The Good Housekeeping Institute’s engineering and parenting professionals have reviewed dozens of automobile seats over the previous two years, together with toddler automobile seats. They’ve additionally labored with actual mother and father to check automobile seats in a wide range of automobile manufacturers and sizes to guarantee that these automobile seats work for everybody’s life-style.
First, they make sure that every automobile seat has handed Federal Security Requirements. Then they carry out in-Lab and at-home exams to evaluate security, ease of set up, stability, ease of changes, ease of getting infants out and in of the provider, elimination of provider from the bottom and set up into suitable strollers, and extra. To perform this, the Lab units up every automobile seat in a wide range of automobiles and strollers and makes use of an eight-pound child “dummy” to simulate placing a toddler within the automobile seat and consider how simple it’s to safe them in addition to set up the automobile seats.
What to Look For When Looking for an Toddler Automotive Seat
Many convertible automobile seats are protected for newborns, however toddler automobile seats are designed particularly across the wants of an toddler, providing extra focused help for his or her neck, head, and spinal twine. Usually, toddler automobile seats are additionally smaller than different varieties of youngster automobile seats, providing simpler entry to your child when getting out and in of the automobile and compatibility with sure strollers, so you possibly can merely take out the automobile seat and repair it to a stroller with out eradicating the newborn.
Listed below are some points to contemplate when choosing an toddler automobile seat:
Peak and weight limits
Each toddler automobile seat will specify peak and weight limits. As quickly as your youngster hits the utmost of both—usually as much as 32 inches or 35 kilos—it is going to be time to maneuver on to an even bigger automobile seat.
Service weight
Many toddler automobile seats have the choice to put in right into a base secured to your automobile, permitting you to maintain your child undisturbed contained in the provider as you tote them outdoors of your automobile, and simply clip the provider again into the bottom in your subsequent drive. Be sure the provider is mild sufficient that you simply’re snug lifting it from the bottom together with your child inside.
Stroller compatibility
Carriers are usually suitable with a spread of strollers, extending the usage of some strollers that may’t be used at delivery, making it a lot simpler to get from level A to B with a new child.
Ease of set up
Our consultants discovered essentially the most troublesome facet in exams was securing the automobile seat to the automobile. Many seats required lots of power, and a few seats match higher in sure automobiles. Earlier than buying, be aware of the dimensions of the automobile seat and the dimensions of your automobile’s again seat. Rent a licensed automobile seat skilled for those who need assistance with set up.
Expiration
All automobile seats are marked with an expiration date, usually between six and 10 years from the date of manufacture. If you’re hoping to make use of your seat for a number of kids, be aware of the expiration. Additionally, by no means use a automobile seat that has beforehand been in an accident.
Harness sort
You may see two harness choices when selecting your good automobile seat: rethread and no-rethread. In case you select a rethread harness, which means that as your child grows, you will want to achieve round and reroute the straps by the again of the harness every time it’s essential to regulate the dimensions.
