Know your Way around a Convertible Car Seat before you

Know your Way around a Convertible Car Seat before you Buy One

If you're buying a car seat for a baby who is less than a year old and who weighs less than 20 pounds therefore, you always have a choice in a convertible car seat.

No, this isn't a car seat with a foldable top that goes down at the touch of a button. They call it a convertible car seat because you can fasten it to the back seat of the car so that it faces front or rear. If you have a really small child, a rear facing car seat is always best.

It's safer, and it's possible too the kids legs aren't long enough yet that they would mash up against the back of the seat. Get a regular car seat, and you have to buy two seats one when the child's small enough to be in a rear-facing seat and one that's forward-facing for when the child grows too big for the rear-facing seat.

So what do you look for when you buy a convertible car seat? Well, the first thing you want is something that's easy to install. They've found time and again that parents always find car seats convertible seats especially too complicated to install securely to the back of the car. This can only get worse when it's a more complicated thing like a convertible car seat.

Actually, this problem is so serious parents finding car seats too complicated to install correctly that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration actually has a rating system for simplicity in car seats. Be sure to buy something that has five stars.

There is something called a Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children system or LATCH for car seats that is designed to make it really simple to attach the seat to a car. Usually, car seats attach to the back seat by latching onto the seat belt clasps. LATCH seats on the other hand attach directly to the vehicle itself. If yours is a car that was made after 2002, your car should be equipped for this.

Once your convertible car seat is adequately fitted to the back seat of your car, you need to turn your attention next to the restraint system it uses to install your baby securely inside. Look for something with a five-point harness. For ease of use, look for something that has an automatic system. Make sure that you don't buy a convertible car seat that makes you adjust the straps from the back of the seat. Those never work correctly.

And finally, do look for something that's washable. Where babies go, messes follow right away. And you're just not going to feel like putting your baby in the seat then.

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