Children are especially vulnerable to injury in crashes and because they are so much smaller and have different body shapes, they need more protection to keep them safe in the car. First up it is the driver’s responsibility to make sure any child travelling in their vehicle is correctly secured and the law which came into effect in 2013 means that this is now imperative until the child is seven years’ old.

The Rules and Approved Child Restraints

Secondly under the NZTA Car Safety Seat Regulations “As the driver, you must make sure that any child under seven years of age is properly restrained by an approved child restraint that is appropriate for the age and size of the child. They must not travel in the car if you can't put them in an approved child restraint. The vehicle's safety belt on its own is not an approved child restraint.”

Thirdly approved child restraints include:

• Infant restraints for young babies (often called baby capsules)
• Restraints for older babies, toddlers and preschool children (often called car seats)
• Booster seats for preschool and school-aged children
• Child safety harnesses (used with or without a booster seat) for preschool and school-aged children.”

The Right Seat for Your Baby’s Size, Fitted Correctly

The team at Babies.co.nz know the most important piece of baby gear any parent to be will ever buy is a car seat. If you haven’t bought one before then you need to know what is suitable for your child and the minimum safety standards. Fourth on the list is always look for the accreditation standard’ that reads:

• Australian Standard (AS/NZS1754)
• European Standard (ECE44)
• United States Standards (FMVSS213)

Even if you buy a quality controlled approved car seat you also need to ensure that it is fifth and finally, fitted correctly. The experienced team at babies.co.nz are happy to help advice you on the best seat for your needs and the correct installation techniques. Staff at babies.co.nz know all about the wide range of car seats in stock and can help you make the right choice for your needs, budget and ultimately your baby.

The essential factors to consider are the weight and size of the child as that will dictate the ideal car seat design. Age isn’t always the best indicator of which model to buy so let the experts guide you through the three basic types of car seats you will need to choose from.

• Infant Capsule car seats face the rear of the car and have a 13kg weight limit.
• The Convertible/Combination (or infant-toddler) car seats function as both rear-facing infant seats and forward-facing seats. It is safest to leave your baby rear-facing as long as possible.
• Booster Car Seats are designed for children who no longer fit in a convertible car seat and who are too small to correctly fit an adult seat belt.

The Right Equipment

Getting all the equipment and fitting it correctly is quite a task so to make buying all those new buggies, beds and seats simpler and check out the product information and prices on babies.co.nz website. Compare the prices and the options online before you purchase all from the comfort of your home. The team at babies.co.nz are only an email or a call away if you need expert advice and you save time and money by being a savvy shopper.

If you have experienced buying a car seat and want to share your tips and tricks with other parents then please post your comments below. We want to make preparing for your new baby as easy as possible and there is so much to learn, who better to hear from than those who have been there before.

Checklist:

• The driver must make sure all children (seven and under) are secured correctly
• The seat or restraints must be to approved NZTA standards
• Approved child restraints include:
  • Infant restraints for young babies (often called baby capsules)
  • Restraints for older babies, toddlers and preschool children (often calledconvertible car seats)
  • Booster seats for preschool and school-aged children
  • Child safety harnesses (used with or without a booster seat) for preschool and school-aged children.
• You need to ensure the seat or restraints are fitted correctly.

Babies.co.nz helping families get there safely