How to choose the best baby car seat for your child

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Carriage of babies in the car is an extremely important occupation for parents. However, not everyone understands the level of insecurity that children may be exposed to during transportation.

After all, a sufficient part of the children in the car sits not fastened, and sometimes the child is in the back seat alone: ​​playing, standing between the seats and enthusiastically watching the road or talking to parents ...

What kind of child safety can we talk about? After all, even with a sharp maneuver, a child can stagger, fall and be injured, not to mention an emergency. And even if you are a very careful driver, it will not always save you from an accident. Another driver may jump out and crash into you or something will happen to your car. There are many situations. And if adults, who, according to traffic regulations, are obliged to be fastened with straps, in such cases get off with only minor injuries and fright, then an unfastened child can suffer very much. At the same time, even if he doesn’t sit in the back, but someone who is wearing a seatbelt or a belt is going to hold him, injuries are still possible and often unavoidable.

Full line of baby car seats

Most manufacturers offer a full line of car seats for children of all ages.

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The need to use baby car seats

The only way to protect your baby as much as possible during the trip is to use car seats specially designed for carrying children. Everyone who has a car and little children, sooner or later will face the need to select and purchase such a small, but extremely necessary device for transporting children. And today it is not only the desire of parents to place their child more comfortable, to secure it. For about 10 years, this is a necessity. After all, transporting children in specialized child seats has obliged us legislation since 2007. There it is stated quite clearly that all children under the age of 12 should be transported in the rear seats in children's car seats or other special devices that would reliably fasten the baby. Raise it so that even when it is fastened with a regular belt, it reliably holds the child and passes, at the baby, as at an adult, at chest level. For non-compliance with such a requirement of traffic rules in case of a car stop by an inspector, the driver faces a fine of 3 thousand rubles.

However, a fine is not the worst for parents. Indeed, in the event of an accident, an unreliable child is at risk of serious injury. And the health of a child for any parents is always the most expensive. Unfortunately, the statistics on children's injuries during road accidents is rather disappointing. Each year, about 25 thousand children are seriously injured, and about a thousand die at all. According to experts, many of the injuries sustained during a car accident by children can be avoided by observing only the safety rules and traffic rules.

According to experts, the use of specialized car seats for the transportation of children can significantly reduce injuries and child mortality during accidents. The results are impressive. Fastening children with regular belts reduces injuries only by 20%, while carriage in a car seat by more than 50%.

Baby car seat

What are car seats

All car seats can be divided into 5 categories, depending on the weight, height and approximate age of the baby. Many people choose a car seat, based on how many months or years of a child. This is wrong, as there are big kids, but there are absolutely crumbs. That is why it will be optimal to take into account all three indicators.

Group "0" or chairs for babies from birth to six months, premature babies

Chairs for the smallest grouped into a category called "0". They are designed for children weighing up to 10 kg and growing up to 75 cm. As a rule, these height-weight correspond to the age of the baby from 0 to 6-9 months. For older children, it is unlikely to be used.

Externally, it is very similar to the usual cradle from the stroller. However, the use of a pram cradle instead of a child car seat is strictly prohibited. Even if your cradle has fastenings with the help of which you can reliably fix it in the backseat, you can hardly find the additional security features that the child seats in this category are equipped with. After all, inside the avtolyulki there are regular seat belts (3, 5 point) and additional protection in the head area. It is this that together provides reliable fixation of your baby and its protection in case of sudden braking or even an accident.

Baby car seat series 0

Autolymolets should be fixed either along the backseat, or across, but against the vehicle. Thus, the child will go headfirst.

Such a carrier can be used not only for transportation, but also as a portable cradle. That is why if you are going to use it to carry the baby, then you should pay attention to the handles and weight. The child is transported in such avtolyulki exclusively lying, fixed inside with wide enough seat belts.

Of the advantages of such avtolyulek should be noted the presence of reliable fixation, additional protection for the head and the ability to transport in the supine position. This is especially true for very small or premature babies on long and frequent trips.

However, there are drawbacks. This is, above all, the high cost and the possibility of using too short a period. A maximum of 9 months, or even half a year, the child will simply cease to fit in it and you will have to replace it. Moreover, such avtolyulki quite heavy and massive. They occupy almost all free space behind the car (at least two seats).

