Carseat guide

The beginner's guide to buying a car seat
Choosing the right car seat is one of the most important decisions you'll make. It can be a bit daunting, particularly when buying the first one, needed to take your baby home from the hospital/ for your first trip out. But even later on there seem to be a bewildering array of choices and a huge range in prices - so it's worth working out what's important to you.

Does the car seat you want fit your car.
Unfortunately due to the various lengths of car seat belts and the various angles car seats have there isn't normally a difinitive list of which car seats fit which cars. We would always recommend trying the car seat in your car before you purchase one or in the case of the Maxi Cosi range checking their car seat checker (found by clicking here).

Things you need to consider
Safety - all the seats recommended passed European safety standards, but not all car seats fit all cars and a secure fit is probably the most crucial consideration. If in any doubt, check with the manufacturer. NEVER use a child's car seat on a passenger seat where there is an air bag fitted and never travel with a child unless they're strapped into a car seat. Don't think you can strap your child into your seat belt with you - in an accident, you would crush them.

Your child's weight - car seats are sold according to weight span. As all children grow at different rates it's important to know roughly how much your child weighs, so you can change seats at the right time. The different weight categories are:

Group 0 - Birth to 10kg (approx 9 months). Rearward facing seat

Group 0+ - Birth to 13kg (approx 12-15 months). Rearward facing seat

Group 1 - 9-18kg (approx 9 months to 4 years). Forward facing seat

Group 2 - 15-25 kg (approx 4 to 6 years). Forward facing seat or booster

Group 3 - 22-36 kg (approx 6 to 11 years). Booster seat

Some seats span more than one weight band.

Portability - this will be particularly crucial in the early months when you spend your life lugging the bundle from car to house - or car to car if you're a two-car family. Look out not just for a lightweight model but a comfy carrying handle as well. If, like us, your child still falls asleep regularly in her car seat aged 2, this is something you're going to go on considering as you're torn between falling asleep in the car with her - risking some odd looks from your neighbours - and manoeuvering toddler and seat out of the car and through the front door.

Ease of installation - the first time you fit a car seat you'll feel as if you're taking part in one of those impossible tests they set people on the Generation game. It usually gets easier. But if you think you'll be transferring the seat around a lot it's worth having a good look at the mumsnet score for ease of installation.

Comfort - padding, arm rests, side impact protection, the ability to recline the seat without disturbing the child are all worth considering.

Value for money - depending on what seat you choose you could be changing the type of seat three or four times between birth and 11, so it's always worth keeping and eye on cost/ value for money. It is not recommended that you buy a car seat second hand as any accident can weaken the car seat's effectiveness should you then be involved in an accident yourself. Obviously if your sister has a 'from birth' car seat, and you know it's never been in an accident, that's fine, but it's not the sort of item you should be picking up at a car boot sale.

Cleaning instructions - nothing gets quite so grubby as a car seat cover - so something that can be tossed in the washing machine is really useful.

Special functions - these range from gauges to help make sure you've installed the seat correctly to different types of harness - 'one-pull' is usually easiest. Other functions worth looking out for are:

Baby car seats that can be used as a baby carrier or low chair or rocker, great for soothing a fractious child, and useful when stable for feeding either at home or out and about.

Some baby car seats come as part of a travel system i.e. they also attach onto a pushchair - this can be advantageous in keeping sleeping babies sleeping (see single pushchairs for more information).

Adjustable reclining positions, which are great if your child continues to sleep in the car and a godsend for those overnight journeys to Cornwall/ Scotland.

Adaptability/longevity - Infant car seats that convert into boosters for older children are becoming more and more common and can make sound economic sense as long as you're not having to make sacrifices on other criteria such as comfort or portability. In the from birth category you can buy seats that will take you right through to 18kg (approx 4 years). This again will obviously save money, but you may lose out on portability (weight and a carrying handle) and features like rocking and the ability to use the seat as a low chair.

Extras - a head support is essential for a newborn but some seats also come with sun/rain shields, which may be less useful. Play trays, which attach onto the seat, are useful when the child gets more active.

What the mumsnet members said - a sprinkling of the more pertinent comments about choosing a car seat from some of our members:
"It's essential to have a trial run at installing the car seat before the trip home from hospital. Although it's easy enough when you're well-practised, it takes a bit of getting used to - and it can be particularly stressful when you're the (understandably) over-anxious parents of a newborn and it's freezing cold outside."
"Keep checking that the seat is installed correctly and if in doubt call in the experts or at the very least get the installation book out again. I was appalled to read that 4 out of 5 seats are fitted wrongly - but then when I checked ours it was flapping all over the place - which is really dangerous."
"Think about getting a reclining seat if you do lots of long journeys - it's transformed our trips to the in-laws as our daughter is now happy to lie back and fall asleep and her head isn't lolling about like it used to in her previous seat"
"A car seat or booster that lets the child see out of the window can really help if they're at all car sick - it's more fun for them too".
"Don't just look at the cost. Comfort and portability are really important, particularly for small babies. I thought I was getting a bargain by buying one that the manufacturers promised lasted ages, but it really wasn't suitable for the age group advertised and I had to go out and buy another."