Did You Choose the Safest Car Seat for Your Baby?

Buying car seats for infants and toddlers has become as confusing as buying anything else. Here in America, we have an overabundance to too many choices. Sometimes this is good, sometimes it just adds to the confusion.

If you're in the market for a car seat here's some quick information for you. Learn about the different types of car seats and features of each one.

Infant car seats are for babies less than 30 pounds and 32 inches tall. Infant seats usually have two parts to them - the base and the carrier. They're made this way so if your baby is sleeping, you can lift the entire carrier out of the car without waking up your precious little bundle.

The best rated infant car seats are the Graco SnugRide. This seat costs anywhere from $80 to $150 depending on where you buy it, It also gets the best ratings from independent crash tests.

The second-best rated infant car seat is the Chicco KeyFit which sells for around $160.

Convertible car seats are the next step up in baby car seats. Convertible car seats that face the rear of the car are for babies up to 30 pounds while the forward -facing seats are for kids up to 40 pounds. You can even find some convertible car seats that hold children up to 65 pounds.

If your budget can't handle buying an infant car seat and a convertible car seat in one year, your best bet is to choose a convertible car seat. As long as your baby weighs at least 5 pounds, a rear-facing convertible car seat will be safe.

Don’t compromise your baby's safety with cheap infant car seats. Choose the option of a convertible car seat that your baby can grow with and be safe in at all times.

The best convertible car seats as rated by independent testers are the Britax Roundabout Convertible car seat, Cosco Scenera, Britix Boulevard, and Sunshine Kids Radian65.

Car seat and strollers are 3-in-1 combos that seem like a very good deal. With these car seats, you get a stroller, car seat, and the base the car seat snaps into.

This type of car seat has a high convenience factor and tends to be great for the first year. However, ratings for these aren’t that great. It seems that the strollers aren’t as good as regular strollers, and they tend to be big and heavy - some weighing as much as 40 pounds.

The best-rated car seat and strollers combos are the Baby Trend Snap-N-Go and the Chicco Cortina Travel System.

Car seats can be both annoying and expensive. They're annoying because you have to lug them around and most often strap a child who doesn’t want to be strapped into them. Car seats can take quite a chunk out of your budget and add to all the other baby paraphernalia expenses.

Even though you may feel this way about car seats, follow the guidelines and use the correct car seat to keep your baby safe. NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, says that most accidents involving infants and children are the result of improper use and installation. Don’t take the safety of your child for granted, choose the right seat for your baby according to size and weight and buy the best car seat for your child.