Do You Need Infant Car Seat Bases?
In theory, there is no compelling safety reason to use an infant car seat base. It is perfectly acceptable to install an infant car seat using only the adult seat belt. The main reason to use a permanently installed seat base is simple convenience. Having to repeatedly fiddle with seat belts every time you want to get the car seat in and out of your vehicle is a pain and new parents have enough to deal with as it is.
I say that it is “theoretically” possible to safely install an infant car seat without a base because you are far more likely to install the seat incorrectly using the seat belt than when using a base (whether that base is LATCH fitted or belt fitted). It is thought that as many as 75% of belt-fitted car seats are incorrectly installed – a truly terrifying statistic!
Personally, I have always used a base with my children’s infant car seats for a combination of convenience and “practical” safety reasons. When my twin boys were born, I could just about manage to tie my own shoelaces … and so having to repeatedly install their seats using a seatbelt would have been far too much of a challenge.
If you are going to do without an infant car seat base, I strongly suggest that you watch this video many times to familiarise yourself with the process of safe installation:
The 3 Best Infant Car Seat Bases
I have previously identified my 3 best infant car seats.
Naturally, my 3 recommended infant car seat bases are those that are used to install my 3 best infant car seats.
They are:
(1) Maxi Cosi Mico Base
(2) Britax B-Safe Base
(3) Chicco Keyfit 30 Base
Further Information
If you have any feedback or questions about my Infant Car Seat Bases Review, please feel free to leave a comment below or send an email to kristian@kidsafetyfirst.com
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