In fact, China attaches much less importance to child safety seats. At present, the penetration rate of child safety seats in developed countries such as Europe and America has reached more than 90%, but so far, the utilization rate of child safety seats in China is less than 40%. Even there are many young parents around me who choose to take the car with their babies in their arms because they cry while riding.
This fluky psychology is often directly proportional to the parents' regret index after the tragedy. Unfortunately, fate can't give them another chance.
I have been paying attention to this matter recently because I have been promoted to be a father. After layers of screening, I also have a certain understanding and understanding of child safety seats. The author of this article just wants to tell you the importance of child safety seats and the simple selection and use methods through his own experience.
I hope every young parent can read this guide carefully. If you underestimate its importance, you may also underestimate the horror and danger of traffic accidents.
Main fixing types and installation methods of children's seats
After a long period of development, there are only three mainstream installation methods of child safety seats: seat belt fixation and ISO? Fix and lock.
First of all, seat belt fixation is the earliest fixation method for child safety seats. Its advantages are low cost and no need for additional holes. But the problem is that its fixing method is very complicated, and the child seat needs to be tied with the seat belt in the back row like a zongzi. Even in this case, children's seats are not firmly fixed and easy to loosen, so there are very few children's seats fixed by seat belts now.
▲ ISOFIX interface in the back seat of your car.
Next, look at ISOFIX, which is the most mainstream way to fix children's seats. At present, most cars have ISOFIX interfaces on the rear seats (generally marked), and some cars are in the "gap" between the seat back and the cushion, such as this car in the picture. However, some cars will also open two holes separately, which are usually covered with a cover and then opened when a child seat is needed.
▲ "lock" on the child seat
▲ "Lock" is behind the car
▲ What it looks like after completion.
In short, the core device of ISOFIX interface is two "metal bars", and there will be two sockets similar to "locks" on the child safety seat. If you plug them directly into the "metal pole" of the seat, the child seat will be completely fixed. This fixing method is not only simple, but also very safe and compact. As long as it is installed in place, it is almost impossible to loosen.
As for LATCH, it is actually similar to ISOFIX, except that it follows the American standard and will connect a buckle above the rear seat of the vehicle, which is tighter than ISOFIX. However, there is no locking interface reserved above the rear seats of some models, so this fixing method has not been popularized in China.
All in all, turn off the child safety seat with the seat belt fixed first. No matter how big the seat is or how cheap it is, don't buy it. ISOFIX and LATCH mainly depend on whether there is a LATCH interface above the back seat of your car. Buy LATCH if you have it, and buy ISOFIX if you don't. There is almost no difference in security between the two.
Installation position of child seat
This is a controversial topic, but let's first look at one point that is not controversial: in any case, the child safety seat cannot be installed on the co-pilot.
▲ Sticker on the first officer's sun visor
At present, most vehicles will put a sticker on the sun visor of the co-pilot. The general content is that children's seats should not be installed on the co-pilot, because the airbag will easily cause serious harm to the baby's body. I even know some parents who want to take their children out alone, install the child seat on the co-pilot and take care of them while driving. I'm real! ! # $% @ # $% * ................., please remember, don't do this!
So, I know it is installed in the back row. On which side is it installed? In fact, there are no clear laws and regulations in this country, and everything is installed according to the habits of users. Personally, I think that because China is a country that drives on the right, and all vehicles with seats are left-hand drive vehicles, then this side of the street is driving on the right.
Through this, I feel that the position behind the co-pilot is safer. Parents can get off from the left side where there are many motor vehicles and take their baby off from the safer street. Of course, there is nothing wrong with installing it on the left side, just pay attention to the flow.
Stage selection of children's seats
Children's own development is staged, including infant type (from birth to 13kg, from birth to18months), infant type (9- 18kg, about 9 months to 4 years old) and child type (15-36kg, about 4-66kg).
When most consumers buy a child safety seat, they will have the idea of "looking through the mirror", that is, buying a child safety seat so that the baby can sit from birth to primary school graduation. Obviously, this idea is not too much. Smart merchants have also seized the "small ninety-nine" in consumers' minds, so many "0 to 12" child safety seats have appeared.
