Another informative article from Levi Quinn.

Having your child restrained properly in a car seat, booster seat or seat belt is very important. Not only does it give your child a better chance of withstanding an accident but it is also the law. Laws vary from state to state as far as age, weight, height and what type of seat the child should be restrained in. So you should check with the state you live in to find out what the laws are for that particular state.

However the best rule of thumb is to follow the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) guidelines. The NHTSA recommends that children stay in appropriate car seats through 8 years old, 80 pounds, or up to 4’9″ in height.

Birth to Age One

For birth through one year of age, NHTSA recommends that infants should be an infant-only or rear-facing convertible seat and should ride rear facing up to one year of age or at least 20 pounds. Rear-facing seats should be at a 30 to 45 degree angle.

It may be hard for some parents to drive with their infant facing in the opposite direction. It almost seems unnatural not to be able to see your baby. But just as it is important to support a newborn’s head as you cradle them in your arms, it is also important that their head and neck be protected in a vehicle. Since baby’s neck muscles are not fully developed all those bumps in the road, twist and turns and sometimes-sudden stops can really impact a tiny baby. The rear-facing seat helps minimize these motions for the baby. You can purchase some mirrors to use so that you can keep an eye on your baby while they are in the rear-facing car seat.

One to Four Years

Children 1 to 4 years old and weigh 20 to 40 pounds should be in a convertible or forward facing car seat.

Four to Eight Years

Some states only require children to be restrained in car seats until the age of four. However, seat belts usually don’t fit most four-year-olds properly. The NHTSA recommends that children who are 4 to 8 years old and more than 40 pounds, should be in a belt positioning booster seat either backless or high back.

Eight Years and Up

All children under the age of 12 should ride in the backseat. Never seat an infant or child in a position where an airbag can be deployed. When used with seat belts, air bags work very well to protect teenagers and adults. However, air bags can be very dangerous to children, particularly those riding in rear-facing car safety seats and to child passengers who are not properly positioned. Even in a relatively low-speed crash, the air bag can inflate, strike the car safety seat, and cause serious brain and neck injury and death.

Remember to Follow Manufacturer’s Instructions

Always read and follow manufacturer’s instructions. If you do not have the manufacturer’s instructions for your car safety seat, write or call the company’s customer service department. They will ask you for the model number, name of seat, and date of manufacture. The manufacturer’s address and phone number are on the label on the seat. Also be sure to follow the instructions in your vehicle owner’s manual about using car safety seats.

[Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/]

Technorati Tags: carseat laws, carseat safety

Once our child isn’t so little anymore and they’ve moved onto
their toddler years clothes aren’t the only thing you’ll need to
replace. One thing you can’t go without or afford to avoid
buying is a car seat made for your toddler. As your child grows
the requirements will slowly change and a new car seat is
needed.

If you’re looking for a car seat for your toddler there are
several great ones to choose from. Although, first it is
important to realize what kind of car seat you need first!

Convertible car seats: Convertible car seats are great because
they are usually used for children up to 4 years of age. They
can be used from the day they’re born until they out-grow their
seat which is usually around 60-70s lbs.  When you go this
route, you don’t have to worry about buying an infant car seat
but a booster seat is still needed for the future.

Booster car seats: Booster seats are used later down the road
typically at the age of 5. The weight for these is usually
40-100lbs so your child can definitely get a lot of use with one
of these! These are also cheaper than most convertible car seats
which is nice.

3-in-1 car seats: These are great because they are an infant,
convertible and booster seat all in one. You change the seat
around as your child grows. It is important to pay attention to
the weight and height requirements that way you know when to
adjust your child into their new seat. These are reasonably
priced and can be used from the day they’re born until they no
longer need a car seat!

Our favorites:

Convertible: When it comes to convertible car seats our
favorites are always Britax. Britax has so many great
convertible car seats to choose from. Not to mention, they have
some of the best safety ratings, reviews and ratings from other
parents that own them. Also, the features they come with are top
of the line. Everything from removable, washable fabric covers,
to cup holders, 5 pt harnesses and true side impact protection
to protect your little one from crash forces are the reason they
are at the top.

Booster: There are a lot of great booster seats on the market
but some are better sellers than others. The ones we tend to
like are the Cosco High Back Booster, the Evenflo Big Kid
Booster and the Graco Backless TurboBooster.

3-in-1: When it comes to 3-in-1 car seats these are limited.
Although, Safety 1st has a great selection of these to choose
from! If you’re interested check out what that company has to
offer.

Finding the right car seat for your toddler isn’t too hard to
do it just takes some simple researching like this! Here you’ve
learned what kind to look for, what features to look for and now
you have a good understanding as to which ones are the best for
each category! Take your time and be sure to give a good look
around!

About the Author: Find the best Car Seats for Toddlers at
http://www.findmycarseat.com/convertible-car-seats/ and more of
my work at http://FindMyCarSeat.com.

Source: http://www.isnare.com

Technorati Tags: booster seat, car seat, graco, toddler

If there’s something wrong with the seat itself- destroy it. Cut the harness and try to break the shell so that nobody else picks it up and uses it. You can get a convertible for her that will allow her to rear face up to 35-45 pounds.

Joel’s Journey is the story of an 18 month old 33 pounds boy who was properly placed in a forward facing car seat, whose neck was broken in a car accident. Had he been rear facing, he would not have broken his neck. It really is safest to keep your LO rear facing until his 2nd birthday and 30 pounds at minimum.

http://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/long/30/4/12-a

http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

http://www.joelsjourney.org/

My godson is happily rear facing at 17 months and 29 pounds in his Graco MyRide 65

I found this on Delta’s website :
"——————————————————————————–

Strollers & Child Restraint Seats
Children’s strollers and seat restraints are not counted as part of the standard baggage and therefore can easily be checked for free. For your convenience these items may be checked at curbside, the ticket counter, or at the gate.

Child restraint seats may be brought on board the plane in certain circumstances. For instance, if there is an open passenger seat in your row, you may place your child in an FAA-approved child restraint in that seat during take-off and landing. If an empty passenger seat is not available for your child restraint, the item must be checked at the gate by a Delta representative."

Now, Because they can be easily checked for free, Are they? And how do you package your car seat for flying? Thanks you !

First of all, you already answered your own question by posting that Delta does not consider a carseat "baggage" and can be checked for free. I have done it and it is free. If you check it, just put it in a couple heavy duty trash bags and use duct tape to conform the bags to the shape of the seat. Use the duct tape generously!

you can also use the car seat in the aircraft if you want. Strollers can be used at the airport (highly recommended, kids don’t wander off that way), the flight attendant will "gate check" the stoller so it will be ready and waiting as you deplane.

Just curious..?

our son was in the middle until our daughter was born. now theres one on either side. not only was it safer but he liked beng able to see out the windshield

2. I don’t know of anyone who has their seat installed wrong, but I know of plenty of people who have their child installed improperly in the seat. Either the straps are too loose, too twisted, or the chest clip is positioned too low on the child. OR they have a cover on the infant seat between the baby and the seat, or dangly toys on the bar, or they leave the bar up or down depending on the brand of the infant seat which is wrong for that brand when the car is in motion (so I guess you could say that that is an incorrect install for that particular carseat).

3. I’ve said something, but they won’t change it themselves. If it’s a matter of a child being improperly placed in the seat and I’m riding with them, I’ll fix it.