The best child safety seat for your child depends on many factors. No one seat is the "safest" or the "best." The perfect child safety seat is the one that is easy to use, fits in your vehicle properly, and is the right seat based on your child's age, height, weight and developmental level.

Remember, your baby will ride rear-facing until the highest weight or height limit allowed by the manufacturer of the child safety seat. Most rear-facing child safety seats have limits that allow children to ride rear-facing for two years or more. The next step is to ride in a forward-facing harnessed child safety seat as long as possible, up to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of the seat. Please visit Car Seat Safety For Your Baby for a description and types of child safety seats, or learn more about how to avoid common child safety seat installation mistakes.

Car seat checklist

Follow this easy-to-use checklist when buying a new child safety seat:

• If your child is under 2 years of age, the child safety seat should be rear-facing. All seats must meet the federal motor vehicle safety standard. This information can be found on a sticker on the side of the car seat.
• Your child’s age, height and weight fits the limits of the child safety seat. You can find this information on a label on the side of the seat or in the user manual.
• The harness is easy for you to adjust.
• The seat is easy to install and fits properly in your car.

If you are buying a used child safety seat, you must check the following:

• The history of the child safety seat; make sure it was never involved in a crash.
• There is no visible damage, and all parts are present.
• The seat has not been recalled. Visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for recall information.
• The seat is not too old. Most manufacturers place an expiration date on their child safety seats, which range between 6-10 years.
• Register yourself as the owner of the child safety seat with the manufacturer in case of recalls.

If you still have concerns about installing and using the child safety seat properly, you can visit a car seat fitting station nationally or in the greater Philadelphia area. Please visit our Car Seat Checks page to learn more.