To put it simply, this kind of seat is not recommended. Because my own child safety seat claims to be able to sit at the age of 6, but according to my son's development, 6 months is close to the limit. Businessmen's slogan, like "We can go where the fuel truck can go", is certainly possible under extreme conditions, but it seems not feasible under normal conditions.
Therefore, when buying a child safety seat, it is best to choose a small span, such as 0-4 years old, 4-8 years old and so on. If you want to buy a car that can be used by people aged 0~ 12, you often fail to take care of it at any stage.
On the other hand, whether to sit in a child's seat depends on the child's figure, not his age. At present, the speed of children's physical development far exceeds my imagination. Many primary schools are lively and upward 1.6 meters, while my wife is only 1.5 meters. Should my wife sit in the child seat, too? Therefore, once the baby's figure is not much different from that of an adult, he can choose to sit in the back row and forcibly sit in the child safety seat, which is a torment for him, especially for the child seat.
The function of positive and negative fixation of children's seats
Generally speaking, the installation of children's seats is divided into two stages, one is reverse installation and the other is forward installation.
Because the baby is in infancy and has low bearing capacity, reverse installation can effectively protect the baby's head. In addition to the reverse installation in infancy, the forward installation can be used in other stages.
▲ There is a handle under the general rotatable child safety seat, which can be rotated by pulling it.
Because of the front and back installation, parents should pay attention to one thing when choosing a child safety seat, that is, it is best to choose a child safety seat with rotation. On the one hand, in infancy, parents need to take care of their children in the car all the time. If the seat can rotate, it will avoid the trouble and danger of parents going up and down. On the other hand, the bayonet and lock of many non-rotating child safety seats are fixed, which is very complicated to install. So I suggest you try to choose a child safety seat that can rotate, and don't give yourself too much trouble.
Special functions of children's seats
Yes, child safety seats also have special functions. The most common is all kinds of brackets, cushions and even seat ventilation, which is generally similar to car seats.
The child safety seat purchased by the author also has many functions, but to be honest, the probability of daily use is very low and the effect is not good. Take the ventilation of this seat as an example. Its power supply is connected through USB data line. Because there is no USB interface behind my vehicle, I need to connect to the front row. After connecting, you will find that the power of this ventilation is not even as great as that of my mouth. In addition, the data cable will keep rotating with the rotation of the seat, and I don't know what will get entangled, so the configuration of seat ventilation has been eating ash until today.
▲ The author's child safety seat also has an anchor, which is quite practical.
This can explain some problems. When you buy a child safety seat, don't be confused by fancy functions, try to focus on the practicality of the seat. After all, child safety seats are just "helpless choices", not toys. No baby will like to take the initiative to sit in a child safety seat. No matter how many configurations are put, it is to ensure the safety of the seat. After getting off the bus, take the baby to play with some interesting toys.
Brand of children's seat
Because there are many brands of children's seats, I won't say it here. Just a reminder, many parents trust the quality of imported brands, so they often choose Haitao or Daigou to buy some imported child safety seats. However, it should be noted that there are still some differences between many configurations of imported brand child safety seats and domestic versions. Although the interfaces are the same, some configurations may conflict with domestic models, which makes them unusable. In this case, some are not worth the loss.
I suggest you try to find some big brands to see if your model and interface match. If you have a good reputation, you can directly "buy from buy buy" without looking for an imported brand.
Service life of children's seats
Remember, child safety seats also have a service life of about 5 years. So try to avoid repeated disassembly, which is likely to make the buckle loose and not firmly fixed. If possible, I also suggest that you change four different seats in the four stages of the baby. Although the cost is high, it does take care of the baby's safety.
Write it at the end
In fact, once again, any dangerous accident may be caused by slight negligence. Child safety seat is one of the most easily overlooked items in China. Children who are too young are not able to decide whether they are safe or not, so all decisions related to safety are made by parents. Then I hope those parents who are irresponsible for their own safety (such as not wearing seat belts) can take some responsibility for their children. Don't involve children because of one or two mistakes.
China's automobile industry seems to be very developed, but in recent decades, many details have lagged behind Europe and America. Catching up is not just "building a good car".
This article comes from car home, the author of the car manufacturer, and does not represent car home's position.