Choose the baby car seat that will help protect your newborn
Each year thousands of young children are injured or killed in car crashes. Choosing the correct car seat and exercising the proper use of it can help to keep children safe on the road. Children need their own specially designed safety car seat to keep them safe, not only in the event of a car crash, but also for sudden braking, swerving or bumping. Their little bodies are more vulnerable to injury than adults. Baby and toddler car seats are especially designed to protect vulnerable areas at each stage of a child’s development. Not only does an infant or child need to be safely restrained during a car journey, but he or she also needs to feel comfortable. A comfortable child is a happy, contented child, and thus reduces the risk of being a distraction to the driver.
Infant and Child Car Seats - make the right choice
With so many different types of car seats available, choosing the right car safety seat can be mind-boggling. The type of car seat your child needs depends on his or her age, size and development.
The lead author of new policy statements and chair of the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) recently stated : ‘Over the last 10 years, four children under 14 and younger died each day. We hope that by helping parents and caregivers use the right car safety seat for each and every ride, we can better protect kids and prevent tragedies.’
5 Child Car Seat Recommendations For Optimal Safety
- To assist parents in making a decision as to which car seat would be appropriate, the AAP's policy statement highlights five recommendations for optimal safety:
- All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the seat's manufacturer.
- All children who have outgrown the rear-facing weight or height limit for their car safety seat should use a forward-facing car safety seat with a harness for as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the seat's manufacturer.
- All children whose weight or height is above the forward-facing limit for their car safety seat should use a belt-positioning booster seat until the vehicle lap and shoulder seat belt fits properly, typically when they have reached 4 feet 9 inches (146 cm) in height and are between 8 and 12 years of age.
- When children are old enough and large enough to use the vehicle seat belt alone, they should always use lap and shoulder seat belts for optimal protection.
- All children younger than 13 years should be restrained in the rear seats of vehicles for optimal protection.
Child Car Seats from Baby Central New Zealand have been selected to help you make the right decision when choosing the car safety seat for your child. Browse our collections for children from newborns to 12 years old.