For every parent, it’s important to ensure the child’s safety in any vehicle. Every year, many children get injured or killed in car accidents. The best way to prevent this is to restrain your child in car seats when you take them along your journey.
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For New Parents
If you’re new parents, it’s okay to give yourselves sufficient time to prepare and learn how to install car seats in your vehicle. This is because being stuck in traffic or traveling long trips with newborn babies is tiring and nerve-wracking. Having car seats for your children will give you peace of mind while you drive as you know they are safe.
It is essential for new parents to use the right car seats for their children. However, knowing which one is best for them depends upon various factors such as their age, size, and type of car you drive.
Importance for Babies and Children
Car seats are a necessity for babies who are three years old and below. However, the law still requires parents to use car seats and booster seats for children until they are 12 years of age.
Having a car seat can turn trips in the car into dreamlike travel for them. Child car seats are designed perfectly for small children to fit in. These also provide a security system that protects them in case of severe side impacts.
What You Must Do?
You need to set a good example for your children. You can do this by wearing your seatbelts every time you sit in the car. Your children always learn from you.
So, once you’re inside the car with your children, ensure that all seatbelts are fastened before you drive. Don’t start driving with your child seatbelts twisted or unlocked. If your child has a habit of unlocking the straps or buckles, keep a watch over them through your rearview mirror. If you find it unlocked, stop and buckle it up again and tell them its importance.
For them to follow you, you can reward or give them incentives for not touching their straps and buckles. It’s a sure way of discouraging them from now play around with the straps and buckles.
Best Car Seats of 2019
When buying a car seat, safety should be your priority. But anyway, every car seat sold on the market has been tested and proven safe. Some car seats have extra features to make installation easier. In our search for the best car seats of 2019, we looked at things like seat size, ease of installation, steel-reinforcement, weight range, and lifespan.
1. The Graco 4Ever
The Graco 4Ever is a practical, safe, and easy to install a car seat. It has a steel-reinforced frame and a five-point harness to keep your children safe and comfortable. There are reviews from verified buyers stating that their child survived accidents without a scratch.
Another good thing about Graco 4Ever is that it’s easy to install in any position. It has color-coded stickers on the base, so you’ll know which belt to use. Furthermore, you can use your car’s latch system, adult seat belts, or both.
However, this Graco4Ever convertible car seat is pricey. But then, the cost is good for the long-term. It can accommodate the weight ranging from 4 to 120 pounds. Also, you can shift this between front-facing, rear-facing, backless booster seats, and high-backed booster seat positions.
To top it all, it provides a 10-year lifespan. This may be the only car seat that your child can use until they can already fit in an adult seat belt.
2. Peg-Pérego Primo Viaggio
The Peg-Perego Primo Viaggio is stylish, sleek, and safe. Aside from its aesthetic look, it also offers many unique safety features that other car seats don’t have.
This car seat has a contoured steel backplate, adjustable side-impact protection, and expanded polystyrene to absorb impact from a crash. All of this is in this car seat, so you are ensured that your little ones are comfortable and safe during long rides, hot summers, and cold winters.
The AAP or American Academy of Pediatrics commends children for using rear-facing car seats until they reach the weight limit of 40 pounds. The Primo Viaggio car seat follows this closely and allows children up to 45 pounds to fit in the rear-facing position.
Only when they reach 65 pounds they can ride in the front-facing position. This car seat should suit your children for the seat’s entire seven-year lifespan.
3. Chicco Keyfit
The Chicco Keyfit is the most purchased car seat of all. This is because it easily clicks into the base and is compatible also with strollers. It only weighs nine pounds, which makes it easy for you to transport your baby from one car to another.
It’s also easy to install in the backseat. The LATCH or the adult seat belt secures the base. Once the base is on the level, you will click the seat into the base and secure the baby in.
The five-point restraint system and easy pull straps keep your child snug and secure throughout the ride.
It’s the best choice for infants but should have a maximum height of 30 inches and a weight of 30 pounds. It has six years lifespan, which means you can reuse it if you have a new baby again in the family.
4. Evenflo Tribute
Owning car seats is costly, especially if you have many kids. If this is the case, the Evenflo Tribute LX is a budget-friendly car seat for you. It has all the standard features like LATCH connectors, five-point restraints, and side-impact protection to protect your precious cargo.
However, it has a limited weight and height range, so you would need to buy a booster seat for your kids if they pass the 40-inch mark or hit 40 pounds. But then, it has a lifespan of six years, so you can use it if you have another baby soon.
5. Cybex ATON 2
The Cybex Aton 2 boasts its portability and some cool safety features. It has a load leg feature along with a steel-reinforced shell. This metal leg comes out of the car seat and adjusts to land the floor of your vehicle for steadiness. The Cybex Aton is costlier than others on this list, but it’s guaranteed to be safer for your child.
6. UPPABaby MESA
The UPPABaby MESA is a good start if you a safe car seat with a few extra features. It has a machine washable cushions, canopy, and compatible strollers where you can transfer the car seat when you head to the mall or the park.
It also has a stain-resistant fabric that is perfect when inevitable milk or any other liquid spillage happens. The strap and the pockets on the side have a tightness indicator to tuck the buckles in while you put your baby in. This one may cost a bit pricey, but it’s one good way to ease your parenting better.
