When having a baby and driving with the baby in the car, the baby’s safety is the most important thing. You need to make sure that the child seat is safe and your baby is safe in it. Many parents face a difficulty when choosing the best car seat for their  children. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveals that most of the parents don’t install the car seats correctly in their cars. They install them as they know best and think that their child is safe, but a small mistake can cause grave problems.

There are some basic rules that every parent should know in order to pick the right car seat for his child, install it properly and be sure in the kid’s safety.

When shopping for the car seat, know that the seats are divided by age groups but also by weight and height ranges. Make sure to pick the right one for your kid’s age, height and weight. The car seats can be convertible (3 in 1), an infant-only car seat and a combination of some or all of these.

The convertible, the 3 in 1 and the infant only car seats are used in a reverse position having the babies face the rear window. This is probably the safest way because it reduces the stress on the child’s spinal cord and neck.

The convertibles and 3 in 1’s can be useful for a longer period of time because they work for babies but also for toddlers. When the kids get bigger, they can switch to forward-facing positions. When the kid outgrows the child seat, a booster seat is recommended. When putting the child into the car seat, always make sure that the seat belts are positioned correctly, never across the stomach or across the neck.

When installing the car seat for your child, always tighten the latch straps and thus block the movement of the safety seat. After everything is tightened, if the seat does not slide for more than 1 inch, you did a good job. If it slides for more than 1 inch, review the instructions and do it again. There are many experts who can offer you free advice and inspect your car seat and the way it is installed.

Always place the car seat in the middle of the vehicle. This way, the child is in a way protected from side impacts.