Baby Car Seat advice

Buying a Baby Car Seat

A car seat is going to be one of those pieces of baby equipment you are going to need to purchase fairly early on. In fact you will need it for the journey home from hospital. In fact there are laws in place to ensure safety for your baby, apart from anything else though, its just common sense. All children under the age of twelve MUST be secured into a suitable car seat. There are so many ranges, colours and styles it can be confusing as which is the right one for you, so before you go on a buying spree, let us give you some pointers on car seats generally.

Broadly speaking do not buy a second hand car seat as it may have been in an accident previously and the impact, strain or stress may have already caused structural weakness in parts of the seat, therefore reducing its effectiveness.

The weight of baby is very important when selecting a car seat, car seats will show you the weight range the seat is designed for. If your baby is above or below the weight indicated on the car seat, it may not provide full protection or effectiveness.

Don’t become too clouded and convinced by the style or colour of a car seat, that’s not important, its all about safety remember.

Car seats should be secured by either an adult seat belt, (tighten as much as possible) or via something called an ISOFIX anchorage point. An ISOFIX anchorage point makes fitting a car seat pretty much a ‘plug in’ exercise. Check your car first and select a car seat accordingly. All new ECE cars from February 2006 onwards should have the ISOFIX anchorage points. A quick look in the car manual should tell you if your car has them or not.

There are a few different types of car seats available, namely Infant, combination, forward facing, high back booster with harness and high back booster without harness. Select the car seat based on baby’s weight and your individual needs.

Ultimately your Childs safety needs to be paramount so choose and select carefully, selecting as many safety features as possible for your budget.


4little1s.com has a selection of car seats on their website 4little1s.com and if you are not sure on anything......just ask us, as we are here to help and more than happy to advise from first hand experience of being mums ourselves !

See our 'select' range of Baby Car Seat styles and makes

REMEMBER:

- Its against the law for a child under 12 and under 135cm to travel in a car without a car seat
- Choose a car set based on your childs weight
- Check you car seats fits correctly and snug into your car
- Don't use a second hand car seat
- Don't place an infant car seat in a passenger seat fitted with an active airbag


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