Becoming a new parent is both exciting and scary, especially if it’s your first time.  With having to buy several baby essentials for your new arrival, you may find your budget stretched a bit tight, especially in the current financial crisis.  It is important to select each item with care, making sure that you get the best value for your money without compromising on safety.  This is especially true when it comes to finding the right baby car seat.

Important Features

With all the different features available, it is often confusing which ones you should look for, and which features are nice to have.  Some essential features that you cannot afford to overlook are as follows:

1. Recommended child weight

Have a look at this to know how long you can use this car seat.  Compare prices, often car seats are made for small babies and cannot be used after the age of 6 months or a year.  Compare prices and make sure you’re getting a great value for money based on how long you can use the car seat.

2. Side impact protection

No one wants to think of what may happen should you and your baby be involved in a collision.  However, this is a reality and safety is of the utmost importance in a baby seat.  Make sure this feature is available.

3. Head support

This is essential for small babies who have weak neck muscles and need extra support.  This is also important to protect the delicate neck muscles in event of a collision.

4. Secure harness

The harness should be secure and not easily undone by a child.  However, it should not be so complicated that you will struggle to use it.  You should be able to secure the harness one handed, allowing you to use the other hand to position your baby correctly.

5. Washable fabric

Babies can be messy and if you plan to have the car seat for any length of time you will need to remove the cover to wash it.  Not to mention, these are great because you can get rid of those unwanted germs!

All of the features above are important when searching for the right car seat for your little one.  You don’t want to skip out on any of these because these are what really make up a car seat.  So, if it means spending a little more money to make sure your child is safe in the car, I think it’s safe to say that it’s worth the money!