There are hundreds of newborn car seats on the market, it is hard to know where to begin when choosing one for your baby. The number of features and the price of car seats varies wildly. Which one is safest? Is the model you picked compatible with your vehicle and lifestyle? I hope that after reading this, you will feel more confident in finding a great car seat for your newborn, and in how to learn to install and use it safely. And I encourage you to schedule an appointment with a Child Passenger Safety Technician near you!
Q&A with Lea a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician:
What Kind of Car Seats are for Newborns?
There are two types of car seats on the market today that fit newborns. The first type is the rear facing only, the car seat that is shaped like a bucket or a pumpkin and it only faces the back of the car. The second type is the convertible. It’s a bigger car seat that faces the back of the car and then when a child reaches the limit either in height or weight, you can turn it around to face them forward. So the rear facing only car seat will last a shorter amount of time. By around nine months, most children have outgrown the rear facing only car seat. The manual can tell you the height and weight limit for your car seat. Most rear facing only car seats on the market have a weight limit of about 35 pounds but make sure to look at the height limit too because in reality the child often outgrows the seat by height sooner. With a convertible seat it's the same thing, keep an eye on those height and weight limits. Because these limits are often much higher, the child can rear face in the convertible seat much longer. Children can rear face in the average convertible car seat safely until about age three or four. Some people choose to buy a rear facing only seat and switch to a convertible after their child has reached the height or weight limit.
Rear Facing Only | Convertible | |
Stroller Compatibility | Usually can remove seat from base and many of them click onto strollers with the proper adapters. Make sure to check if your stroller and car seat will work together | Cannot use with a stroller |
Longevity | Babies outgrow these seats at a younger age | Can flip it to forward facing when child has outgrown the height or weight limit of rear facing in the convertible car seat |
Size and Weight of Car Seat | Smaller and generally lighter | Larger and generally heavier |
Note: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends “All infants and toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car safety seat (CSS) as long as possible, until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by their CSS’s manufacturer”
What Brand of Car Seat is the Safest?
All the seats on the market today in the U.S. pass the same exact test. No matter the brand, no matter of the features that the seat has, they all are equally safe if they’re used and installed correctly. The main thing is to read the manual, install it correctly and use it correctly every time, no matter if it was the $50 car seat or the $500 car seat, they all pass the same exact test.
What Location in the Car is Safest to Install a Newborn Car Seat?
People used to say that the safest place was the rear middle seat, but nowadays we know that the safest place for your car seat is the place where you can get a very good installation and where you’re going to use your car seat correctly every time. We should take into account your lifestyle, any physical restrictions you might have, the type of vehicle you drive and find the location that will be safest for you.
Car seats should not be installed in the front row of a car or in any seat that is side-facing or rear-facing. As long as the seat faces forward and is not in the front row of your car, it is safe choice to install a car seat. If you have a sports car or a truck that has no backseat, we recommend talking to the manufacture of the vehicle, the manufacturer of the car seat and a Child Passenger Safety Technician before making a decision because there are very specific situations where exceptions can be made, but it’s not universal, so the bottom line is we should not put a child in the front seat.
Who can Perform a Car Seat Check and Why Get One?
There are certified professionals called Child Passenger Safety Technicians (CPST) and I am one. We teach people how to ride in the car safely and how to use seat belts and car seats for adults, teenagers, kids and babies; for everybody. We teach people how to install car seats and we recommend that the family talks to a CPST before buying a car seat to make sure that the one you buy is compatible with your car and your lifestyle. Car seats are not universal. Sometimes we see people buy a car seat that doesn’t work in their car, or it doesn’t fit their lifestyle, so it makes using it unsafe. Please talk to a CPST before you choose and buy a car seat. We also find that a lot of car seats are either installed incorrectly or not being used correctly which makes them less safe. Working with a CPST can help ensure that you are using your car seat in the safest way possible.
When Should I get a Car Seat Check and What to Expect?
We recommend that you install your newborn car seat by 34 weeks and get a car seat check with a CPST by 36 weeks to make sure that it is installed correctly. We will teach you how to install the car seat using a seatbelt and how to install the car seat using the lower anchors. We show you how to put your child in the car seat, where the strap should go on your child’s body, where the buckles should go, how tight the straps should be, when to use the inserts and when to remove the inserts. We go over all the features that your car seat has, and we teach you how to grow your car seat with your child by using all the features.
We want you to be able to practice using your car seat so that by the time that your baby gets here, you know how to use the car seat correctly and you don’t have to learn while your baby is crying. We also look at the inside and outside of the car, teaching you features that your car has to make the child safe, and we make suggestions about lifestyle to keep your kids safe in the car too.
How to Find a CPST to Perform a Car Seat Check:
The agency that oversees Child Passenger Safety Technicians is called Safe Kids Worldwide. Below is a link where you can input your ZIP Code and the language that you speak, and it will populate a list of technicians in your area that offer these services.
A Few Other Tips:
-Make sure to register your car seat with the manufacturer to receive recall & safety notices.
-Once a car seat has been involved in an accident, it is no longer considered safe to use. Please be very careful of this if you considering getting a used car seat from a friend or coworker. Make sure it is someone that you trust and that you know that the car seat has not been involved in any accidents.
-Car seats also have very specific cleaning directions; most parts can only be spot cleaned. Using the wrong cleaning methods or harsh chemicals can weaken or damage the car seat and it is no longer considered safe to use. If you are considering a used car seat, make sure that the previous owner followed the cleaning directions.
Lea is a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician based in the San Francisco Bay Area and is passionate about helping keep kids safe through caregiver education and connecting parents to resources. She is also a Birth and Postpartum Doula, runs various support groups in the area (especially for the local Brazilian Community), is the Owner of Golden Gate Parenting Solutions and so much more. She lives with her husband, two children and sweet pit+lab mix named Milo.
If you want to learn more about the services that Lea offers, you can find her at Golden Gate Parenting Solutions: