Infant Rear Facing Car Seats |

Infant Rear Facing Car Seats and Convertible Seats

11 June 2009 171 views No Comment

Infant Rear Facing Car Seats1 Experts say it is safer to fit all child car seats in the back seat of the car, particularly if there is a passenger side air bag in the front seat. Because, in the event of a collision, the air bag may be deployed and will cause injury to the baby. In fact, for babies up to about 22lbs from birth to 12 months, infant rear facing car seats are the most ideal.

This point is emphasized by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) when it advised the car owners that all children age 12 and under should ride in the back seat of the car.

Protecting babies

With Infant rear facing car seats, the baby’s, head, neck and spine are better protected compared to front facing car seats. However, this is effective only up to particular stage of the baby’s growth. The rear facing car seats cannot give adequate protection when the baby exceeds the weight of the car seats.

Also as the child grows and when his head has become higher than the cushioned top of the seat, you won’t get the desired results. At this stage, the seat has to be replaced with another one specifically designed for toddlers. A convertible seat suits the baby at this stage. They are larger and heavier than the usual infant safety seats.

The convertible seats can accommodate larger children and since they are fastened into the car using the vehicle's seatbelt, the baby is well secured. And there are different harness styles as well; mainly the three-point style and the five-point style. Of this, the five-point harness is considered better because it is easily adjusted to perfectly fit your child.

The three-point style is with straps that cross over the shoulder fastening to a buckle close to the bottom of the seat, where as, the five-point style has five straps; two at the shoulders, two at the hips and one at the crotch. There are additional features also with five-point style to increase the safety and security of the child.

Infant safety car seats come with additional features intended to increase the safety and security of the baby. And they can be better adjusted to suit the baby’s convenience. There are models with detachable bases, where the safety seat simply snaps onto the base. In addition, they can be used as baby carriers.