Child safety seat


A child safety seat, sometimes called an infant safety seat, infant car seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, car seat, or a booster seat, is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions. Most commonly these seats are purchased and installed by car owners, but car manufacturers may integrate them directly into their vehicle's design and generally are required to provide anchors and ensure seat belt compatibility. Many jurisdictions require children defined by age, weight, or height to use a government-approved child safety seat when riding in a vehicle. Child safety seats provide passive restraints and must be properly used to be effective. However, research indicates that many child safety restraints are often not installed or used properly. To tackle this negative trend, health officials and child safety experts produce child safety videos to teach proper car seat installation to parents and caregivers.
In 1990, the ISO standard ISOFIX was launched in an attempt to provide a standard for fixing car seats into different makes of car. The standard now includes a top tether; the U.S. version of this system is called LATCH. Generally, the ISOFIX system can be used with Groups 0, 0+ and 1.
In 2013, a new car seat regulation was introduced: "i-Size" is the name of a new European safety regulation that affects car seats for children under 15 months of age. It came into effect in July 2013 and provides extra protection in several ways, most notably by providing rearward facing travel for children up to 15 months instead of 9 to 12 months, which the previous EU regulation advised.

History

Since the first car was manufactured and put on the market in the early 1900s, many modifications and adjustments have been implemented to protect those that drive and ride in motorized vehicles. Most restraints were put into place to protect adults without regard for young children. Though child seats were beginning to be manufactured in the early 1930s, their purpose was not the safety of children. The purpose was to act as booster seats to bring the child to a height easier for the driving parent to see them. It was not until 1962 that two designs with the purpose of protecting a child were developed independently. British inventor Jean Ames created a rear-facing child seat with a Y-shaped strap similar to today's models. American Leonard Rivkin, of Denver Colorado, designed a forward-facing seat with a metal frame to protect the child.
Seat belts for adults were not standard equipment in automobiles until the 1960s.
Child safety seats first became available in the late 1960s, but few parents used them.

Classifications

There are several types of car seats, which vary in the position of the child and size of the seat. The United Nations European Regional standard ECE R44/04 categorizes these into 4 groups: 0–3. Many car seats combine the larger groups 1, 2 and 3. Some new car models includes stock restraint seats by default.

Group 0

Group 0 baby seats, or infant carriers, keep the baby locked up in a rear-facing position and are secured in place by a standard adult seat belt and/or an ISOFIX fitting.
Group 0 carrycots hold the baby lying on its back.
Carrycots are secured by both seat belts in the rear seat of the car. Both types have handles to allow them to be easily moved into and out of the car.
  • Position: Lying, rear-facing, no airbags.
  • Recommended weight: Birth to
  • Approximate age: Birth to 15 months

    Fastened carrycots

Carrycots or infant car beds are used for children that cannot sit in a regular baby seat, such as premature infants or infants that suffer from apnea. A carrycot is a restraint system intended to accommodate and restrain the child in a supine or prone position with the child's spine perpendicular to the median longitudinal plane of the vehicle. Carrycots are designed to distribute the restraining forces over the child's head and body, excluding its limbs, in the event of a big crash. It must be put on the rear seat of the car. Some models can be changed to face forward after the baby has reached the weight limit which is normally about.
Carrycots generally include a stomach belt and a connection to the safety belt.

Infant carriers

Infant carrier means a restraint system intended to accommodate the child in a rearward-facing semi-recumbent position. This design distributes the restraining forces over the child's head and body, excluding its limbs, in the event of the frontal collision.
For young infants, the seat used is an infant carrier with typical recommended weight range from to. Most infant seats made in the US can now be used up to at least and, with some going up to. In the past, most infant seats in the US went to and. Infant carriers are often also called "Bucket Seats" as they resemble a bucket with a handle. Some seats can be used with the base secured, or with the carrier strapped in alone. Some seats do not have bases. Infant carriers are mounted rear-facing and are designed to "cocoon" against the back of the vehicle seat in the event of a collision, with the impact being absorbed in the outer shell of the restraint. Rear-facing seats are deemed the safest, and in the US, laws vary and children must remain in this position until they are at least 1 year of age in most states and at least 2 years of age in many states. More states are implementing a 2 year minimum. It is always recommended to keep them rear-facing until at least 2 years old or until they outgrow the rear-facing car seat height and weight, whichever is longer.

