Safety First

Safety First

The car seat is primarily a safety device, so nothing that you do with or to the car seat should in any way diminish its effectiveness as a safety device for protecting your child. If any of these suggestions are impractical for your situation, then avoid them as the safety of your child is of the most importance.

Sunshades are a great idea

Your baby will be sitting in your car on at least one sunny day and even if the windows are up and the air is on, you may wish to protect baby's sensitive eyes from the glare of the sunshine. This is true even in winter time, so ensure that your car seat has a shade that you can adjust to block out unwanted sunshine. This is a really useful feature if the baby is sleeping and you wish to reduce the amount of ambient light that reaches your little one.

Toy compatibility

The ability to hang toys from the handle of the car seat without having to worry about strangulation or choking hazards is important. Even on short trips it can be critical to have something in place to entertain or distract the baby. Just like having a mobile over the crib will serve to help the baby's visual development, similar toys on the handle will give them a sense of comfort and a toy to play with if you are stuck in traffic. The hand of the car seat may have grooves, notches or holes built in for you to use notched attachments to clip your toys on.

Removable and Washable covers

It's inevitable that there will be spills, accidents and leaks when a baby is in the picture. The car seat must have a surface that not only stands up to regular wiping, but that may be removed and undergo occasionally washing. It should dry quickly as you need it to be ready to go back into service quickly. The material should also be breathable. This means that if your baby has to sit in the seat for a couple of hours on the way to grandma's house they should not become overheated because no air is able to circulate on their backs.

Easy Strap Adjustments

Newborns grow quickly and in the spring and fall the number of layers that are necessary can vary over the course of a few minutes. This means that your baby may have on a lot of clothes when you leave home, but be down to a one side by the time you head home. For safe travel the straps of the car seat should adjust so that a snug enough fit is achieved. This means that ideally you will adjust the straps each time the child is placed in the car seat, so that they have the best fit. Adjusting straps can be a hassle based on some designs, so try before you buy. In the store, see how long it will take you to let the car seat straps in or out by 2 or 3 inches. If it takes you more than a couple minutes to do, consider buying a model that allows you to do it faster. This will encourage you to always appropriately adjust the straps in an important task for baby's safety.