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So, which car seat should you buy?  Well, how much money you got?  Just kidding… money is not and should not be the single deciding factor on which car seat you eventually buy for your child.  You can alleviate your budget by finding cheap auto insurance.The generally accepted standard is that you buy a child restraint system that first fits your child and your car, and then, fits into your budget.  The truth is, despite all the hype from the car seat manufacturers, there is no single perfect car seat.  And as long as a car seat meets government safety standards and is certified as such (look for the label) it’s deemed safe.  But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe for your child.

If you can afford a child car seat with all the bells and whistles AND it works in your vehicle, that’s great.  Your child will ride in style and be protected; you couldn’t ask for more.  “But,” you’re probably wondering, “is there one single thing you should consider in any car seat, even if your budget is small?” 

The simple answer is:  Yes!   And it’s the 5-point harness system.  With a 5-point system, the straps go over your child’s shoulders and around his or her waist to clip at the crotch.  Studies confirm that a 5-point system provides significantly better protection than shoulder-only straps which pose a risk of the child being ejected in a crash.

Granted, you want to keep a wary eye on your newborn, and it’s nearly impossible to do that if the baby is facing backwards in his or her infant seat.  You must resist the temptation to turn that seat around; it is in your baby’s best interests.  Until a child has celebrated his or her first birthday and weighs a minimum of 20 lbs, the American Academy of Pediatrics advises that it’s best that they remain rear facing. 

As you may have noticed (or experienced!), babies have pretty big heads and pretty fragile necks.  It will be months before they can hold their heads up or have good control of their neck muscles.  In the event of a car crash, if a baby is facing forward there’s a much higher risk that the baby’s spinal cord will be damaged.  Just think about how hard your own head jerks forward when you have to come to a sudden stop… and you’ve got strong neck muscles!  Babies don’t have that, and in a very common frontal car crash, the bones in a baby’s neck could actually separate. 

If your baby weighs more than the recommended 20 lb. threshold for an infant car seat, or is older than one year in age, you may think it’s alright to switch to the forward facing car seat.  That’s still not a good idea.  According to a 2008 article published in Pediatrics, a professional journal, three out of four children are less likely to be severely injured or killed if they remain in a rear facing car seat until they are at least two years old.  If your child reaches the weight limit for an infant seat, then switch to a rear-facing convertible.  Your child will get the same protection, and (provided you get yourself a rear-facing child seat mirror) you’ll get peace of mind.

Tip: Keeping your children safe is your number one priority. Would it not also be a bonus to couple this with affordable auto insurance?

Some kids just have a bit of magic about them – they have absolutely no trouble getting into cookie jars or getting out of car seats. While it’s not exactly a tragedy if junior munches on the Sausalito cookies (unless, of course, it’s the last one and you were saving it for yourself), it could be a tragedy if he escapes from his car seat while you’re driving.

Keeping Houdini restrained isn’t impossible, but it may take some ingenuity on your part (or at the very least the purchase of some ingenious products), not to mention a little patience and a lot of perseverance. One thing is certain, there should be no allowances made: Without your escape artist sitting – properly restrained – in a car seat, the car shouldn’t move. Period.

If your child escapes from it, then your car seat is useless. Here are a few things you can do, short of chains and padlocks:

• Contact the seat’s manufacturer to find out if they offer different clips than the one that originally came with the seat, or purchase a cover that fits over the clip, and prevents little fingers from doing their magic.
• Reverse the button to the strap mechanism so that it faces your child, rather than outward.
• Set the proper example and always buckle your own seat belt, and ensure that all passengers (including pets!) are buckled up.
• Make a show of buckling up a favorite doll or stuffed animal if your little one insists on bringing it along.
• Try a simple, but firm, “No, don’t unbuckle.” (You never know, it could work.)

And finally, for those children for whom a word to the wise is not sufficient, there’s always bribery. 

