CAR SEAT BUYING GUIDE
Stage 1
When buying car seats you want to think about safety, quality and longevity. If your expecting a baby, the two seats that provide top level safety and support, and would also be the only harnessed car seat your child would need are the Avionaut Sky and Axkid One+
These car seats would be fixed in the car at all times therefore no option to use with the base of your pushchair, this may seem like a negative however, given the recommendations on the length of time to keep an infant in the infant carrier is 45 minutes, these options reduce the risk of the infant being in the seat too long.
Alternatively you could opt for an infant carrier, infant carriers give you the option of being able to use the car seat with your pushchair chassis which parents find helpful when running quick errands like shop visits and dropping other children at school.
When choosing an infant carrier the key thing to look at is the inserts that come inside the seat, you should look for inserts that create a flat space where the baby will be seated, this is to ensure baby is in a straight position and not slumped into a deep C shape which can cause the baby's chin to slumped to the chest and create a risk of positional asphyxiation. Infant carriers with good supportive inserts promote good position and reduce the risk of chin to chest, this is extremely important to avoid within the first 6 months of life. The Avionaut Pixel Pro avaiable here has 2 removable inserts, one being a bolster cushion which promotes an ergonomic position.
Stage 2
Your baby is growing fast! They are outgrowing the infant carrier by height or weight. It is time to buy the next stage car seat. Key things to look at here are the weight and height of the child, as this will determine what seat will last the child as long as possible. A child following the 50th percentile for height and weight will reach 18kg/ 105cm at around age 4, the lower the child's percentiles are the longer the seat will last, the higher the child's percentiles are the shorter the seat will last. At Simple Safe Car Seats we recommend a seat with a 25kg weight limit and 125cm height limit for all children on or above the 50th percentile to enable rear facing for as long as possible. Look for car seats that have passed the Plus Test, this is the toughest crash test in the world to pass and will give you peace of mind when driving.
Stage 3
Your child has now outgrown the harnessed seat and is ready for a high backed booster! Some features to consider are, isofix so you don't need to strap the seatbelt in when not in use, a crotch piece for optimal seatbelt positioning, expanding or wide wings to accommodate a child's shoulders and arms comfortably as they grow.
At Simply Safe Car Seats we don't recommend children under age 5 use high backed boosters due to maturity of the skeleton and maturity of the behaviour. The child must be able to sit correctly 100% of the time, have a safe belt fit with the shoulder belt sitting just above the child's shoulders, and the lap belt sitting low and flat across the hips and touching the top of the thighs, and be able to maintain a safe position if they fall asleep and not slumping down in the chair. Having the seatbelt positioned too high on the child's soft areas has potential to cause internal damage in a collision.
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