Posts Tagged ‘baby car seats’

Features of a Great Child Safety Seat

Saturday, September 20th, 2008

Among the highest goals for any parent is baby safety. The most important part of that plan is to choose the best seat for the particular car. Keep these tips in mind when looking for the ideal design.

The first things you need to look at are weight and age. Babies less than one year of age need to have a safety seat that is especially made for their small size. It still needs to be facing the rear, and shouldn’t be used with an older baby.

The average weight for a child between the ages of one and four is about 20 to 40 pounds. Of course, they’re also taller than small babies, and they keep increasing in height as they get older. This introduces the possibility for a car seat that faces forward, making things more convenient for the parents. However, it still needs to be placed in the back seat.

The good news is that you don’t have to give up convenience to achieve these goals. Some styles can be converted. That is, they can be turned from a rear-facing position to forward-facing with a few simple movements. But don’t forget about the specifications concerning weight and age.

It’s essential that the car seat you use meets some minimum standards. A 5-point harness attachment design is key. This allows parents to use the car’s safety restraining belt to attach the car seat at the hips, shoulders and between the legs. That provides a very stable, secure platform.

It’s helpful to have an overhead shield, too. These padded covers circle down and around the infant. AT-shield is another option; this is a padded attachment for the should straps, in the shape of a T of course.

Look for models with a tether at the top that can be attached from the top of the child’s car seat to an anchor point in the car. This provides additional safety. Some have a system called LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children). This eliminates the need to use the car’s safety belts which, after all, were designed for larger children and adults. The car seat attaches, instead, entirely to the anchors.

Extra safety and comfort is provided by baby car safety seats that safely allow for adding or subtracting padding or blankets. As well, parents don’t have to spend as much time making adjustments to the seat for a good fit. That’s a win-win situation for both. Some even have integrated travel vests that can be buckled around the child.

That same double theme of safety and convenience is carried on by seat designs that make it easy to insert and adjust the restraining straps. Parents are busy people and it’s all too easy to take an occasional shortcut. However, nobody wishes to skimp on safety. A model that needs just a few seconds to put in or move is the answer to all of those issues.

Graco Baby Brand Products Are Worth The Investment

Wednesday, September 17th, 2008

Graco strollers

Anyone who has ever needed to do any shopping for any kind of baby travel accessories is sure to have encountered the many products that are manufactured under the Graco Baby brand. Graco has a good reputation in the marketplace for making quality products that are also a good value. While not considered cheap, they are rarely considered overpriced either, which has made them affordable for most people.

The Graco line of baby car seats, as well as the Graco strollers, are probably the best known and most popular of all their products. Because safety is of such great concern when it comes to anything related to babies, and especially when it comes to car seats and baby strollers, it is comforting for parents to know that Graco products are highly rated, with regard to safety standards and overall quality and durability.

Graco baby automobile seats come is a wide variety of styles and models to suit every phase of development. There are some models that are more lightweight so they can be moved easily from car to car as needed and are perfect for toddlers. These cart seats can later be use for that in between stage when a child is too big for a traditional baby seat but not large enough to safely use adult seat belts.

There are also several baby car seat models made by Graco that are designed especially for newborns and infants. They provide the maximum amount of support and comfort to the baby while also offering all the safety and security for the child that a parent could ever hope for. Some models have adjustments that allow the car seat to be used as the child grows into the toddler stage. Of course, the more adjustable and adaptable the model is the more you can expect to pay for it.

While some people think that they might as well buy a baby car seat that can be used from the time a child is newborn all the way though the toddler stage and even beyond, for many new parents the cost is just prohibitive to do that. Fortunately, Graco provides lots of options to parents so that they can find just the right thing that fits into their budget.

Sometimes, it just makes sense to purchase the lower priced item even when you know in six months to a year you will have to buy something else to accommodate the child as they continue to grow. While this often is the least expensive approach, sometimes it is the only way to fit the necessary baby travel gear into the budget at that stage. With all of the models of Graco strollers, baby car seats, and other baby products, the parents always have a choice no matter what stage of development their child is in and what type of baby travel accessories they need at the time.

One of the more popular Graco Baby products is the double stroller they make called the Graco Duo Glider. This stroller is designed to either handle twins or it can be used with a new infant and a young sibling who is under age four. These Graco strollers also sport a large sized storage bin where you can tuck away the necessities you need to take along and also cup holders and a snack tray for each seating area. The rear seat in this unit is also positioned a bit higher so that the child in back can still see what’s going on up ahead.