Where can I find the safest car seat list for 2008?

Question

Where can I find the safest car seat list for 2008?

Answer 1

The best carseat is one that is used correctly every time, installed correctly and fits your child and car.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as the safest car seat list. There is a list that has ease of use ratings, at the NHTSA website, but it doesn't even approach 'safest' car seat b/c in theory, All seats in the US must meet the same safety criteria to sell, so technically they all are safe, however, if its hard to install, then it won't be used correctly and that makes it unsafe. However, they only must meet the guidelines, some seats barely pass, some exceed them. And there's the rub - we aren't released how well they passed - its a pass/fail test, not an A/B/C/D/F graded test.

The safest 'best' car seat is the one that:

1)fits your child

2)fits your car

3)will be used correctly 100% of the time - This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you're more likely to use it correctly, which isn't a matter of just convenience, its your child's life. 80% of car seats are installed/used incorrectly.

What kind of seat are you looking for? There's 3 stages in car seats:

rear facing

forward facing

booster

For rear facing, you can use an infant carrier for babies who still fit in one (birth - 22lbs, about birth to 5-7 months old) or a convertible car seat used rear facing that will fit small newborns if yours is unborn or newborn. And you want to keep kids rear facing AS LONG AS POSSIBLE! Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life! American Academy of Pediatrics says to keep kids rear facing to the limit of their convertible car seat. All current models go to at least 30lbs, many higher.

A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age. A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.

In the age of the internet its amazing so much misinformation exists! Please please do not listen to people telling you to turn your child forward facing 'at your judgement' or when her legs touch the seat. In truth, most children LIKE resting their feet on the back of the seat in front of them. Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum... It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (see sources) that ALL babies stay rear facing as long as possible, up to the weight/height limits of their seat. Most seats go to 30lbs rear facing, some go higher, check your manual. They are too tall for an infant carrier when the head is within an inch of the top of the shell. Too tall for most convertible seats when their ears reach the top of the seat. Has nothing to do with how long their legs are! There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. They are safest rear facing b/c their bones have not yet completed the ossification process that bonds/hardens them like adults. They need the bracing support that a rear facing seat offers to withstand a crash. 20lbs AND 1 year is the bare minimum as far as the law is concerned, but the law is the bare minimum of safety, and who wants to do the bare minimum for their child?

The next stage is forward facing, either in a forward facing convertible seat, or a forward facing only seat. Again, you want to keep the child in this stage as long as possible. A 5 point harness is infinitely safer than a booster and seatbelt.  The bare minimum for safe (and legal) booster use is 4 years old AND 40lbs, though most kids should not be in one until they are 5-6 years old. The spine isn't fully solidified until then, and their impulse control isn't as developed until then either.

Once at 5-6 years old, they can be in a high back belt positioning booster seat, and should remain in one until they are 8-10 years old, 80lbs, 4'9" tall.

Remember that as you  move through the different stages, it is not a 'graduation' but rather a demotion. with each stage you make a severe cut in the protection they receive.

OK - so that was a really long answer to your question, sorry, but I figured if you were looking for a safest car seat list then you were needing some help and also really interested in what was best for your child. Please let me know if I can be any more help in choosing a seat!

Answer 3

Try this site.

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/

Or this site as well.

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.h...

Answer 4

consumer reports