How to Buy Baby Car Seat

�Baby�s on Board�, you would have read this phrase on many four wheelers. The question that comes forward is that how safe and comfortable your baby is on board? A commonly asked question by parents is which is the best car seat? There are varieties of infant car seats available in the market, but the best is one that fits your car, is under your budget, and is safe and comfortable for your baby. A car seat should be a combination of comfort and safety. You need to be very careful while choosing a car seat for your baby. It should not be just any seat because if it is not comfortable and safe enough, it can cause serious problems for your baby while riding. Few basic things to keep in mind while buying a car seat are that it should be comfortable and safe; it should fit your car; and be easy to handle and use. This article provides you a detail insight on different baby car seats and the judgment criteria to buy a good baby car seat for your toddler.

Types of Baby Car Seats

Infant Car Seats
It is a car seat designed especially for babies. It can be used for six to twelve months depending on the growth rate of your baby. These car seats are designed to ride in your car in a rear facing position. They cannot be turned around to a forward facing position. The infant car seat can also be used as a carrier.

Convertible Car Seats
Convertible car seats can be used from a baby�s birth till the time they outgrow a car seat. This seat gives you full returns on your investment. This can be used both in the forward facing or rear facing positions depending on the weight of your baby. But, these seats cannot be used as carriers like infant car seats. These are a bit bulky and parents find it difficult to use it. These are not easily movable also.

Convertible Car Seat With Shield
These are not all popular and are rare to find nowadays. Also, people raised a question in regard to safety, particularly with infants under 20 pounds.

Booster Car Seats
This can be used only for infants in a forward facing position. The weight requirement differs from 30-40 pounds, depending on the model you select. This kind of seat can have its own harness or buckle and can use the same safety belt provided in the car. This provides a comfortable sitting for your baby.

Tips to Buy Baby Car Seat

Comfortable
A baby car seat should be really comfortable with appropriate head and back support. Only if the seat is comfortable, your baby can enjoy the ride without any problems.

Easy To Install
The baby car seat should be user friendly. It should be easy to handle and install. If it seems that you need some special skill to install the seat then it is a wrong choice. A simple comfortable seat is one which you can use easily, so until you get one such seat, continue searching.

Adjustable Belts
A good car seat should have adequate belts for safety and should be adjustable. Avoid using car seats that require you to adjust the buckle from behind. A good car seat should allow you to make adjustments from front.

Easily Washable
Where there is a baby, there is bound to mess, but some manufacturers tend to ignore this point. A car seat should come with pads that are detachable and can be washed.

Stability
Car seats should be stable enough and should not be shaky. This will hamper the comfort of your baby. Seats manufactured before 1999 came equipped with tether strap attached to the top of the seat. This tether hooks itself to the bolt of the car, adding on to the stability of the seat. Seats manufactured after 2002 started coming with an addition of lower anchors along with the tethers. This helped the seat to be attached directly to the car making it more safe and comfortable for the baby.

Adequate Restraints
If you are looking for an infant-toddler seat go for one with full safety harness. There should be one strap for each thigh, and one between the baby�s legs. Having these straps are much safer than plastic shields or T-bar restraints.