In the previous post, I’ve cited the safest kind of car seat for infants. But, I feel that the information I gave is not adequate.  Aside from merely knowing about the ideal kind of car seat for babies, it would also be beneficial for you to know how to use it.

We all know that babies are very delicate. Their muscles, especially those along the neck and back are not yet well-formed so they need as much support as they can. In selecting a car seat make sure to find one that is suited to your baby’s height and weight. Once you’ve found the perfect rear-facing infant seat here are some things you need to observe when putting your baby in it:

• Study the instructions that came with the car seat together with the car manual. This will give valuable information on how to install a rear-facing infant seat properly.
• A rear-facing infant seat must always be positioned in the car’s back seat. Putting it in front is a strict no-no.
• Position the car seat harness properly. If the car seat has more than one make sure that all of them are securely fastened. But, the priority must be the ones at the baby’s shoulders or below. The harness must be fastened tightly to hold the baby in the seat. Only one finger must be able to go in between the harness and your baby’s collarbone.
• The chest clip must also be placed at the armpit level to hold the harness straps in position.
• After placing all the straps, inspect the place where the back of your baby’s head lies at the back of the seat. The distance of your baby’s head from the top of the seat must be at least 1 inch. Sunshade must not be included when you install the car seat in the car.

Keeping your baby secure is very important. So, all these tips must be observed for the baby’s well-being.

Photo Credit: Edmunds

I’m sure you’ll agree when I say that children are gifts from God. As such, it is parents’ duty to take good care of them and bring them up well. And of course being a parent, it is also a natural instinct of parents to protect their children as much as they can. As a parent, sometimes you cannot avoid taking your infant child with you when you go out for an errand. When there’s no one to baby sit there’s really no other choice. I think couples who are both working can relate to this. The best thing about this situation is making sure the baby is comfortable as can be. This can be achieved by providing the best and most safe car seat.

The type of car seat that you have to get for your infant child is the rear-facing car safety seats. This type comes in two varieties – infant-only seats and the convertible seats. You have to get to know the difference so that you’ll be able to get the best choice for your baby.

The infant-only seats have the following characteristics:
• Small in size and are integrated with carrying handles.
• Ideal for infants weighing 22 to 30 pounds.
• A lot of models belonging to this type have a base that can be left in the car. The seat can just be clicked into the base. You don’t have to remove it with the seat each time. You can buy several if you don’t want to carry the base when you need to use another car.

On the other hand, the convertible seats have the following qualities:
• This can be used either as rear-facing or forward-facing; hence it’s called convertible seats.  If your child is still an infant, you can use it as rear-facing seat and once he or she gets a little bit older you can convert it to a forward-facing seat. Compared to the infant-only seats, convertible seats are bulkier.
• This type is ideal for bigger babies because the seats have higher rear-facing weight and height limit.
• There are different types of harnesses used for convertible seats:
- Overhead shield – is a padded tray-like shield that hangs down over the child.
- 5-Point Harness – can be fixed at the shoulders, hips, and between the leg.
- T-shield – is a padded t-shaped or triangle-shaped shield fastened to the shoulder straps.

These are the types of car seats that you can choose from to make your baby safe and comfortable throughout the drive.

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