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Some seats are "convertible," others are labeled as "combination." Some styles click out of a vehicle base and into a stroller and others convert into a booster seat as a child grows.
Luckily, parents have two places right here in Frederick County to seek help in wading through the sea of car safety seat choices.
Registered Nurse Nancy Boyd is the injury prevention coordinator at the Frederick Memorial Hospital Wellness Center and co-coordinator of Safe Kids Frederick County, a nonprofit group comprised of individuals from police and fire departments, schools and health care organizations.
She advises parents every day about car safety seat choices and proper installation.
Boyd tells parents to look for a car seat that fits the size of the child.
"Every car seat has a minimum and maximum weight and height set by the manufacturer," she said, stressing that it is best to keep a baby in the back seat facing the rear of the vehicle up to the maximum limits the manufacturer allows. Moving a child to face forward should not be rushed.
"Each step is not a graduation to be happy about, but a decrease in the amount of protection," she said. "Rear-facing [car seats] offer the greatest amount of protection."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that infants should face the rear of the vehicle until he reaches 1 year old and weighs at least 20 pounds.
Boyd notes that some car seats that convert from rear facing to forward facing and then to a booster seat, have weight limits up to 35 pounds that allow for a child to stay facing backward longer.
The second thing Boyd advises parents to consider is whether the car seat will fit in their vehicle. Boyd recommends before purchasing a seat that parents ask a store manager if they make take the seat out to their car to try it out.
Third, Boyd says to consider the harness adjustment mechanism of your preferred seat. Some harnesses adjust from the front and others adjust from the back. Front adjusting is preferable, she says.
"The five-point harness is the safer system and adjusts to more sizes of children than a four-point harness," she added.
High price doesn't mean better safety
Another thing Boyd says to consider when picking out a car seat is the family budget.
All seats rated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are safe and meet strict crash performance standards, regardless of price. The American Academy of Pediatrics also says that a "higher price does not mean the seat is safer or easier to use." That group does caution against using a used car seat, noting that it is important to make certain the car seat has no cracks, is not past the manufacturer's recommended date of use, and has not been recalled.
Kemi Madunta, 37, of Frederick, is expecting her third child. She says safety and comfort were the most important aspects to her and her husband when selecting a car seat.
"The reason I chose [our] car seat is because of its energy-absorbing foam. It is one of the top rated for safety and ease of use by leading consumer magazines," she said.
Natalie McDonald, 20, of Walkersville, is mother to a 3-month-old girl. She says finding an infant car seat that could click in to her daughter's stroller was a major factor in her selection process. She used parenting magazines to research her purchase.
Picking seat is only half the battle
Properly installing your purchased car seat is a parent's next challenge.
Car safety seat coordinator Lt. Troy Grossnickle of the Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services says there is no one way to go about installing every car seat. There are so many different seats and different situations in vehicles to consider., so he suggests referring to both the car seat and vehicle manuals when installing. But he admits it can be difficult.
"The car seat instructions are sometimes very confusing and hard to understand," he said.
Some common misuses of car seats that the fire department sees are: the seat or straps are too loose, the seatbelt is not in a locked mode, the harness straps are in the wrong location, and the wrong car seat is being used for a child's size and age.
Both the FMH Wellness Center and the Frederick County Department of Fire and Rescue Services offer free car seat inspections to anyone.
Parents can call either agency to ask questions or make an inspection appointment.
"We currently have 30 trained technicians on staff," Grossnickle said. "These 30 technicians do an excellent job and do it for the safety of the kids."
Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services: 301-600-6619
Frederick Memorial Hospital Wellness Center: 240-379-6010
Every child younger than 8 must ride in a booster seat or other appropriate child safety seat.
Exceptions include: the child is 4 feet, 9 inches or taller or weighs more than 65 pounds
The back seat is the safest for children younger than 13
For more information: Maryland Kids In Safety Seats (KISS), 1-800-370-SEAT or www.mdkiss.org