Tip: If you would like to have enough cash to purchase the safest baby seat, you can find cheap car insurance to give you better cash flexibility.

Ask your mother (or grandmother) what they used to do with a baby in the “olden days” and she’ll likely tell you how she used to hold you in her arms while sitting in the passenger or back seat (unbelted, of course, and probably while smoking an unfiltered menthol cigarette).   Or, if she was the driver, how she’d lay you down next to her on the bench seat and keep one hand on the wheel and the other on your back (your were always face down) to protect you from rolling off. 

However many children there were in a family, that’s how many sat in the back seat.  And it didn’t matter if there were two or three (or no) lap belts in the back, hardly anyone used them anyway.  Of course, if you had a station wagon (and most families did), then you could comfortably (not necessarily, safely) plunk a couple of kids (usually the oldest ones – the lucky dogs) into the back.  Of course, you’d also have the door window rolled all the way down, with strict instructions NOT to stick your head out the window (a rule that was quickly forgotten, once you hit the highway).

If you were really lucky, you got to ride shotgun, in the passenger seat.  Your mom would tell you not to touch anything (she meant the radio), but to hold on (to what, you wondered?) and you’d grab the door handle and discover (as you tumbled to the pavement) that your mom forgot to lock the door. 

Your mother or grandmother might even still cling to the notion that car seats are a waste of time and money – after all, you came out (relatively) unscathed (except for that nervous twitch you get when you see a Ford Fairlane) right?  Those were the days, weren’t they?  It’s amazing that anyone survived ‘em.

Tip: If you’d like to have a bit more cash to put toward the safest car seat possible, why not compare discount auto insurance quotes and possibly save some money over your current rates.

When you’re shopping for a new car, you’ve already got in mind the safety features that you want, and then, when you discover you’ve got a little money left over, you plan the extras and add-ins that will make the car something really special.  Well, it’s the same exact thought process when you’re shopping for a car seat, only more so, because instead of it being exclusively for you, it’s for someone even more important – your precious cargo.   

Head protection and wings:   The majority of car seats have a special foam or plastic layer, like that used in protective gear and helmets, recessed into the shell around the head.  These wings aren’t merely there to keep your child’s head from bobbing all over the place while she sleeps, they protect against impacts from the rear and side, and with rebounding from a frontal crash. 

Higher weight limits:  The safest position for a car seat is rear facing; evidence proves that fact out.  A car seat that has a higher weight threshold allows you to keep your child rear facing for a longer period of time; some convertible seats and a few infant seats can remain rear facing and protect a child up to 35 lbs. 

Finally, not really a bell nor a whistle, but just something to think about…

Carrying handles:  Hardly given a second thought when considering the safety features of a car seat, but all things being equal, you’re very likely to have reason to haul that car seat around, dangling from the crook of your elbow.  Ouch!  

Consider the combined weight of child and seat, and the padding (or absence thereof) as well as the shape of the handle, especially if you know you may have to often transfer the car seat from one mode of transport to another.

Tip: If you’d like to have a bit more cash to put toward the safest car seat possible, why not compare discount auto insurance quotes and possibly save some money over your current rates.

You know already that the best car seat is one that fits your child, your car and your budget, and which has a 5-point safety harness.  But, assuming money is no object, there are other conveniences that you might want to consider.

Wide straps:  The wider the better, because it covers more surface area for better restraint coverage, and the less likely they will get twisted.

2-piece chest clip:  Much more difficult for your child to remove and helps eliminate twisting straps.

Infant car seat with extra base:  Most infant seats come with a single base that is installed in the car and which your seat snaps into.  Some manufacturers offer a separate base for installation in a second vehicle.  While you can probably (check your instruction manual) use your seat without the base, this is a better option.

Size/Weight/Height:  Depending on the size of your child or your car, you may need a wider or longer car seat, or a smaller or narrower car seat.  Car seats are not one-sized-fits-all, so you might want to “test ride” one before you buy.

