Aug 16, 2013 - After 31 years, Debbi Baer of Pikesville, The Car Seat Lady, still has her passion for getting kids safely situated in cars. Infant car seats install rear-facing only, and are best for babies up to a year old and weighing between 4 and 40 pounds. This type of car seat is the best first seat for most babies and the best.
As soon as expectant parents go public with their big news, the baby gear bonanza begins: Cribs that transform into toddler beds, self-folding strollers that charge cellphones and the millions of smaller-ticket items, like the $15 Swedish-designed contraption that does a superior job of clearing out your baby’s nose. (It really does).
But there is one essential piece of equipment that even many hospitals won’t let newborns leave without: a car seat.
Beyoncé’s daughter had been spotted around town in the Orbit Baby infant car seat, which retails for about $440 — paparazzi shield included. But my cab-hailing toddler occasionally uses a $44 seat, the Cosco Scenera Next, manufactured and packaged in 10 minutes on an assembly line in Indiana.
Many parents may be willing to spend more in the name of safety, especially in a world where defective ignition switches and exploding airbags manage to escape the attention of safety regulators for far too long.
But is there superior safety to be had in the most expensive seats, such as the $875 Maxi Cosi Pria 70, in hand-sewn leather, a car seat that can easily be mistaken for one of Brookstone’s full-body massage chairs?
Not necessarily.
Car seats need to meet federal safety standards, but many children are still injured in crashes or worse, in part because three out of four car seats are not installed properly, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Other studies put the misuse rate much higher.
“A seat is only as safe as how well it is used,” said Alisa Baer, a pediatrician who has installed more than 10,000 car seats and one of the certified child car safety experts behind the Car Seat Lady, an advocacy group. “Anytime something is easier, there is a greater chance you will be using it properly.”
Many parents will buy three different seats by the time their child finishes kindergarten, which explains how Americans spent nearly $715 million on the seats in 2012, according to Mintel, a research firm. But it’s hard to differentiate between true safety features and mere aesthetics.
Here’s a guide to help you decide which features may be worth paying for:
THE LINGO All seats can be secured using a seatbelt or the Latch system (which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), essentially a set of metal clips buried in the back-seat cushions and a top tether, the position of which depends on the car.
Regardless of which seat or installation method you choose, children up to 2 years old should be seated rear-facing (that is, looking at the back seat), which is the safest position possible. It’s strongly suggested they continue to ride that way until they are too tall or heavy for that style of seat.
THE SEATS There are generally three broad categories: infant seats, convertible seats (which can be rear- or forward-facing) and boosters, for older children. Many parents choose rear-facing infant car seats, which typically last until the child is 6 to 15 months old, on average, according to the Car Seat Lady. These seats are convenient because they can also serve as a baby carrier, albeit an unwieldy one. They can snap into a base installed into the car, as well as into a stroller frame. Convertible seats, which typically last until the child is 4 to 6 years old, are heavier and generally far less portable.
By the time those seats are well worn, children graduate to the booster, which many states require until the children are 6 or 8 years old. But Dr. Baer said that it was safest to use them far longer, or until the seatbelt fits the child properly without a booster, typically when they are 10 to 12.
There are also “all in one” seats that are designed to work from birth to booster. “What we find is the more the seat tries to do, the less good it does at each role,” said Jennifer Stockburger, the director of operations at Consumer Reports national automotive test center and head of its car seat testing program.
EASE-OF-USE FEATURES Several items can make the seat less of a hassle to install and use, though they may add a bit to the cost. Depending on how many features you want, prices can range from $100 to much more.
Some seats have separate straps for each half of the body, which makes it less likely the straps will twirl or become uneven, which can be dangerous in a crash. “More expensive seats often, but not always, have separate straps,” said Dr. Baer.
As your child grows, you’ll also need to adjust the shoulder strap height. Some seats require you to pull the straps out and rethread them through the seat, while others are much simpler (look for a “no rethread” harness).
Other features make the seat installation less laborious. Push-on Latch connectors (as opposed to a less expensive hook) are easier to attach to the vehicle’s metal anchor, and disconnect with the push of a button.
Seatbelt lock-off devices help pinch the belt into place. And finally, it’s important to position rear-facing seats at the proper angle: Some seats have a built-in foot or different recline positions that will help achieve this without using towels or other jury-rigging. Many seats also have an indicator on the side to help you figure it out; the easiest, on more expensive seats, is a bubble indicator like the kind on a contractor’s level.
SAFETY FEATURES All seats must meet strict federal safety standards, which, among other things, include passing a frontal crash test in a lab at 30 miles per hour.
Dr. Baer said a few features that enhanced safety, such as seats with “rigid Latch” systems, leave less room for error during installation. (Examples include the Nuna Pipa seat base or the Clek Foonf, when forward-facing only.)
There’s also something called a “load leg,” a metal bar that comes down from the bottom of the child’s seat and rests on the floor. “This significantly decreases the forces on the head and neck during a crash,” Dr. Baer said. “That doesn’t mean seats without it are dangerous. These are just some features that you can buy that enhance safety.”
Are fluffier seats any safer? Paul Powers, president of Dorel Juvenile, which manufacturers several car seat brands, says that its economy-price seats are just as safe as the plushest ones. “There are some things that are more important to different people,” he said. “But safety is not one of the things we trade off.”
But Ms. Stockburger of Consumer Reports said that in its crash tests, seats with energy-absorbing foam around the head, such as expanded polypropylene or polystyrene, performed better than those without it, particularly in the rear-facing position. “It helps absorb some of the energy that would be transferred to the head,” she said.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS If you’re thinking about buying a used seat, be sure it was never in a crash or recalled by the manufacturer. Also pay attention to the car seat’s age: Just like milk, these seats can expire, typically in five to 10 years, because the plastic may become brittle, among other things.
The car itself can also make the job more difficult. A recent study assessing how easy it was to install seats with the Latch system in 102 vehicles awarded the highest rating to just three cars: the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class and the Volkswagen Passat. Ten vehicles received poor ratings, including the Nissan Altima and Volkswagen Jetta, but the rest were in between.
CIRCUMSTANCES Everyone’s lifestyle is different. People with multiple children may need narrower seats that can fit three across the back seat, whereas city dwellers may want a seat that can be installed quickly using a seatbelt while giving directions to a cabdriver.
When I told Dr. Baer about my carless family in Brooklyn, she suggested the Immi GO. That is the same seat she recommended for UberFamily, which charges an extra $10 for a car seat. The Immi GO installs quickly and easily with Latch, weighs just 10 pounds and fits in its own travel bag.
For now, I’m sticking with my seat. But after being schooled by the experts, I’m going to reread the installation instructions before our next ride.
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