Wednesday, June 16, 2010

car seats

hello all, sorry i haven't posted in a while, with three kids i get a little busy. here we go. lets talk about car seats. there 3 different types with different uses. most people don't know what use those are so thats why i'm here. there are baby carrier carseats, convertable carseats, and booster carseats.

baby carriers are the first stage of carseats and should not be skipped, AT ALL. there are a couple of reasons why you should not skip this stage. the 1st reason is that some hospitals will not allow you to put a baby in anything else. they are the safest seat for newborns, and infants. the 2nd reason is these carseats recline a little better the convertable carseats. babies like to lie back and these seats do it better than others. the 3rd reason you want a carrier is that it makes it easier for parents to do things. for instance when you go out to dinner, you can just pull out the carseat. if the baby is sleeping, there is no need to wake them. which you should do anyway because babies are on a schedule. like all carseats, these do have a weight limit and they vary from the brand you get. they go from 5 lbs to 35 lbs. so know what the weight limits are for your carrier. important to know, baby carriers are only rear facing seats. putting them forward facing can be deadly so DON"T DO IT.

convertable carseats are great. why you ask? well they are versatile. you can use them for babies all the up throughtoddler ages if you get the right one. now , when i say babies, i mean 5 to 6 months old is when they could go into these carseats. the carriers are still better for babies but its the parent's choice. remember this though, babies must remain rear facing for at least a year AND 20 lbs. baby has to meet both critirea before they switch to front facing. switching a baby early is dangerous for baby. switching early could result in dislocated shoulders or broken collar bones. switching these carseats rear and forward facing is why they are called convertable carseats.

the 3rd group of carseats are the boosters. now boosters can be very different looking from each other. best way to spot a booster is that it does not go rear facing. most boosters look like a tiny seat with a flimsy back. you all know what i'm talking about. but what you probably didn't know is that that flimsy little back is what saves a child from whiplash and back and head injuries. there are boosters that look like convertables but what i learned at the BRU, babies r us, is that with most of those boosters you are still going to have to buy another seat after your child out grows it anyway so i would stick with the little flimsy one.

in my next post i'll talk about some of the different brands and what they offer but for now lets talk about the rules. all carseats have expiration dates, weight limits, and benifits. read all the information about installing and limits. most hospitals will have info on how to install them if you can't seem to get it right. BRU staff use to show you but i'm not sure about now though. police and fire station don't do it anymore because liability issues. now there seems top be a debate over what the height limit is for when a child can get out of a carseat. it is 4 FT 9IN. don't try to get away with taking them out before that. it is not only dangerous but deadly. remember, saftey first, everything else second. oh and by the way, consumer reports are generally wrong when it comes to ranking carseats.

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