Safest Car Seat
I am having my first baby and wanted to seek your advice on the safest car seat I can buy. Which one do you think is the best available?
This is a tough question to answer because there really isn’t one car seat on the market I can point to and say – this is the safest car seat around with the best ratings!
I have covered this before, but it is worth repeating for those who have missed it; there are no safety ratings placed on car seats in the United States. The US government simply gives each model a passing or failing grade based on specific safety regulations and crash test results.
It is very difficult to get a hold of any true ratings on car seats, and the manufacturers generally don’t release their results either. While other independent sources have conducted their own studies on car seats and released their results, it isn’t always accurate or reliable. Even Consumer Reports did a recant of their most recent car study in 2007, which unfortunately was an embarrassment for a very reliable magazine many of us have come to trust (and I still do, regardless of this mistake).
So in the end you have to do your due diligence before buying a car seat and ensure it has all of the following safety features:
Five point harness – this is easily one of the most important safety features you need to look for and it is specifically designed during an accident to distribute the impact across the child’s body as evenly as possible. It also is much harder for a child to wiggle out of as well.
Side impact protection – since more injuries occur every year from side impacts than both frontal and rear accidents together, this is another very important feature. You will want to look for car seats with the most side impact protection available.
Chest clip – make sure that the chest clips on the harness lock together and are difficult for a child to open, especially when he gets older. The ideal harness will have two chest straps.
Head protection – this is the most vital part of your child and you will want to check that there is well above adequate protection here. Look for new car seats that now have side impact head protection.
These are just a few of the essential things you will want out look for. Don’t be afraid to ask the salesman as many questions as you have, and be sure to jot down what you specifically want to know, before heading out to the store.
Related posts: