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Safest Car Seats - You May Be Shocked

By: Jayna Ginny

In the United States, car seat companies' products must pass certain crash test and safety ratings in order to be sold on the market.

It's not possible to determine the safest car seats based on these tests, because the manufacturers aren't required to make the test results available--and so they never will. Still, we can at least be confident that each car seat sold in the United States matches or even exceeds governmental requirements.

Each year, Consumer Reports does do independent crash test ratings of car seats. It should be noted, however, that these tests are often discounted by scientists for various reasons, including past mistakes, and what they consider poor reporting and poor parameters. However, it may be a good starting point.

Over the years, Consumer Reports has reported its top picks. Keep in mind, however, that the safest car seat is only as safe as its user. If it isn't installed properly and used properly every time the child is in the car, of course it is quite unsafe.

Consumer Reports recently conducted tests using eleven infant car seats that were rear-facing. They were re-doing the test from the previous year, which had errors. All the seats met governmental test standards when using the LATCH and when attaching them using the seat belt.

(LATCH is an acronym for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children.) Once again, the US' system of testing fails to gives us any idea of which were the best and worst performing models.

Consumer Reports addresses this problem by trying to identify the safest car seats. They do it by rating the car seats on Ease of Use and Fit to Vehicle. These two things will have an enormous impact on the safety of car seats.

If it doesn't fit in the car properly, it's impossible to install it safely, and the harder a car seat is to install, the more likely that someone will not have it properly and safely installed.

With these guidelines, Consumer Reports rated the Chicco Key Fit as the best or safest car seat, with the Britax Companion coming in second.

At the same time, Consumer Reports rated Baby Trend Flex-Loc and Graco SnugRide as the Best Buys. This accounts for the features you get for the price.

Article Source: http://www.HealthArticleBank.com

Before you buy a car seat make sure to visit Car Seat Reviews to find in-depth reviews on the Best Car Seats and other Car Seat Ratings.

 

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