Group "0+", or car seats for children up to 15 months of age

This group partially overlaps the previous one. Car seats from this category can be used for children from birth to the year (year and 3 months). By weight it is somewhere up to 13 kg. Growth as well as in the previous group should not exceed 75 cm. Such car seats are most often bought for newborns, especially if they do not suffer from a lack of weight.

Outwardly, they are very similar to the chairs of the previous group. These are chairs with a cup-like body. They are also installed against the vehicle's stroke, so that during a sudden movement the child does not damage the cervical vertebrae. Fixing the baby is carried out using the usual five or three point belts. Mounted in the car in the back with a conventional seat belt.

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Of the advantages of the car seat should be noted increased side protection, the ability to adjust the height of the back, because here the child does not lie, and half-sitting, and multi-functionality. This chair, thanks to its lightness, can be used not only as a car seat, but also as a rocking chair or a portable chair. In addition, these chairs cheaper avtolyulek.

Of the minuses it should be noted: the inability to fully lower the back, the child half-sitting; and short enough use for fast-growing kids. Some grow out of it long before the onset of the year.

Group “1”, or car seats from 9 months to four years old

The car seats from this group are designed for children whose weight is already more than 9 kg, but still does not exceed 18 kg with height up to 98 cm. You can put a child in such a car seat from the moment he starts to sit confidently or from 9 months to until the child grows up from him, namely, until his temple is level with the edge of the chair. If the child has grown to this mark, you should consider replacing with a larger chair.

Baby car seat series 1

Armchairs from the “up to 18 kg” group are similar to car seats for older children, but still have their own internal security system - three- or five-point belts. It should be noted right away that it is better to take belts with a five-point fastening, since fixing is more reliable, there is less chance of injury to the child about the belts themselves. The area of ​​the car seat, where the baby's head is, also has additional protection. In the car are fixed with a regular seat belt. In such armchairs, the kid is already going face forward.

Group "2" for 3-6 years old kids

The car seats from this category are designed for children aged 3 to 6 years old with an increase of up to 1 m 20 cm and a weight of 15 kg and up to 25 kg. They are acquired when children grow out of a car seat from the previous category. Fixation in the car is carried out in the same way as in the previous types, however, the child itself is already fixed by ordinary engine belts. These car seats are usually available with adjustable backs that can be adjusted to the growth of the child.

Baby car seat series 2

Group “3”, for children of 6–12 years old

These are car seats for the most adult children with growth up to one and a half meters and weighing up to 36 kg. They are designed for children from 6 years and up to 12, that is, until the time when the child can already ride freely without him, in a normal seat. If the car seats from the previous categories reliably fix the baby inside the seat itself and on the sides, then a more adult child will not be comfortable to ride like that. That is why boosters have been created for them - car seats for children up to 36 kg. In fact, this is a backless seat, a kind of cushion that helps to raise the child to the height at which it can already be securely fixed using a regular belt. As a rule, boosters are very compact. For the convenience of the child, they are equipped with armrests.

Baby car seat group 3

Combined car seats

There are also many hybrid options for car seats. Manufacturers often try to combine two or even three classes of car seats into one, trying to create something universal. However, as a rule, such versatility provides less security and fixation. Universal will always be inferior to highly specialized in terms of reliability, quality, degree of fixation, etc. Of course, in general, this is an opportunity to save money for parents. Sometimes you can really find a good version of a car seat two in one, for example, combined groups 1 and 2 or 2 and 3.

Universal transforming chair

The transforming chair is suitable for different age groups

Car seat assessment for compliance with quality and safety standards

In addition to the standard criteria for age, weight and height, the choice of child seats in the car should take into account others. One of the important indicators when choosing car seats is compliance with quality and safety standards - ECE R44.03 and ISO. These standards describe the design and technical characteristics of children's car seats, the ability to perform their functions.

