Is An Infant Car Seat Safer Than A Convertible
Many parents choose to use infant car seats far longer than the law requires. However, it may be time for a new perspective on that long-held practice because research has begun to show that while convertible car seats are very safe, theyre not as easy to use in every situation.
As such, consideration should be given about when an infant seat is safer or more convenient than using a less bulky and easier-to-install convertible seat instead.
When To Move Your Child From A Forward
Even if your provincial or territorial regulations allow the use of a booster seat, children should keep using a forward-facing seat until they outgrow its weight or height limits. Many forward-facing seats have weight limits up to 30 kg .
The harness of a forward-facing seat is designed to fit the narrow shoulders of children. This helps protect children in front, side and rear impact crashes. The harness holds your child back and spreads the forces of a crash over the strongest parts of your child’s body.
When To Switch From Infant Car Seat To Convertible Car Seat
The convertible car seat is the next step in your babys journey after they outgrow their infant car seat. Here are some things parents should consider before making the transition into a convertible or booster.
Height & Weight Requirements: A common reason that infants are switched over is due to hitting one of these two milestones. The general suggested age range for having babies use this type of carrier is around three years old until they reach 40 lbs .
But there are height requirements for this type of car seat as well. Most convertible seats are recommended to be used by children until they reach at least 40 inches tall, which is usually around eight years old or so.
Convertible Car Seat: Another important factor when it comes down to the decision between a regular infant carrier and a convertible one is how long you can use them.
If your child outgrows their typical baby carrier before reaching three years old, they may benefit from having a more lasting seat that has higher height requirements and weight limits that range up into elementary school age.
Once again looking back at most major model brands sizing charts, most newborns start off in a car seat to a car seat, including important features like being able to have an adjustable headrest, or whether the seat is capable of having a removable infant body insert for extra support.
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Are There Any Other Safety Tips
- Many seat manufacturers have online video tutorials that can help.
- Some local community resources offer car seat clinics. There may be someone who has been trained to help with installation or check that you have installed the car seat correctly.
- If you use an infant carrier outside of a vehicle:
- Always keep your child buckled.
- Do not put the seat on a raised surface because it may fall.
- Always take your baby out of the car seat when you arrive. A car seat is not a safe place to sleep.
How To Convert Safety 1st Car Seat To Booster Seat
This how-to guide will show you how to convert Safety 1st car seat to booster seat for older children. Car seats are designed for babies and toddlers, so they work differently than other types of seats for older children.
Converting your safety 1st car seat to a booster should take less than 15 minutes if you have the right tools on hand which should be in any good parents toolbox.
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Infant And Convertible Car Seats: What’s The Difference
Parents have the option of choosing between an infant and a convertible car seat when traveling with their baby. Both are safe options if your baby meets the car seat’s height and weight recommendations. You also have to make sure you know how to securely install the seat. It’s important to choose the seat that works best for your baby and your needs. Here are the key differences between infant and convertible car seats.
Stage : Booster Seats Until The Seat Belt Fits
Kids are usually considered ready for booster seats when they are at least four years old and weigh at least 40 pounds but check with the laws in your particular state. Belt-positioning boosters are designed to properly position the vehicle seat belts on a childs lap and shoulder. Vehicle seat belts are made for adult occupants, so children need the additional height provided by a booster seat to achieve correct belt placement.
Once your child reaches the weight or height limit of their forward-facing seat, they can move into a booster seat. Manitoba law requires children to remain in booster seats until theyre at least 4 9, 80 lb, or nine years old. Without a booster seat, a seatbelt rides too high on a childs stomach and neck and can cause serious injuries.
Boosters come in two varieties: high-back and no-back. A high-back booster is needed if your vehicle does not have a headrest for the seating position that your child will be using. They are also a good option when first transitioning a child to a booster from a forward-facing harnessed seat. No-back boosters work well for travel or for carpooling with booster-age children, as they are compact and easy to store.
When your child is at least age five and outgrows the forward-facing car seat with a harness, use a booster seat in the back seat. Use a booster seat until the belt fits correctly. A booster seat is often needed until 4 ft 9 in tall. Your child maybe 12 years old before ready for an adult safety belt.
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Moving To A Booster Seat
Many parents arent sure when to switch their child to a booster seat. Sometimes parents get pressure to use a booster seat from friends, relatives or the child.
