How to Choose a Car Seat

This post is part of a sponsored automotive series. All opinions are mine. 

There comes a time in every parent’s life where they face a big decision; the car seat. It’s a decision you have to make a few times throughout your child’s childhood years, and if it’s your first time doing so it can be a bit daunting. There are so many options, how do you know which one is going to be best suited for your child? Let’s take a look at the various types of car seats and how to determine which one is best for you.

The Laws on Car Seats

So let’s start off with the laws, as presented to us by this New Jersey Chrysler dealer. It’s important to abide by age, height and weight requirements to best keep your child safe. If you want to see the official guidelines from the CDC, you can see those here.

Image Credit: CDC

Ages 0-2, under 20 pounds: Rear-facing car seat (often times a bucket infant seat, but not mandatory) until they have reached the maximum height and/or weight limit.

Ages 2 years (20+ pounds) to 5 years (<40 pounds): Use rear-facing until your child reaches the height and weight requirement of the car seat. Then switch to forward-facing.

Ages 5 years (40+ pounds) to 9 years (<57″): Use forward-facing seat until you’ve maxed out the height and weight requirements.

Booster seats are used for children who have reached the size where a car seat belt will fit appropriately. This is once the child is at least 4’9″ or taller, and are over 9 years old.

Choosing a Car Seat

Now that you know what type of seat you will need, it’s time to move to the next step and that is going through a little checklist to see which car seat you’ll need to best suit you and your child.

___ Will it fit in your vehicle? (and fit next to other car seats you might need or have already)

___ Is the harness system easy for you to use, but tough enough the child can’t unbuckle it?

___ How are the reviews for the car seat, have other parents liked them?

___ What are the maximum height and weight limits? (You may like the higher limits, as the longer life you will get out of them and the safer your child will stay)

___ How easy is the car seat to clean?

___ How long of a life does the car seat have (until it expires?)

___ Does the seat seem comfortable with enough padding for long drives?

___ How safe is the car seat built?

___ Can you afford it?

After answering the above questions, you will get a good idea of whether or not certain car seats are a good fit for you and your child. Ultimately as long as it is safe for your child, and comfortable for them to sit in, you have won the battle.

Which car seats have you grown to know and love? Leave a comment below!