Group 0+

Group 0+ car seats commonly have a chassis permanently fixed into the car by an adult seat belt and can be placed into some form of baby transport using the integral handle if it is the specific model. Rear-facing child seats are inherently safer than forward-facing child seats because they provide more support for the child's head in the event of a sudden deceleration. Although some parents are eager to switch to a forward-facing child seat because it seems more "grown up," various countries and car seat manufacturers recommend that children continue to use a rear-facing child seat for as long as physically possible.
  • Position: Sitting, rear-facing, no airbag.
  • Recommended weight: Birth to 13 kg.
  • Approximate age: Birth to 15 months

    Convertible seats

Convertible seats can be used throughout many stages. Many convertible seats will transition from a rear-facing seat, to a forward-facing seat, and some then can be used as a booster seat. Many convertible seats allow for rear-facing, allowing children to be in the safer rear-facing position up to a weight of.
Convertible safety seats can be installed as either rear-facing or forward-facing. There is a large selection available to choose from and weight limits, height limits, and extra features vary from seat to seat and by manufacturer. Seats with a 5-point harness are considered safer than those with an overhead shield.
Convertibles are not considered the best choice for a newborn because the bottom harness slots are often above the shoulders of most newborns. A seat with low bottom harness slots can be used if it is desired to use a convertible from birth.
Rear-facing weight limits range from depending on the manufacturer and country of origin. Forward-facing limits range from depending on the seat model and the manufacturer and country of origin.
All convertible seats in the U.S. have at least a rear-facing weight limit, most now to go to, and some go to. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children remain rear-facing until they outgrow their convertible seat, regardless of how old they are. Children can remain in a rear-facing seat until they have either outgrown the weight limit for their seat, or the top of their head is within of the top of the shell of the car seat.

Group 1

A permanent fixture in the car using an adult seat belt to hold it in place and a five-point baby harness to hold the infant.
  • Position: Sitting, recommended rear-facing but forward-facing is legal, no airbag.
  • Recommended weight: 9 kg to 18 kg
  • Approximate age: 9 months to 4 years
It is recommended that children sit rear-facing for as long as possible. In Scandinavian countries, for example, children sit rear-facing until around four years old. Rear-facing car seats are significantly safer in frontal collisions, which are the most likely to cause severe injury and death. Rear-facing Group 1 car seats are becoming more widespread but are still difficult to source in many countries.

Group 2

A larger seat than the Group 1 design. These seats use an adult seat belt to hold the child in place.
  • Position: Sitting, forward-facing or rear-facing
  • Approximate age: 4 to 6 years

    Group 3

Also known as booster seats, these position the child so that the adult seat belt is held in the correct position for safety and comfort.
  • Position: Sitting, forward-facing
  • Recommended weight: 22 kg to 36 kg
  • Approximate age: 4 to 10, and above if the child is not yet

    Booster seats

Booster seats are recommended for children until they are big enough to properly use a seat belt. Seat belts are engineered for adults, and are thus too big for small children. In the United States, for children under the age of 4 and/or under, a seat with a 5-point harness is suggested instead of a booster seat.
Booster seats lift the child and allow the seat belt to sit firmly across the collar bone and chest, with the lap portion fitted to the hips. If the seat belt is not across the collar bone and the hips, it will ride across the neck and the stomach and cause internal injuries in the event of a collision.
There are two main types of boosters: high back and no back. A new generation of booster seats comes with rigid Isofix connectors that secure to the vehicle's anchors, improving the seat's stability in the event of a collision. There are also 3-in-1 car seats that can first be used as a rear-facing baby car seat, then as a forward-facing seat, then finally as a booster seat when the child reaches the recommended height and weight. Unlike many booster seats, 3-1 car seats may use the LATCH system to be secured inside the car.
Some consumer groups are calling on manufacturers and retailers to phase out backless boosters, as it says they do not provide enough protection in side-impact crashes and could put children at risk. So while backless booster cushions are better than using no child seat at all, they do not provide adequate protection in all circumstances.