Car seats that meet the standards must have side protection. All components of the chair should be individually tested. Seat belts are required to meet the requirements of the tension force, as well as to be resistant to abrasive agents, high and low temperatures, and even light. The belt buckle must open with a certain amount of force. In the loaded state, 40-80 newtons, in the unloaded state - 40-60. Belt guides should provide a stable position and protection against slipping. Also, the latest edition of the standards highlighted the color-coded requirements for car seats. With the red encoding must be installed against the progress of the machine, blue - for the course.

In addition, the finished car seat must pass a series of tests that are carried out using dolls in this weight category. All results are recorded with special cameras so that later there is an opportunity to view and evaluate the quality and reliability of the car seat during the trip.

Thus, during testing, the stability of the dummy in the chair is evaluated. It is estimated how much the dummy can deviate during the execution of different maneuvers, whether it goes beyond the safe zone of the chair. This in the case of various types of unsafe cases will allow the child to be protected from injury to other objects in the car. Also measured and the rate of slowing down the movement of the dummy when exposed to his seat belts. That is, the possibility of injury to the belts themselves is estimated.

What you should additionally pay attention to when choosing, installing and using car seats

Each of the parents, of course, wants to choose the best chair. Well, or at least the best of those proposed in this group and price category. However, it is impossible to say which car seat will be best for your baby and your car.

In order to choose the right, you should consider a lot of nuances.

The first is the willingness to ride in a child’s car seat. If you didn’t have a car before, or the trips were so rare that there was no need for it, then the purchase and attempt to transport the baby in the car seat can end in disrepair. After all, the child is not used and does not want to ride like that. That is why the child himself should, above all, prepare for the purchase, correctly motivate him to accept the new rules for his transportation, even if not with delight, then at least with understanding. How to do it - the question is quite complicated. You can, for example, tell the boy that similar seats are in racing cars. Or for girls to draw an analogy between the car seat and the throne for little princesses. Here it is necessary to give free rein to your imagination.

When transporting children, be sure to fasten yourself. After all, your child is trying in many ways to copy you. And if you do not wear your own, then it’s quite difficult to argue why it should be wearing.

When choosing directly, it is worth paying attention to the fact that your child is comfortable and comfortable in the chair. Here, if the child is already old enough, he sits or even walks, you can take it with you so that you can try on the chair in the store, try to seat and fix the baby.

It does not interfere with the fitting of the car seat for your car. She will allow to look and estimate a fastening method. Indeed, despite some versatility, all children's car seats are different. And it happens that it will simply be impossible to fasten it with the help of a regular seat belt, since the length is not enough. In addition, the fitting will allow you not only to learn how to install it correctly, but also help to assess the level of complexity and speed of installation of the car seat.

Also ask what material the upholstery is made of, whether it is possible to remove and wash it, because children often get dirty.

When choosing a car seat, immediately select additional accessories, because, otherwise, you can simply forget about them. This is at least a curtain on the windows for sun protection and a cover on the front seat so that the child does not stain the inside of the car.

It is necessary to evaluate the material and the reliability of the belts and buckles on them. They must be sufficiently dense and reliable. And the clasp itself is tightly fastened and unfastened. Under it should be a cloth lining so that in case of a sudden movement she could not injure the baby. Also pay attention to the belts in the neck. They should be comfortable enough to have special linings.

When installing car seats up to one and a half years old, which are mounted against the vehicle's travel, do not forget to turn off the airbag, because its operation can be injured by the still-formed baby skeleton.

And one more thing: even with a limited budget, in no case is it recommended to buy used armchairs. After all, to reliably assess whether it was in an accident, it is impossible. And even a small accident can deform the case, which can significantly affect the level of protection.

If you choose a car seat for a newborn, be sure to consider the duration of trips and their frequency. If you have to take the baby up to six months often with you, then it is better not to save money, but to buy a car seat from the category "0". After all, very small children tolerate trips in a semi-sitting position rather poorly.

findings

It is always worth to approach the choice of a children's car seat very responsibly. This is a guarantee of safety of your baby during the trip. All parents, even with a limited budget, try to choose the best chair possible for their baby. First, you should decide on the category of car seat and evaluate which of the additional parameters you really need. After all, each additional function is always reflected in the cost of the car seat. Choosing the best child car seat, consider the manufacturer. After all, a promoted brand is almost always a guarantee of reliability and quality.

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