i feel like a moron asking this, and i know i have a little while. but when do you change car seats? it when they are 20lbs and 1y/o or when they reach the witch ever first?
When do you change car seats?
20 lbs and one year. And if you can, it is safest to keep them facing the rear as long as possible. Some convertible car seats will remain facing the rear until the baby is 35 lbs.
You are not a moron for asking, you are a great mom for asking. =)
When do you change car seats?
Infant seats are outgrown when a child reaches the weight limit, or more commonly when the child has less than one inch of plastic shell above his head.
Infants then move to a rearfacing (RF) convertible seats and MUST remain RF until at least 1 year AND 20lbs, but should remain RF until the limits of the seat (30-35lbs in the US).
Children then move forward facing (FF) in a harnessed seat. Forward facing harnessed seats are outgrown when a child reaches the weight limit, or more commonly when the child's shoulders are above the top harness slots.
If the child is 4 years AND 40lbs, then he may move to a booster with vehicle lap shoulder belt seatbelt. If not, then the child needs a larger FF harnessed seat. There are many seats that harness to 55-80lbs. Some are the Britax Marathon, Decathalon, Boulevard, Frontier and Regent; the Sunshine Kids Radian; the Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE; the Graco Nautilus and the Cosco/Safety First Apex.
Stay away from: The Alpha Omega 3-in-1 seats only harness to 40lbs and most 40lb weight limit seats are outgrown before a child is mature enough for a booster seat. They also have very low top harness slots, so are outgrown by height at around 2 or 3 years old. The Graco Comfortsport also has very low top slots.
A child should ride in a booster with vehicle lap/shoulder belt until he or she reaches approximately 4'9%26quot; (around age 12) and then can move to just the adult seatbelt if he passes the 5 step test and the seatbelt fits him correctly.
Do you mean when do you turn the carseat around? The MINIMUM recommendation is when they reach one year AND 20 pounds. Even if your child reaches 20 pounds before their first birthday, they need to stay rear-facing until 12 months.
However, it has been found that the baby is the safest when rear facing and it is recommended they stay rearfacing until the size restrictions of the seat (different seats have different limitations for size in the rear facing position).
You can put your child forward facing at least 20lbs and a year old.. if thats what you are asking.. But I changed my daughter from her carseat at about 7 months to a convertible carseat and I will continue to keep her rear facing as long as I possibly can, it is alot safer for children. My daughter likes the convertible seat better because she doesn't lay back as far as a regular car seat.
I would wait at least a year. I've heard that keeping them in the rear facing position is best as long as possible for their little neck muscles should you ever be in an accident. I think up to 1 1/2 or 2. I have heard that there are rear facing seats that go up to 30 lbs or so. I'd check into that. (I think that, technically, whichever one comes first you should then move them to the next one, but I personally waited a year, at least).
My son is 7 months old and 16 lbs and I'm ready to get him a convertible car seat. He's still in an infant carrier seat (Graco Snug N Ride) but he's getting too heavy to carry around in that. He still fits it pretty good, it's just tiring on my arms. You can get a new car seat at anytime as long as it will fit your child. Most convertible car seats can be rear-facing from 5-25 lbs and then forward facing up to 80 lbs. They also can be transformed into a booster.
If you have an infant carrier it should be replaced when your baby is over 20 pounds or too long for it. It should be replaced with a rear facing convertible seat. Use this to the limits of the seat rear facing. Most convertible seats will support 30-35 pounds rear facing. Once your baby/toddler reaches this weight, turn it around forward facing.
We switched from an infant carrier at 5 months to a convertable carseat. My daughter is 9 months old and still rear-facing. The law states that in order for a child to face front they need to be 20 pounds and at least one year old. Our convertable carseat permits my daughter to sit rear facing up to 35 pounds since it is much safer.
You mean when do you put them forward facing. No sooner that 20 pounds AND one year. If they are over 20 pounds, but not one year, you can moving them out of their carrier and put them in a rear facing convertible seat.
It when there one yr and 25 lbs. they have to be both to face forward. They can face to rear in a big car seat as long as the car seat is for there size the car seat will tell u the lb and age on it.
You are not a moron. :)
Technically, you can change any old time you want to - as long as you keep your baby rear facing. Even a newborn can use a rear facing convertible car seat. The infant carrier is not a required stage in car seats, just a choice many new parents make.
But you can use the infant carrier until its outgrown. It is outgrown when:
1)the weight limit is reached - 22lbs for most infant seats
OR
2)there is less than 1%26quot; of seat above the child's head
The height limit on the seat is a guideline, not set in stone. That is b/c one 29%26quot; baby may have a really long torso and be too tall for the seat, whereas another 29%26quot; baby may be all legs and still fit with 1%26quot; of shell above his head.
But even when you change to a rear facing convertible - it needs to stay rear facing until the child is 2 years old, or reaches the maximum weight limit of the seat rear facing. The old 20lbs/1 year rule is just that. OLD. It came about in the 1980's when our seats were only capable of rear facing to 20lbs and we didn't know any better. Now we definitely know better and all current convertible seats rear face to at least 30lbs, but its hard getting people to realize this.
Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!
1)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
2)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
3)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
4)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
It works this way: when you get in an accident and run into something, the car stop suddently, but everything and everyone in the car keeps moving in the direction the car was moving when it stopped, in most accidents, this is forward. So in an accident with a child in a forward facing seat, his head, the heaviest part of the body on babies and toddlers, flies forward very forcefully and easily snaps. If that same child is in a rear facing seat, his head tries to fly forward but is supported by the back of the rear facing seat, so there is no stress put on the child's neck and spine.
