How To Choose The Best Convertible Car Seat

Having a convertible car seat is very handy when you have a small baby, especially for those who have an under-one-year-old baby who isn’t able to sit upright alone on the seat as an adult because this it will work as a booster and keep your child safe with the harness. Plus, as a dominant feature, the convertible car seat can allow you to use both rear-facing and forward facing positions. The problem is how to choose the best convertible car seat? Just keep reading this to get clues.

Sturdy

Whatever type of convertible car seat you choose, the brand it comes from, and how much it costs, the safety feature is your priority?. The car seat can’t be secure for you baby if it isn’t sturdy, which also means more durability. Bear in mind the materials made of the baby car seat contribute to the sturdy feature which is very different from various types, but the frame should be made of metal and the remaining materials are durable fabrics.

Harness

The harness works as a belt to tighten small baby in place and prevent him from sliding out from his seat, allowing you to focus on your driving without keeping an eye on him all the time. Also, the harness can reduce the risks of severe injuries when crashing happens. But how should the harness be? The type which is best should be designed with the 5-point harness, which two straps go through shoulders, others are waist straps and the last is between his legs, meaning the safety feature is reinforced. Plus, the 5-point harness is an ideal one because it can provide you the adjustable height positions, which means your baby is given the perfect fit in his seat.

Side-impact protection

The side-impact protection is included the parts designed to enhance the safety and comfort of the baby so that it helps to reduce the risk of the vehicle crash-related death and severe injuries when he is sitting in his car seat. It would be ideal if these parts are adjustable, which allows to easily adjust to cover your baby’s head area.

Commonly, there are two types of material found mostly in car seats, EPP (Expanded PolyPropylene) and EPS, but the energy-absorbing EPP seems to be better at durability and sturdiness, which means to be better at protection.

Latch system

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Latch means Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children – a system that allows installing your car seat directly and securely into your vehicle without using the seatbelt, which means more convenient for you. Where can you find latch system in your vehicle? This varies from different vehicles, often, lower anchors are metal bars found in the seat bight and lower anchors connectors attached on the lower part of your car seat while tethers are attached in the upper part of the back of your car seat. Plus, all the convertible car seats are designed to use the top tether strap and lower anchor connectors, but as recommendations, the rear-facing position shouldn’t use the top tether strap and forward-facing should use lower anchor strap.

Easy-to-use Features

How the convertible car seat is, all the features have to be easy to adjust, remove and install. Most of the convertible car seats are allowed to be switched from forward facing position to rear-facing position, so check whether it is easy to do. The problem is these features can’t be known by bare eyes, therefore, there is no way to check by adjusting and installing in person. a best convertible car seat means there is no hassle and time-consuming process when using.

Recline feature

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The car seats used for infants is often pickier than toddlers because they need to be lying on the car seats, therefore, the baby car seats for them have to meet this requirement: it can be reclined into different levels and used in the rear-facing position.

Hence, having a convertible car seat is very convenient because it can be used as an infant seat, which allows being reclined and switched from the forward-facing position into rear-facing position. However, owning a recline feature isn’t enough to be a best convertible car seat because an infant needs an ideal position to support his spine better. Therefore, the more levels of recline position a convertible car seat can provide, the more ideal it can be. Also, the semi-reclined level is the best position for a newborn, but adjust somewhere else between (30 – 45) degrees is best for older babies.

Comfort

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A safety feature brings the comfortable feeling to you but a comfortable car seat brings the great feeling for your baby. Therefore, a great convertible car seat must be comfortable for your baby to sit during your travel, which means a perfect fit and no hurt feeling caused by any parts of the car seat.

Therefore, to ensure to pick the right one for your baby, knowing the weight and the height of your baby is important because some convertible car seats might be not enough roomy for your baby to sit comfortably. Plus, any extra pads might be included in the car seat should be soft and removable.

Easy-cleaning Materials

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Besides the safety features, keeping cleaning is also worth taking considerations when choosing a convertible car seat. Therefore, knowing what materials your car seat is important, the best one have to be made of materials that allow you to be easy to clean with a damp cloth and mild soap. Also, it would be ideal if it has a cover that can be taken off for washing job.


Knowing how to choose a best convertible car seat means you have to get some nice tips and to know some nice tips, you have to be knowledgeable about the baby car seats. It sounds complicated but the thing is even easier than it is if you spend a little time to learn, but those who still need more information about this field, you may need to read the articles of Cynthia Simmons – the editor of Momever.com, there are numerous articles out there from her, so visit her blog to learn, understand and share together the endless stories about taking care of children.


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