Baby transport

For transportation of a baby or toddler there are special vehicles, special car seats, and devices for carrying.

Carrying the child

Main article: Child carrier

A “child carrier” (alternative: “baby carrier”) is a device used to carry an infant or small child. This can be on the body of an adult, or separately. On-the-body carriers are designed in various forms such as slings, backpack carriers, and soft front or hip carriers, with varying materials and degrees of rigidity, decoration, support and confinement of the child.

Pushable vehicles

Carriages and prams

A baby carriage or baby buggy (in American English), or pram (in Commonwealth English, short for perambulator). They are generally used for newborn babies and have the infant laying down facing the pusher.

Prams have been widely used in the UK since the Victorian era. As they developed through the years suspension was added, making the ride smoother for both the baby and the person pushing it. In the 1970s, however, the trend was more towards a more basic version, not fully sprung, and with a detachable body known as a "carrycot". Now prams are very rarely used, being large and expensive when compared with "buggies". One of the longer lived and better known brands in the UK is Silver Cross, first manufactured in Guiseley, near Leeds, in 1877, though this factory has now closed down.

Strollers and pushchairs

A stroller (American English) or pushchair (Commonwealth English). They have the child in a sitting position, usually facing forwards.

"Pushchair" was the popularly used term in the UK between its invention and the early 1980s, when a more compact design known as a "buggy" became the trend, popularised by the conveniently collapsible aluminium framed Maclaren buggy designed and patented by the British aeronautical designer Owen Maclaren in 1965. "Buggy" is now the regular term used in the UK; in American English, "buggy" more likely refers to a pram. Newer versions can be configured to carry a baby lying down like a low pram and then be reconfigured to carry the child in the forward-facing position.

Travel systems

Travel systems typically consist of a chassis with a detachable baby seat and/or carrycot. Thus a travel system can be switched between a pushchair and a pram. Another benefit of a travel system is that the detached chassis when folded will usually be smaller than other types of pushable vehicles.

Car seats

Baby car seats are legally required in many countries to safely transport children up to the age of 2 or more years.

Car seats should always be placed in a forward-facing rear seat if possible. If a car is large enough to have three seats in the back, then the middle position is generally considered the safest, as it provides space around the child in the event of a side collision or if the glass breaks in the windows. Car seats have been found to cause severe and fatal injuries to the child when fitted in a seat with airbags.

In 1990, the International Organization for Standardization FIX (ISOFix) was launched in an attempt to provide a standard for fixing car seats into different makes of car. The U.S. version of this system is called LATCH. While some manufacturers have started selling ISOFIX-compliant baby car seats there has been a long delay in agreeing the technical specifications and the standard is still yet to become widely used.

There are several types of car seat depending on the position of the child and size of the seat. The United Nations standard ECE R44/03 categorised these into 4 groups: 0-3. Many car seats combine the larger groups 1, 2 and 3.

Group 0

Group 0 baby seats or infant carriers keep the baby in a rear-facing position and are secured in place by a standard adult seat belt and/or an ISOFix fitting. Group 0 carrycots hold the baby laying on its back.

Carrycots, or car beds, are not as safe as the seat as they offer less support to the baby's neck in the event of an accident or sudden braking. However, a very young or premature baby may not have the neck strength to maintain an airway in a normal rear-facing infant carrier. Consequently, using a normal infant carrier for some babies carries an additional risk of suffocation. Physicians and hospital maternity departments are able to advise parents of the proper choice for their infant. Whichever is deemed the most appropriate initially, it is always true that newborns should never be left in baby seats any longer than necessary until they are old enough to lift their heads, and they should never be without adult supervision.

Carrycots are secured by both seat belts in the rear seat of the car. Both types have handles to allow them to be easily moved in to and out of the car.

Position: Laying (in carrycots), rear facing (in infant carriers)
Recommended weight: Birth to 10 kg (22 lb)
Approximate age: Birth to 9 months

Group 0+

Commonly have a chassis permanently fixed into the car by an adult seat belt and can be placed into a pushchair using the integral handle. Rear-facing child seats are inherently safer than forward-facing child seats, because they provide more support for the child's head in the event of a sudden deceleration.^* Although some parents are eager to switch to a forward-facing child seat because it seems more "grown up," all countries and car seat manufacturers recommend that children continue to use a rear-facing child seat for as long as physically possible.

Position: Sitting, rear facing
Recommended weight: Birth to 13 kg (29 lb)
Approximate age: Birth to 15 months

Group 1

A permanent fixture in the car using an adult seat belt to hold it in place and a five-point baby harness to hold the infant.

Position: Sitting, forward facing
Recommended weight: 9 kg (20 lb) to 18 kg (40 lb)
Approximate age: 9 months to 4 years (Although older children can fit too sometimes)

Group 2

A larger seat than the Group 1 design, these seats use an adult seat belt to hold the child in place.

Position: Sitting, forward facing
Recommended weight: 15 kg (33 lb) to 25 kg (55 lb)
Approximate age: 4 to 6 years (Although older children can sometimes fit)

Group 3

Also known as booster seats, these position the child so that the adult seat belt is held in the correct position for safety and comfort.

Position: Sitting, forward facing
Recommended weight: 22 kg (48 lb) to 35 kg (76 lb)
Approximate age: 6 to 11 years

External links

Car & booster seat safety information from Seattle Children's Hospital.
ISOFIX. A free to read PDF of the standard (ISO 13216-1) can be found here in Swedish and English.
Booster Seat Basic Information (PDF). Easy to read flyer from Seattle Children's Hospital provides basic information on Booster Seats.
Restraining devices for child occupants of power-driven vehicles (Child restraint system). The full text of R44/03 and its amendments are to be found here.
Puschair Guide A Guide to Pushchairs, buggies and strollers with detailed information about accessories and safety. Incudes user reviews.
Stroller reviews and guides Detailed break-down of popular strollers on the market rated by durability, convenience, safety, and comfort.
Reviews of Pushchairs Independent reviews of Pushchairs with detailed specifications. All worldwide makes and models of pushchairs are reviewed.

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