Fastidious moms and dads now have one-click access to a complete report card of all available child car seats on the market. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) unveiled its new 5-Star Ease of Use rating system for kid car seats. It covers all types of car seats available for your kid - infant rear-facing seats, toddler forward-facing seats, convertible seats and booster seats. The rating system is based on four categories of evaluation; evaluation of instructions, vehicle installation features, evaluation of labels and securing the child.

This will help parents eliminate the guess work of choosing a good car seat for their kid. At a glance, it is surprising to see how many seats on the market only receive one star - parents beware. Perhaps this roll-out is in lieu of the recent Consumer Report Magazine testing that found that ten of twelve rear-facing infant carriers failed government safety standards. By the way, the two that passed the test are Baby Trend Flex-Loc and the Graco SnugRide with EPS performed well in the magazine’s tests.

As a side note, listed under “Quick Clicks” is a link to their Child Safety Seat Inspection Station. I have found this is a great resource. If you or anyone you know ever has a question about the installation of a child seat in an auto you can drive down to your local inspection station and have someone give you a free evaluation. I have found most inspection stations tend to be your local police station, fire station or car dealership.

Also take note of the NHTSA Child Seat Recall Section. It’s not organized very well, but most current web browsers allow for a page search so it may be wise to double-check that the car seat you latch you kid in every day hasn’t been recalled - you know, considering we are living in the Mighty Age of the Recall.

Sited Links;
NHTSA | 5-Star Ease of Use Rating System for Child Car Seats
NHTSA | Child Safety Seat Inspection Station Finder
NHTSA | Child Seat Recall Section
CNN.Com | Most Infant Car Seats Fail Crash Test