Choosing the Best Safety Seat for Your Child

What is the best seat?

All child safety seats sold in the United States are required to conform to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 213 (FMVSS 213). The best seat for your child will be the one that:

1. Fits your child.
Make sure that your child is within the recommended weight and height guidelines of the child safety seat. Click here to learn more about different types of child safety seats.

2. Fits your vehicle.
Not every child safety seat will install properly in every vehicle. Some stores will allow you to install child safety seats in your vehicle before you purchase one. Make sure that you select one that installs properly in your vehicle. You can learn how to install your child safety seat by making an appointment with a permanent fitting station. You can also click here to learn about proper installation rear facing or here to learn about proper installation forward facing.

3. Fits your budget
A more expensive child safety seat will not necessarily provide more protection for your child than a less expensive one. Remember, every child safety seat is required to meet the same safety standards.

Purchasing a second hand child safety seat should be avoided. Click here for more information on used or second hand child safety seats.

4. Is easy to use
Find a child safety seat that is easy for you to use properly every time (even on short trips). The easier it is for you to use, the more likely it is you will use it correctly every time you travel.

Child Safety Seat Ratings

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has developed an Ease of Use Ratings system for comparing child safety seats. Although you may use the rating information to help you select a child safety seat, remember that the rating may not necessarily mean the seat is the best choice for your child and your vehicle. A properly used and installed child safety seat is the best protection for your child in a crash. To learn more about the rating system click on http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/CPS/CSSRating/Index.cfm