We understand that pressure and concern, but it is safer to move from a forward-facing car seat to a booster seat only after your child reaches the weight or height limit of the seat you are using. A child in a forward-facing seat with a harness and top tether is more protected than one in a booster seat with lap and shoulder belt or when using just a seat belt alone.
Will your child stay in a seat without a harness? If moved to a booster seat too soon, children sometimes climb out of the booster seat. Thats not safe. If she does, it means shes not ready for the booster seat.
The Child Is Too Big For The Car Seat
This is the most obvious reason to change your childs seat. The first goal is to keep your child in the most protective type of seat available for their height and weight. Granted, this should not mean keeping them in a rear-facing seat if their heads are above the back of the car seat. But dont be in a rush to move to the next car seat. The more protection against a crash or collision, the better.
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The Car Seat Is Expired
Many caregivers don’t realize that car seats have expiration dates. The plastic used to make seats can degrade over time and become brittle, potentially making the seat less effective. In other words, if youre using a seat that previously belonged to an older sibling, it might be nearing its limit.
To find the expiration date, check the seats label or the manufacturer instructions . If you’re still not sure, count from six years post the manufacturer date, the AAP says.
Do You Need A Newborn Insert For Car Seat
Newborn babies can be too small to fit safely into a car seat without the extra padding a newborn insert provides. As babies get bigger, they outgrow the newborn insert. Thats the reason the newborn insert is removable. For safety purposes, though, its important not to take the insert out too early.
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What About Their Legs
Many parents express concern about the fact that their child seems cramped or that their legs must be folded before they have reached the maximum height or weight for their rear-facing seat.
Children can safely sit with their legs crossed, extended, or hanging over the sides of their rear-facing seat. Leg injuries for rear-facing children are very rare, according to the AAP.
Is Target Recycling Car Seats In 2021
Sunday, September 12, 2021 through Saturday, September 25, 2021. What type of car seat qualifies for a trade in? Target will accept and recycle all types of car seats, including: infant car seats, convertible car seats, car seat bases, harness or booster car seats, as well as car seats that are expired or damaged.
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Three: Remove The Seat Belt From Its Current Slot And Re
In some cases, you may need to remove one of the slots entirely in order for your Safety First car seat belt installation process to continue without getting interrupted by misfitting belts or safety risks such as seats that move more than an inch once they are installed correctly.
However, if this is not necessary, simply open up your childs belt holding area with any common set of household scissors and reroute these straps so that they fit snugly into their new location without digging into the skin or causing other problems that could arise while driving around town.
Are Their Feet Going To Get Hurt
If your childs feet hang over the end of the seat, it is not an indicator to move them up a stage, as is commonly believed. Childrens’ feet and legs are very unlikely become injured in a collision when they are rear facing, and they will not be uncomfortable. Children are much more flexible than adults and will happily sit with their knees bent or their legs crossed.
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Child Car Seats For Toddlers
Ontarios Highway Traffic Act allows children weighing 9 kg to 18 kg to use a forward-facing child car seat or a rear-facing car seat as long as the car seat manufacturer recommends its use.
It’s best to keep your child in a forward-facing child car seat until they reach the manufacturer’s recommended maximum weight and height limits.
A forward-facing car seat uses a tether strap to prevent the child car seat from moving forward and causing injury in a collision. It is important to use the tether strap exactly as the manufacturer recommends.
Child Safety Seat Registration Card
Don’t forget to mail back the registration card. If you don’t, you will not be notified if the child safety seat is recalled or has other safety problems.
If you moved since you mailed the card, make sure you call your child safety seat manufacturer to update your address.
If you misplaced the registration card that came with your car seat, please and mail or fax it as instructed.
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The Different Fitting Standards
Just to make things that little bit more confusing, there are currently two regulations running along side each other which different car seats abide by. There is the group system and the i-Size system.
Lets look a little closer at the two regulations
group system.
The Group system regulation is categorised into groups depending on the weight of your child. This is how the categories are determined and act as the guide to when your child should move up to the next stage car seat. Each group has an upper weight limit, when your baby reaches this limit it is time to move them up to the next stage.
There are also age guides in each group, however we advise to only use these as a guide and focus more on the weight of your child. The size of your child is more important than his age. This is because some babies grow faster and gain weight more quickly than others of the same age. Girls and boys also grow at different rates.
