Have you ever watched a young family try to make it out of the house and into the car? It has the urgency of a pit stop, only instead of fresh tires, fuel, and a squeegee guy, you’ve got mom and dad relocating an apartment’s worth of toys, strollers, and wipes into the family ride. Overkill? If the gift of parenthood has yet eluded you, know this: Keeping the baby calm and/or asleep in the car is job one, and these are the car-specific items you must have:
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(A) Sunshade
- -Swaddled and strapped into those hefty car seats, babies are susceptible to sweatin’ to the oldies on a sunny day. A cool baby is, ideally, a sleeping baby. Sunnies’s stick-on shades forgo suction cups for a cleaner look and allow the windows to roll down when installed. Sunnies Static Cling Window Sunshade (2-pack), $19.99
-(B) Diaper Bag
- -Nobody looks cool carrying a diaper bag. So skip it for a Tumi Ashwin tote, which has pockets shaped like diapers, bottles, and the like. Should hard use overwhelm your Tumi, the brand’s legendary customer service will get you back to the changing table in no time. Tumi Ashwin Tote, $295
-(C) Weathertech Cargo Liner
- -Baby-support detritus can inflict mass destruction on your trunk. These waterproof liners can spare a few scrapes and bumps and make great impromptu changing stations. Price varies by model
-(D) White Noisemaker
- -Babies are cruel monsters who, instead of falling asleep, throw fits. White-noise generators can help baby fall asleep. An alternative: Play tapes of Car and Driver TV. Marpac Marsona TSCI-330, $74.95; mobile Marsona battery pack, $14.95
-(E) Child
- -In the rush to load all the baby’s stuff into the car, don’t forget the baby. Price varies by model
-(F) Toy
- -We can’t really offer a specific toy for your child—kids latch on to different ones. But may we suggest a squishy Babies “R” Us car? Start ’em early. Soft Baby Buggy, $3.99
-(G) Seat Yourself
- -Looking to buy a child seat? The choices are as boundless as they are daunting. Here are a few key things to consider before making your purchase. And don’t forget to test-fit a seat in your car—an ill-fitting seat is unsafe.
-Ease-of-Use Ratings: There are no government crash ratings for child seats, but NHTSA does publish an “Ease of Use” assessment for each one. Since it is estimated that 75 to 80 percent of parents make a mistake when installing a car seat—or strapping their child into one—this matters more than you’d think.
-LATCH Anchors: Nearly every new car sold in the U.S. since ’02 comes with LATCH anchors in the seats that theoretically ease the fitment through a click-in mechanism, as opposed to the old elaborate struggle between the child seat and the seatbelt.
-Recalls: Child seats can be recalled for safety-related defects and other concerns. Be sure to register your seat with the manufacturer to receive pertinent NHTSA recall notices.
-Size, Age, Everything Matters: Not every child seat fits every scenario. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a rear-facing seat from birth to roughly age 2; from age 2 to 5-plus years (depending on the child’s height and weight), a forward-facing seat is the way to go; and between the forward-facing chair and full seatbelt use, you should use a booster seat to align a smaller occupant’s chest and thighs with the car’s seatbelt. Still not sure? You can plug your child’s birthday, height, and weight into NHTSA’s dynamic seat-selector tool at safercar.gov for a more accurate seat recommendation.
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