Rated Safest Car Seats
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Infant Bath Seat Perfect for nervous new-parent hands, this reclining bath seat supports your baby in an upright position so that you never have to worry about their head slipping underwater during their first few months of bathing. And using it in the kitchen sink means no more having to bend over a bathtub! Designed for infants up to six months old, 28″ long and 18 pounds…. |
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WeeRide Kangaroo Child Bike Seat $28.99 The WeeRide Kangaroo child seat offers an innovative riding position so the child is visible at all times and can be heard and attended to more easily. The child is provided with a more interesting view, and the weight distribution actually works to enhance the bicycle’s stability. All in all, it offers enhanced safety and a more comfortable, enjoyable ride for the child…. |
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iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat $89.77 Easy and safer loading and unloading of the child, enclosed leg wells for comfort and safety, seat fits most children four years old and younger…. |
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Chicco DJ Baby Walker, Splash $69.99 … |
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Best Baby Products, 9th Ed. (Consumer Reports Best Baby Products) $0.64 More than two decades of new parents have turned to Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, the A-Z guide for everything they need to know about getting the best value on the safest products for their babies. This ninth edition is updated with the latest safety and product buying advice and exclusive Consumer Reports Ratings. Consumer Reports is the only publisher that conducts its own independent, u… |
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iBert Safe-T-Seat Front Child Seat (Green,38-Pounds limit) $84.95 The iBert safe-T-seat was designed on the premise that all child bike carriers are not created equal. The safe-T-seat lets you interact with your child while riding. Equipped with a three-point harness and lap bar, the safe-T-seat puts your child at the front of the bike, where she is safe, comfortable, and entertained. The front-mounted location is more fun than a bike trailer, which limits y… |
How To Properly Use a Car Seat’s Harness Straps
The vast majority of parents spend a tremendous amount of time and energy selecting the best car seat for their child. Unfortunately, statistics from safety seat technicians demonstrate that over 50% of children are not properly secured in their seats, as the tension on their harnesses is too loose. If your toddler is not properly secured, then she will actually be able to wiggle her arms out of the straps, and have her entire torso unsecured, a very dangerous position in case of a crash.
Children’s spines are more delicate than adults’, and a stretch of even one-quarter of an inch during a motor vehicle crash can cause irreparable damage to a child’s body.
How can you be sure that the harness of your child’s straps is tightened to the optimal tension level? You don’t want the harness to be too lose, as that will result in a dangerous forward-propelling motion in case of a motor vehicle accident. On the other hand, you don’t want the harness to be too tight, as that would make your child uncomfortable.
The pinch test is the first thing that you want to do after buckling your baby into her car seat and tightening the straps. Are you able to pinch the strap together between two fingers? That is a sign that the strap is much too lose and must be tightened to the point where there is no slack available for pinching.
Avoid dressing your child in a thick coat. Parkas that have puffy fabrics will induce slack into the harness in case of a crash, which would render the safety features less effective. Dress your child in winter coats that are thin to touch, which are widely available at retailers such as Lands End or LL Bean. Alternatively, you can buckle your child into her seat without a coat and then lay the coat over her backwards during your travels. A hot water bottle or heated bag of rice will also keep your baby warm for those first few minutes of driving until the heat has spread throughout your vehicle.
Never soak the harness straps, as that can weaken their fibers and eliminate their fire protection safety features. Use a damp cloth to clean the straps with mild dish detergent. Additionally, an old toothbrush will do a marvelous job of removing crumbs or stains.
For further information, read the Britax Roundabout 55 review as well as the Britax Boulevard review along with other articles comparing the features and conveniences of top rated safety seats. Britax car seats contain straps which are replacable, which means that an upset stomach will not necessitate the purchase of an entiredly new seat.
About the Author
Joy McNamara is a mother of three and passionate safety advocate. Read Joy’s comprehensive convertible car seat reviews: The Evenflo Triumph review as well as the Britax Marathon review along with other articles comparing the features and conveniences of top rated safety seats.
Rated Safest Car Seats