Information on popular Baby Car Seats & Child Restraints.

I am sure many of you are aware that there has been a lot of focus on child restraints over the past six months. This has come about after a horrific motor vehicle accident which claimed the life of 3 year old Isabelle Broadhead in April 2006 at Mt Kembla. As a result Isabelle’s parents Noel and Danielle Broadhead campaigned to change outdated Road Rules.

In May 2007 the National Transport Commission drafted a document which contains guidelines for the new proposed Baby Car Seat and Child Restraint traffic laws. The draft has been sent to all the State and Federal Governments for consideration

The new proposed Baby Car Seat laws sourced from the National Transport Commission are;

1) Children must use rearward facing child restraints up to six months old.
2) Children six months up to their fourth birthday must use a rearward or forward facing child restraint with in-built harness
3) Children from four years up to their seventh birthday must use a booster seat
4) Children up to their fourth birthday must sit in the rear seat
5) Children up to seventh birthday to sit in rear seat unless all rear seats are already occupied by children under seven.

The main point to recognize from the proposed draft is to reduce what is known as “Premature Graduation”. This is where the child is moved too quickly from one child restraint seat to another (i.e. Convertible car seat (0-18kg to Booster seat 14-26kg) or from a Booster seat to an Adult Seat Belt in the vehicle . To ensure your child get the best protection, one of the proposals (2) states children should be in a forward facing baby car seat with an inbuilt harness until the age of 4 years.

The changes have also proposed children ( from 4-7 years must be seated in a Baby Booster Car Seat ) 14-26kg.

We would strongly recommend that from the ages of four to seven the additional Child Safety Harness is used in conjunction with a baby booster car seat to help restrain the upper part of a child’s body as well as keeping the belt around the hip area tight.

It is very important to remember, the current Australian Standard (AS/NZS1754) for manufacture of Child Restraints in Australia, is one of the best in the world. Child Restraint Standards are so stringent in Australia , that American & European products have to be modified to meet them before they can be sold here. Some Australian companies such as Safe n Sound not only meet the Australian Standard with their seats, but in some cases actually exceed the current Australian Standards.
Convertible Booster Seats

- Link to Safe N Sound Baby Booster Car Seats >

- Link to Baby Safety Car Harnesses >

The Safe n Sound Maxi Rider 2 ( for ages approx. six months to seven years ) 8-26kg.

As a result of television programs on ACA and Today Tonight as well a newspaper articles the demand for some popular car seats have risen to all time highs. This increase in demand for these child restraints has been felt right across Australia with companies manufacturing these car seats being forced into working around the clock to ensure demand is met. The most popular car seat for children aged six months to seven years has definitely been the Safe n Sound Maxi rider2. The new Safe n Sound Maxi Rider 2 Convertible Booster seat has the built in harness to 18kg as well as the latest side impact protection feature. This seat tethers to the vehicle anchor point and is compatible with a Protecta Child Safety Harness for Booster Seat mode.( 18 – 26kg). The Maxi Rider 2 is considered one of the safest child car seats currently available for a child aged approx six months to seven years.

- Link to Safe N Sound Maxi Riders Baby Car Seat >

Baby Booster Car Seats

The Safe n Sound Hi Liner Baby Booster Car seat (for ages approx. four to seven years) 14-26kg

For children aged four years to seven years there has been a strong focus on a few particular child booster seats. The Safe n Sound Hi Liner Booster Seat is a plastic moulded booster and one model down from the Maxi Rider 2. The booster tethers into the vehicle anchor point, but does not need the inbuilt harness.

We would definitely recommend that the additional child safety harness and in this case the Protecta Harness be used in conjunction with this model. The Hi Liner is a booster seat that again has a strong focus on side impact protection with deep side wings. The head support has the built in foam protective layer for maximum head protection and is adjustable in height ensuring the child’s head is protected regardless of the child’s height. It also has a recline mode for Toddler comfort and cup holders.

- Link to Safe N Sound Hi Liner Baby Booster Seat >

The Safe n Sound Pegasus booster seat (for ages approx. four to seven years) 14-26kg,

The Safe n Sound Pegasus booster seat range has received a lot of attention lately as it has the built in patented anti submarine clip attached to the base of the seat. This clip used with the normal car seat belt or with the additional Child Safety Harness keeps the
waist belt low around the hip area and prevents the waist belt riding up to the abdominal area of the child. The Pegasus Booster seats are one of the tallest boosters on the market and all come with additional padding on the seated area for your child’s comfort.
This is definitely one of Safe n Sounds safest standard high back booster seats on the market today, designed for children aged aprox. four to seven years of age.

- Link to Safe N Sound Pegasus Baby Booster Car Seat >

Convertible Child Restraints

The Safe n Sound Meridian and Platinum AHR Convertible car seats (aprox. from birth to four years) 0-18kg

The focus on child restraints in general has also brought attention to another two seats made by Safe n Sound called the Meridian and Platinum AHR car seats. Both these car seats have been announced by Safe n Sound as one of the safest convertible child restraints in the World today and have won the Australian design award for child restraints. These car seats are designed for rearward use and forward use accommodating a child from birth to approximately four years of age (or up to 18kg). The main focus with both these models is on side impact protection. The AHR refers to the Active Head Restraint which is a protective wing built into the car seat to maximize the protection for the child’s head in a side impact collision. Side impact collisions actually make up approximately 40% of all collisions and are definitely the most dangerous collisions as there is simply very little protection in this area of most vehicles. The wing in these child restraints actually moves up to four different positions depending on the Childs height which ensures that regardless of the child’s age or size the protective Active Head Restraint is in the optimum position for the child’s protection. These seats both exceed the Australian Safety Standards.

- Link to Safe N Sound Meridian AHR Baby Car Seat Midnight Grey >

- Link to Safe N Sound Platinum AHR Baby Car Seat Trakker >

Baby Safety Capsules or Carriers (0-6 months)

The Safe n Sound Baby Safety Capsule (0-9kg) and Unity Carrier (0-12kg)
(for aprox birth to 6 months)

The Safe n Sound white polo capsule and Unity Carrier are both designed for rearward facing babies only. Although they are only used for approximately six months , the popularity for the capsule has increased significantly over the past few years. The main benefit of the capsule is that it can be removed easily from the vehicle without disturbing your baby. You can simply harness your baby into the capsule in the comfort of your home or other indoor area and simply lock the capsule into the base section which remains installed in the vehicle. The Safe n Sound Unity Carrier is the latest capsule made by Safe n Sound and has the additional features including a hood for sun protection and a rocking feature which enables you to rock your baby while the capsule is out of the vehicle. With an ergonomic handle the Unity carrier a simple way to carry your baby around whilst out of your car and makes loading your baby into a vehicle simple.

Link to Safe N Sound Baby Safety Capsule >

Link to Safe N Sound Unity Carrier >

See our Baby Car Seats

Please feel free to Contact Us anytime if you need further information, we are more than happy to provide more information and to help yo umake the most appropriate and informative decision.

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