Types of Child Car Seats

The child car seat is one of the many essential items that parents need to purchase to keep their children safe and comfortable while traveling. However, they should also make sure that what they are purchasing is the best choice for both their child and their budget.

Some do their research on the best car seat at the current time, while others would rather look for a long-term solution to the problem by searching for the best convertible car seat.

What then is the best car seat on the market for families today?

Related Article: Keeping kids safe in the car

Rear-facing Car Seat

The rear-facing car seat is the first on the list as this is probably the first of the bunch that parents will use. This is because this seat is designed for infants, and these are limited to children weighing 35 pounds and standing at 32 inches. The seats are formed much like a bucket which could be carried around and attached to a stroller if need be. The seat also comes with harnesses for safety and precaution, making it a strong choice for your infant.

However, an underlying disadvantage to this is that the seat is only designed for the smallest of the bunch. This, of course, means that one will end up spending for another seat when the children outgrow this seat.

Front-facing Car Seat

The front-facing car seat is the next level of children’s car seats, and these are focused on toddlers. When your child has exceeded the limit of the rear-facing variety, it would then be time to buy one for your child. A more obvious sign is when they are about 2 to 3 years of age.

Experts also suggest that the children are to use these seats for as long as possible, and they should only switch to the next type of car seat when they have exceeded the 4 feet, and 9 inches mark and weigh in at 65 pounds. These also come with a multitude of harnesses that will surely protect the child that is using them, and a good front-facing seat can last for a long time.

This is surely an advantage that parents may use for an extended time. However, this could also be a disadvantage as this is only limited to toddlers. If one follows the intended process, one will spend more alone by purchasing the rear-facing seat first and eventually the booster seat.

Booster Seat

The booster seat is a seat designed for children who have outgrown their forward-facing seats. This is specifically used to raise the children for them to safely use their seatbelts in the cars.

Usually, the requirements for these seats are the limit of the forward-facing seats, specifically when children have reached 4 feet and 9 inches tall at 8 to 12 years old. There are two versions of this type which are the high-back and the backless.

The high-back. The high-backs are used when car seats are lower or do not have headrests. The backless variety is for those which have higher seats and headrests, essentially the opposite of the former.

One disadvantage is the safety of a child. This seat does not come with many harnesses, as all it would do is elevate your child to use the car seat. Another disadvantage, common to the previously mentioned seats, is the expenses one will have to accept. One must make sure to do their research once more on a durable booster seat for their child before purchasing one.

This seat is only designed for those who have outgrown their forward-facing seat, which meant that one could have already spent on forward-facing and rear-facing seats.

Convertible Car Seat

Out of all the seats available on the market, there is one that seems to be the best, and this is the convertible car seat. By the name, one could already have an idea of what this seat is and what it can do. The convertible car seat is an “all-in-one” seat for your child.

Toddlers require rear-facing seats, and these seats can act as one. They should be able to support up to 40 pounds of weight. Parents with older children should be able to use this as well. All they need to do is to “convert” this into a front-facing seat that could support 65 pounds.

Another feature of this car seat is that they are also quite safe with the stronger materials and harnesses that come with the seat itself, and children would find this comfortable, most especially during a long road trip.

However, a disadvantage to this seat is that these are only designed to stay in cars, and parents must also consider purchasing a stroller. Another is that these tend to be more expensive compared to the regular seats. This may be a disadvantage, but one will find that this has long-term value as it is not only safe and comfortable but also for its extremely long durability.

Out of all the car seats, it is no question that the long-term solution would be to use a convertible car seat. However, this does not mean that the other options are not as effective. It is important that parents give their children the best and make sure they spend what they can afford.