Tuesday 20 March 2012

Travel Equipment - Car Seats (Part 1)



This is one of the most important things you will buy, the hospital wont let you take your baby home unless you have a proper car seat.
Car seats come in different sizes, and it is your babies weight that dictates what type of seat you will need, the different groups are shown below:-



Group
Child Weight
Approx. Age of Child
0
Birth to 10kgs/22lbs
Birth to 6-9 months
0+
Birth to 13kgs/29lbs
Birth to 12-15 months
0+ & 1
Birth to 18kgs/40lbs
Birth to 4 years
1
9-18kgs/20-40lbs
9 months to 4 years
1 & 2
9-25kgs/20-55lbs
9 months to 6 years
2
15-25kgs/33-55lbs
4 to 6 years
1,2 & 3
9-36kgs/20-79lbs
9 months to 11 years
2 & 3
15-36kg/48-79lbs
4 to 11+ years




Clearly some car seats are designed to span more than one group which means that you can use them for longer before upgrading to a bigger seat.
Most people start off with what people tend to refer to as a ‘baby carrier’ this is a car seat that has a handle over the top of it that allows you to detach it from the car and use it to carry your baby around in. Now if you have opted for a travel system this will also attach to your pram frame.
 It is worth pointing out at this point that it is not recommended that you keep your newborn baby in a car seat for too long as it is much better for you baby to be lying flat for proper lung development. As soon as you are able to take your baby out of the car seat the better, even if they are sleeping it is better to transfer them into a Moses basket rather than let them sleep in the car seat.
DAD TIP: Bear in mind that boys are generally a lot bigger and grow faster than girls. Our friends son outgrew his 0+ baby seat after about six months while our little girl didn’t outgrow hers until about 13 months.


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