Take a moment and search on Amazon or Google for “car seat” and see what results pull up. You’ll see car seats and booster seats starting at $45 and some going upwards of over $200. Luxury car seats can even go for over $500. So, what’s the difference between all these options with such a huge price range? Are the more expensive ones better? Are they safer? Do they last longer? While there are some differences with long term durability, the high-priced car seats are purely for the brand name, convenience, and all those bells and whistles.

The fact is, all car seats within the United States are tested by and have to pass the same federal safety standards. That’s right – the $45 car seat is just as safe as the $500 one! The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has set the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. This provides child car seat performance stands for children up to 80 pounds. Both vehicle and car seat manufactures are required to ensure their products are meeting these standards. It is important to note that these are performance standards only, and not for the design of the car seat or booster seat. The performance standards regulate how cars and child restraint seats should perform in the event of crash. It is up to the manufactures to determine design.

Picking The Right Car Seat

I hope that the process of picking a car seat will be easier now that you know that you don’t need the most expensive one! There are many factors to choosing the perfect car seat for your family. Some things to consider when picking a car seat include ease of use, how the car seat fits the child, if the car seat fits in your vehicle, and of course your budget.

Ease of use is very important to ensure the car seat is being used correctly each and every time. You may want to consider a smaller and easy to install car seat if there is an older grandparent watching the child regularly. Do you have to move the car seat from car to car? Then you may want to look at one that is easily adjustable and weighs less to make the move easier. This is something I did not think about when I recently purchased two new car seats for my 2-year-old and 5-year-old sons. We only ever drive my car because their car seats are so huge and a pain to move around!

You must also think about the stage you child is currently in and if you are looking for a car seat that will last through only this stage, or multiple stages. (Check out this post about the 4 different stages of car seat safety here). Convertible car seats can usually last the child through all stages, but their price tags also tend to run a little higher. Make sure you also double check your car’s manufacturer guide to see if it is car seat compatible. It is rare, but some older cars are not equipped to properly install a car seat and keep a child safe.

Ultimately, the most important thing to consider when purchasing a car seat is if it will fit in your budget. There is no need to pinch pennies or go into debt for that name brand fancy car seat. Is it nice? For sure, but it is not needed. They will all keep your kids safe as long as they are properly installed and used!