Front harness adjustment:  The convenience of adjusting the straps quickly from a mechanism located on the front of the seat means that you’ll do it as and when needed, and not just shrug off the task just because you’re in a rush.  Straps may need adjustment when seasons change and clothing thickness becomes an issue.

LATCH System:  Newer model vehicles have a mechanism whereby you can latch your car seat to the car, in which case seatbelts become unnecessary.  Check with your vehicle manufacturer about the proper installation of your car seat.

Built-in locking clip:  Some car seat models do away with the old fashioned separate clip and automatically keep the seat belt appropriately tight.

Children are expensive, and it’s absolutely mind-boggling how much it costs to outfit them properly.  In this tough economy, it’s not at all inconceivable that you’re pinching pennies.  Maybe you’re using coupons or shopping at off-price stores, consignment or thrift shops and frequenting yard sales.  Sure, they’re all wonderful places for picking up cast-offs at bargain basement prices.  But one thing that you should never ever scrimp on is your car seat.  Sure, a “seemingly” brand-new (to you) car seat bearing a sticker price of $3.95 at the local thrift store looks like a great deal.  Compare it to that “r”-us store down the block that wants more than 10 times that price for the same car seat.  No brainer, right?  So, what do you do?

You buy the most important, life-protecting baby item you will ever need at the “r”-us store, that’s what you do.  There is no way you could know if that thrift store car seat was involved in a car accident (unless of course there was a big sticker on it proclaiming, “Buy Me!  Lucky Car Seat!  Survived a head-on!”).  Even a single fender-bender type accident can compromise the integrity of the plastic shell meant to protect your child.  And that plastic degrades over time, so if a car-seat is nearing its maximum useful life (generally six years) it needs replacing (the manufacture date is embossed on all car seats, so look for it).  With a used car seat, you also won’t know if the car seat is the subject of a recall; it’s critically important to find that out. 

Remember this:  A car seat won’t be much of a bargain, it if fails to protect the thing you love most in life.

Infant car seats need to be at just the right angle to keep your baby comfortable and safe.  On most car seats, you’ll find some sort of indicator that will let you know when you’ve positioned the seat correctly, so read your instruction manual to find out exactly how to install it. 

The majority of rear-facing car seats need to be tilted at a 45° angle; again, check your manual!  If you’re at all unsure of yourself, bring your car with the installed seat to a certified technician who will check it for you.  An angle sharper (i.e. less than 45° ) than this and you run the risk of the baby’s head dropping too far forward and blocking her airway; a wider angle and you’re creating a dangerous situation, whereby the baby’s head and neck will absorb the crash forces from an accident. 

 If your seat doesn’t have a built-in level indicator (really, most do) or, if you just can’t get the little bubble or arrow to fall into the green (safe!) zone, place a rolled towel or receiving blanket beneath the seat so that you can get the adjustment right.  This is that important an issue that you just can’t guess at correctness.  In most cases, a matter of a degree or two either way won’t make a significant difference, but are you willing to take that chance?

Bringing your precious preemie baby home from the hospital has got to be one of the most exciting yet scariest things that you’ll ever do.  You will worry, fret and fuss over how best to protect your most precious commodity for the journey home.   Tiny infants may not be able to safely recline in a regular infant car seat, as their full-term counterparts might be.  Special care must be taken to protect their delicate respiratory system, yet they must still be cradled in such a way that a sudden stop or a crash won’t injure them physically.

Preemies will fare best in an infant-only safety seat, preferably one with a 3-point harness.  Never, under any circumstances, place a preemie in a car seat that has an abdominal shield – it’s counterintuitive, but this is an exceptionally dangerous position, because in the event of an accident the shied could cross your baby’s face or neck. 

Now, for some very tiny preemies, the safest car seat isn’t a seat at all, but a bed.  A specially designed car bed will allow your preemie to lie supine or prone, face down or face up or on his or her side, flat or elevated… whichever the paediatrician recommends for the safety of your baby.