Infant Car Seats: Product Guide & Review of Styles, Features, & Safety
If you’re driving with a baby, you need one! Choosing the right car seat is one of the most important purchases to consider when shopping for baby... both for safety and comfort.
Infant-Only • Law requires all infants to ride rear-facing until they are 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. These seats are designed for this age range and must be replaced with a larger, forward-facing model as your child grows.
Convertible • This type of seat converts from rear-facing (for infants up to 20-30 pounds and 1 year old) to forward-facing (for babies 20-40 pounds and usually up to 4 years old). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends facing rear for as long as the seat manufacturer allows.
Removable Base Most infant car seats utilize a removable base, allowing the seat to be used as a carrier without waking the baby. Many work as part of a travel system or with a stroller adapter or car seat frame (like the Graco SnugRider or Baby Trend’s Snap N Go). Convertible seats are usually larger and do not offer this feature.
5-Point Harness Attaches at the shoulders, hips, and between the legs. This is the most common and most highly recommended restraint.
Fabric Upholstery from some leading brands require hand washing and line drying; however, if you can find machine-washable fabric, that’s a plus. Most coverings are rigged through the harness-strap system and are held in place with elastic so they can be removed for laundering, but in some cases this can require extensive dismantling.
You can also find a number of different brands that make fabric seat covers – this is helpful if your baby is a drooler (and plenty are!) or you’re trying to make a navy seat look "girly."
Harness Slots Look for seats with more than one harness slot so your baby has room to grow.
Adjustable Recline When installed rear-facing, some convertible seats recline in up to five positions – great for napping in the car.
Cup Holder/Snack Tray Some convertible seats have this feature.
Boot/Attachable Blanket Attachment to keep baby’s feet (and body) warm.
Thicker Padding/"Luxury" Foam Extra padding to comfort your baby
Adjustable Head-Support/Additional Side Impact Protection Cushions and protection for added comfort and safety.
Elastic Side Pockets To easily hold toys, bottles, snacks, etc.
Product Recalls Always make sure the product you have chosen has not been recalled. You can either check the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or go directly to the manufacturer's web site for product information.
Installation
Make sure the car safety seat is installed tightly in the vehicle and that the harness fits the child snugly. If you can move the seat more than an inch side to side or front to back, it’s not tight enough.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for proper installation.
Never place a rear-facing car safety seat in the front seat of a vehicle that has a front passenger air bag. If the air bag inflates, it will hit the back of the car safety seat, right where your baby’s head is, and could cause serious injury or death.
Make sure the seat is at the correct angle so your infant’s head does not flop forward. Many seats have angle indicators or adjusters that can help prevent this. If your baby’s head still flops to the side, you can easily purchase additional head support, strap covers, or an insert to support your baby’s entire body (very helpful for babies who are tiny at birth).
Whenever possible, use the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) attachment system. Nearly all passenger vehicles and all car safety seats made on or after September 1, 2002, come with LATCH, which eliminates the need to use seat belts to secure the car safety seat. Vehicles with the LATCH system have anchors located in the back seat, and car safety seats that come with LATCH have attachments that fasten to these anchors. This system makes it much easier to achieve a secure fit.
Be sure you know what kind of seat belts your vehicle has. Some seat belts need locking clips, which come with all new car safety seats. If you’re not sure, check the manual that came with your vehicle. Locking clips are not needed in most newer vehicles.
If you are using a convertible seat in the rear-facing position, make sure the seat belt is routed through the correct belt path.
Harness Slots If your rear-facing seat has more than one set of harness slots, make sure the harnesses are in the slots at or below your baby’s shoulders.
Sleep As tempting as it may be, don’t let your baby sleep for too long in the car seat as it may put a strain on spinal development.
Other Issues to Consider Be careful when a passenger sits in the backseat next to the car seat. As they are putting on their seat belt, or getting out of their seat belt, they may unwittingly unfasten the belt on your infant car seat.
Need Assistance? If you have questions or need help installing your car safety seat, find a certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Technician.
A list of certified CPS Technicians is available by state or ZIP code on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) web site and a list of inspection stations - where you can go to learn how to correctly install a car safety seat - is available in English and Spanish at SeatCheck.org or toll-free at 866/SEATCHECK (866/732-8243).
