was with him in the car when another driver cut me off suddenly and I had to slam on the brakes. Adam, who was using the seat-belt in his usual fashion, went flying forward and hit his head on the handle on the back of the passenger seat. Luckily we had only been going about ten miles an hour, and Adam had nothing worse than a big bump on the forehead, but he said, "Mommy, let's go get me one of those big boy booster seats right now!" And so we did.

We were lucky to have been moving very slowly. At even thirty miles an hour, the impact would have been significant. Generally, when it comes to car seat safety, there are no second chances.

There are many options available, for your baby and older child. Here's the information you need to choose your car safety seat, and keep your buckled and safe.

Types of Car Safety Seats:
(1) You will need a rear-facing infant seat until your child is both over one year and over twenty pounds.
(2) After that, you will need a forward facing (toddler) car seat until your child is both over four years and over forty pounds.
(3) The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a belt-positioning booster seat for children between forty and sixty to eighty pounds, though most states do not require them. These seats give your child a boost so that a regular adult lap and shoulder type seat belt will fit them properly, substantially reducing the risk of chest and neck injuries. (Adam loves his new big-boy booster, and won't let me start the car until he's buckled!)

Most economical will be a purchase of several types of combination seats. You can get an infant/toddler convertible followed by a booster, or an infant car seat/baby carrier followed by a toddler/booster convertible.

For infants -
You can select from three basic types.
(1) A basic infant seat is a tublike seat that holds the infant in a semi-reclining position and straps into the car in a rear-facing position. This is the least bulky and fits a newborn most snugly, but must be replaced after your baby reaches one year and twenty pounds.
(2) Also available on the market are combination infant car seat/baby carriers, with a base that stays belted in the car and a carrier with a handle. The carrier snaps into the base in the car; you can unsnap it to take your with you into the house, store or office, where it doubles as a comfy infant seat. These are much easier to handle than the basic tublike seat, and make it possible to move your sleeping infant without waking them. Or, there are car seat/stroller combinations, which work the same way but also provide a stroller frame you can snap the carrier into. These came out after my babies were bigger, but they look to me like the most convenient possibility.
(3) You can opt for a convertible infant/toddler seat, which faces the rear and reclines for babies under twenty pounds, and turns around and sits up for toddlers twenty to forty pounds. These are heavier, bulkier and sometimes more expensive than infant-only seats, but save you from having to buy a second car seat when your child reaches the infant seat's age and weight limit. If you choose this option, buy a soft headrest for your infant, which you can place inside the larger convertible car seat to make a snugger fit.

For toddlers -
(1) A convertible infant/toddler seat will face front and hold your toddler safely from twenty to forty pounds.
(2) There are also toddler car seats that do not fit infants but will convert to booster seats for children over forty pounds.

For bigger kids on the go -
You aren't required to have a car seat. But most kids four to six, and some six to eight, are too small for an adult-sized lap and shoulder type seat belt to fit them properly. Booster seats are either chair type seats that the seat belt buckles around, or small boosters without a back that merely lift the child up into proper position for the seat belt. You can:
(1) Get a toddler car seat that converts to a booster, or
(2) Get a belt positioning booster seat.

Built in seats - a limited number of car models have this option.

Travel vests - these can be used with lap-only type seat belts for children over twenty pounds, but are not the best safety choice.

What's new:
In 1999 the NHTSA announced new rules requiring tether straps at the top of car safety seats, hooks or straps at the base of the seat, and anchors in the back seats of new vehicles. These fasteners improve your ability to securely attach your car safety seat to your vehicle's seat, keeping the car safety seat from sliding around, and improving your child's safety. Phasing in of the new fasteners began this fall, and will continue for three years.

Harness options:
More choices! Convertible seats have three types of harness; all of them buckle in place at the crotch.
(1) 5-point harness - five straps, two at the shoulders, two at the hips, and one at the crotch.
(2) T-shield - a padded triangular or t-shaped shield attached to shoulder straps.
(3) Overhead shield - a padded tray-like shield that swings down in front of the child, attached to shoulder straps.
5-point harnesses provide a more secure fit for infants. T-shields are the quickest, and overhead shields quicker than five-point harnesses to get in and out of. Both types of shield may provide some additional impact protection. Overhead shields provide a limited playing surface but also take up lap-room in front of the child.

Some car seat tips:
- The back seat is the safest place for your child. If your car has a passenger side airbag, never put an infant in a rear-facing seat in front of an airbag. Even in a front facing seat, an airbag designed to save the life of an adult can seriously injure or kill a child.
- Beware of tending to your baby from the front seat while driving. Pull over if you need to. Safety seat notwithstanding, your child will be safer if you don't have an accident!
- Consider buying either a seat that has a removable cover, or a cloth cover you place in the seat. That way you can reduce the inevitable build-up of juice, milk or formula stains, cheerios and other types of crumbs.
- Cover metal and plastic car seat parts with a cloth when leaving the car in the hot sun. These parts can easily burn your child.
- Be sure to check manufacturers' specifications for weight. Some car seats hold slightly larger children (for instance, up to twenty-two pounds in an infant seat), to make your transitions easier.
- Before flying, check whether your car seat also meets FAA regulations.

Coming next month on : Car seat safety checkups.

Best picks:
1. Britax Roundabout: Infant/Toddler Convertible. Has an innovative lock-off clamp. Parents report the seat "just won't budge."
2. Century 1000 STE: Infant/Toddler Convertible. With the new NHTSA tether strap. All new Century car seats have an indicator to let parents know if they have positioned the seat correctly.
3. Cosco Alpha Omega: Infant/Toddler/Big Kid Convertible. 3 car seats in one! Converts from rear-facing infant seat, to forward-facing toddler seat, to high backed booster.
4. Safeline Sit 'n Stroll: Infant/Toddler Convertible. Snaps onto a stroller frame for both infants and toddlers, FAA certified for use in aircrafts, can also be used as a booster seat in a dining chair.

About the Author - Megan Oltman is a writer of articles, web-site content, adult and children's stories, and poetry, a teacher of drama and computer skills to pre-schoolers, and the mother of two big , ages 5 and 9. She lives in rural New Jersey, with a house and a lovely weed choked garden, but she and her seem to spend most of their time in the car.

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