Check out this photo album exclusively of rear facing kids, many of them much older than 12 months: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum… There isn't a single documented case of a child breaking their legs b/c they were rear facing in an accident. There are, however, lots of cases where children have been killed and seriously injured where a rear facing seat would have protected them better. And most kids actually prefer to be rear facing b/c they can rest their feet on the vehicle seat back. When they are forward facing, their legs don't receive enough support and will frequently fall asleep.
Here's the pick of the litter of convertible car seats:
The Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon (These 3 are the same seat, just different variances of luxury additions, with the Marathon being the cheapest base model) can be found for regular price of $269, and on sale at Albee Baby online for $209-$219. The Marathon a wide open easy to route belt path, which makes using it correctly a lot easier, as do the built in lockoffs, which mean you never again have to use a locking clip. I can get it into 4 different vehicles in under 2 minutes. Because of the way the base is made, it fits in most cars. And, it is worth the money, b/c it lasts usually twice as long as most other car seats (all car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture) lasting a baby till they are 5-6 years old, where most at Walmart will only last till 2-4 years old. Rear faces to 33lbs, then forward to 65lbs. and top slots 17inches tall, lasts most kids to ages 5-6 years old.
The Evenflo Triumph Advance (not the original Triumph, make sure it says Advance) is a great seat. $150 version at Babies R Us has padding similar to Britax seats, top slots of 17%26quot;, harnesses to 35lbs rear facing, and 50lbs forward facing. $120 Walmart version just has little less plush padding. Wide open belt path, easy to install, though it doesn't have built in lockoffs. The harness adjusts at the front of the car seat, you don't have to take the car seat out of the car just to raise/lower the straps. It has infinite harness adjustment so the harness always fits perfectly until its outgrown. No more tugging straps to tighten them either. You tighten and loosen the harness using knobs on the side of the seat. As a major bonus, it can be used in a recline position even in forward facing mode. Awesome for kids who still sleep in the car. I LOVE THIS SEAT! LOL My son, who is too big for every other car seat at Walmart has the same amount of room in this as the Britax Marathon.
The Compass Tue Fit, also sold as The First Years True Fit, is a great choice, too. Here's a thread talking all about it: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t… Has 16.5 inch top harness slots, half inch shorter than the Britax Marathon and Evenflo Triumph Advance. Rear faces to 35lbs, forward faces to 65lbs, has built-in lockoffs, and you never have to rethread the harness to change harness height. The headrest is removable to fit better in smaller cars. $179 for the one cover Walmart offers it in, check Babies R Us and other stores for different covers at a little more expensive price.
When shopping Remember these rules:
1)the BEST seat is the one that fits your child, fits your car, and will be used correctly 100% of the time. (This is why convenience features DO make a difference and ARE worth the money! If its easy to use, you're more likely to use it correctly.
2)children need to stay rear facing as long as possible.
Turning kids forward at 20lbs/1year is an outdated practice that could cost you your child's life!
A)A forward-facing child under 2 years old is 5 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than a rear-facing child of the same age.
B)A child's vertabrae do not fully fuse until 3-6 years old, before then, she is at great risk for internal decapitation. The spinal column can stretch up to 2 inches in a crash BUT the spinal cord can only stretch up to 1/4 inch before it snaps and baby is gone.
C)Current research suggests that children under the age of two years are 75 percent less likely to die or be seriously injured when they are riding rear facing.
D)In a recent article from Injury Prevention, it was found that the odds of severe injury to forward facing children age 12-23 months old was 5.32 times higher than a rear facing child. (Car Safety Seats For Children: Rear Facing For Best Protection; Injury Prevention 2007; 13:398-402.)
3)Once you do turn them forward facing, they need to stay in a 5 point harness as long as possible. 4 years/40lbs is the minimum for riding in a booster, and most 4 year olds have no business using one yet. If they can't sit upright for an entire trip, they need the harness of a car seat still. And, even if they do sit properly, a 5 point harness is safer, so you want to keep them in one as long as possible. This is important to consider b/c most car seats only forward face to 40lbs. My son just turned 3, and is in the 95th% for height and weight - 40%26quot; tall and weighs 41lbs. He outgrew the 40lbs seats shortly after his 2nd birthday. It was a total waste of money. He now has a Britax Marathon, which goes to 65lbs, and will be able to fit it for some time yet. If I'd have bought it when he was born, I could have had one car seat this whole time instead of the 3 I wasted money on. They are more expensive for many reasons, this is one.
So...knowing all that, here's some about specific seats. Please don't get a Graco Comfort Sport. Car seat techs call it the 'crappysport'. LOL Its a crappy seat that won't last your child very long b/c it has a really short shell. The straps twist all the time, and if they're twisted they won't support your child in a wreck properly. They're hard to install. There's nothing good about these seats except perhaps they're cheap sometimes. Ditto the Safety1st 3-in-1/Cosco Alpha Omega/Eddie Bauer 3-in1 seats. These are all the same company - same seat, just different covers. They stink. Hard to install, b/c of narrow belt paths. Ever tried to wash a skinny cup by hand? Now imagine that skinny cup with pointy edges. That's what putting your hand through these to install them is like. AND they have too short a shell to really go to 40lbs. And that's another misleading thing the box says - 5-100lbs. What the box fails to mention (you don't find out until reading the manual!) is that the harness only goes to 40lbs, NOT 100lbs! After 40lbs it must be used as a booster.And they do not make good boosters. Also, most kids have to use boosters until they're at least 8 years old. Car seats expire 6 years after the date of manufacture, so no matter what they say it is NOT the last seat you'll ever need to buy.
