How to Choose the Right Infant Car Seat

One thing that always amazes me when I encounter people researching car seats is that the first thing they want to know is 'which one is the best' or 'which one is the safest'? Don't get me wrong, I completely understand where they are coming from, and those are valid questions, but they don't answer the REAL question being asked (or, at best, it only addresses part of the real question). What is that exactly? Glad you asked!

The real question is 'which is the best car seat for you and your children'? Or, you could think of it this way: You need to DEFINE what the 'best' means to you!

What? Isn't the best simply the best?

Well, not really because 'the best' is more of a personal question. One person may say the best car seat is the safest one that's it. Another person (the more thoughtful one, in my opinion) may say the best is the one that combines the lowest price, with the highest safety ratings. Ah, now we're getting somewhere! That second person is on the right track as they are implicitly (i.e. they may not realize it, but they are none-the-less) starting to form a basis for research and analysis. In effect, what you're doing is starting to realize that you have a particular set of personal CRITERIA for selecting the BEST CAR SEAT FOR YOU and YOUR FAMILY. You see, the safest car seat (the best for some people, apparently), may well also be the most expensive (perhaps prohibitively so). Are you okay with getting the safest car seat, but perhaps one you can't afford? I think not obviously if you can't actually buy the one you (think) you want, then you've made no progress on this important decision!

So, I think you can begin to see that you must FIRST take some time to think through what will define the best car seat for you and your child. Obviously, the most important criterion is that of safety, since that's why we put our children in car seats in the first place (locking them in place so they're not buzzing around your vehicle is just a side-benefit ). The advantage of this approach is that it gives you a consistent basis from which to review your options (so you analyze each option the same way and thus fairly), it forces you to really think about and prioritize what will be best for you and your child, and it allows you to quickly eliminate possible options (and there so are many of them) by just quickly seeing which immediately fail to meet your criteria.

While I cannot tell you what those criteria should be (again, it's personal), I can give you my list based on my own perspective/needs and you can cherry pick the ones that work for you, and of course, add your own if needed. So, without further delay, here's a list of criteria (prioritized). Remember, select the ones that work for you, order them in a way that seems most sensible to you and start filtering the down the list of options until you get to the top couple of contenders. Once that's done, I would suggest you just buy the one your gut tells you is 'the one':

Note: With respect to safety, you can feel confident that any car seats on sale, especially in N. America, meet minimum safety requirements, so in that sense, you will buy a safe car seat.

--Comfort of the child while riding in the car seat;

--Convenience, including the weight and size of the car seat, as well as features available;

--Compatibility with existing products (e.g. strollers);

--Availability of product (not an issue if you buy online)

--They are within our budget (though, admittedly, they are more expensive than many other models, but also cheaper than many);

--No specific recalls, nor a significant history of such recalls from this manufacture;

--They offer many features including the LATCH system, level indicator, leave-in base (where applicable)

There you have it - use the criteria above to get started, adjust to your needs and THEN start your research and selection process!

--Level of protection of the child from injury in the event of a car crash;

--Pricing which fits the budget;

For us, the criteria above caused us to select a car seat from the Peg Perego line, for the following reasons (your criteria should lead you to something best for you, though I wouldn't be shocked if it's Peg Perego!):

--Peg Perego Infant Car Seats are well known for their high quality of manufacturing and receive exellent ratings from both parents and safety associations;

--They are fairly comfortable with high-quality materials, finish and good padding, and they can handle larger/heavier kids (relevant for us);

Best of luck in your investigation and selection process!

This is a guide to rationally approaching selection of an appropriate Infant Car Seat, not a definitive answer as to which exact seat you should buy. After reading this, you should be armed with the tools to do the necessary research and analysis required to make the best possible choice.

Information about the Author:

Cypress Laine is a passionate researcher, and talented analyst, as well as a parent of two young children! Combining these skills, she has become an expert in Infant Car Seat Research and Selection

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