The group categories are
Group 0+ – birth to 13kg
Group 1 9-18kg
Group 2 15-25kg
Group 3 22-36kg
Until recently, this was the only system for car seats in the UK and many seats are still sold under the group system. But, with the recent introduction of the i-Size regulations there are now two regulations running along side each other.
i-Size System
The I-Size categories are
First stage birth to 75cm
First & Second Stage birth to 105cm
One Of The Most Common Questions We Are Receiving Is: When Is The Right Time For My Child To Change To The Next Car Seat And This Is A Great And Very Important Question Different Regulations Focussing On Weight Height And Age And Can Make It Quite Confusing We Have Therefore Collected An Overview Of When To Change Car Seats For Your Child
At BeSafe, we categorize the different child car seat stages in a childs life into three groups:
3) Car seats for older children
When choosing a seat for your newborn, there are two paths you can choose from: either to use an infant carrier from approx. 0-1 year, followed by a toddler seat until approx. 4 years or to use a 2-in-1 seat from 0 to approx. 4 years.
When using such a 2-in-1 seat, it is only relevant in this article for you to know when to change to a seat for older children. When to remove the baby insert of your 2-in-1 seat is defined by the user manual of your seat.
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Fitting Child Car Seats Into Your Car
All child car seats must be fitted correctly for safety, but they can be tricky to fit.
When youre buying a new child car seat, its a good idea to check that it will fit in your car before you buy it. You can ask the shop to let you try fitting a display model in your car.
Once youve bought a child car seat, its also a good idea to have your new car seat professionally fitted or checked at a local fitting service. And if you need to move the car seat later, always follow the manufacturers instructions.
Here are some key tips for when youre learning how to fit and use a child car seat:
- Choose the correct anchorage points check your car manual to find out where they are. If you have a child car seat thats compatible with ISOFIX, check whether your car also has ISOFIX low anchorage points.
- Position the child car seat firmly.
- Make sure other passengers can still easily get to their seatbelt buckles.
- Know how to position your child and firm up the harness.
- Regularly check and adjust the seats harness and shoulder height markers as your child grows.
Sitting in a child car seat for long periods isnt good for your childs physical development. This is why its important to take your child out of the car seat when you get out of the car, even if theyve fallen asleep. Its also important to take a break at least every two hours.
Four: Reinstall Your Childs Seat Belt After You Have Restrapped The Belts Onto Their Car Seats Correctly
Once you have rerouted your childs belts, it is time to reinstall them in their correct locations. Simply buckle up all straps into place and ensure that they stay firmly locked into position once you take off again on a normal trip around town or one where there will be more movement involved such as when travelling over bumpy roads.
If everything fits properly, then turn the chair upright so that this new pattern becomes second nature before turning back towards your child allowing him or her to experience a new level of safety and security.
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What About When The Seat Gets Too Heavy To Carry And Use On The Pram
Another trigger for moving up to the next stage is when the seat gets too heavy to carry or the seat isnt put on the pram so often anymore. It is worth remembering that the infant seat is a car seat first and foremost, that will keep your baby safe. It is a pram convenience second. Once the seat is too heavy to lift with the baby in, leave it fitted in the car and lift the baby in and out of the seat. Lots of people are not very keen on this idea, as it can be fiddly putting the little one back in the seat. However, if you are choosing to turn forward facing next, this slight inconvenience will allow you to keep your baby in a safer seat until it is outgrown, as babies are much safer travelling rear facing.
Tips For Buying A Baby Car Seat
- When buying a car seat, it’s best to try a few in your car before making a decision. Try to find a retailer who is willing to help you with this. Ask whether staff have been trained in fitting car seats.
- Check whether your car has Isofix connectors built into it. These are designed to make fitting baby and child car seats simpler. Most modern family cars have them. They may be hidden in the cracks between the padding of your car seats.
- Some car seat manufacturers have online guides showing which cars their seats will fit in. If your baby is likely to travel in another car regularly for example, with other family members check the car seat fits their car, too.
- Always choose a baby or child car seat that’s right for your child’s current height and weight see What size car seat? for more.
- Do not buy a secondhand car seat. It could have been damaged in an accident, and may not have all its parts, including the instructions. It may also not be the safest and most user-friendly model, plus it may not fit your car properly.
- Only accept a car seat from friends or family if you know its history, it’s not too old and it comes with instructions.
- Think about how you will be using the car seat. If you’ll be lifting your baby in and out of the car a lot, for example, you may be better off getting a lightweight seat with a base that stays in the car.
- All car seats in this country should be EU approved. Look for the “E” mark label on the seat.
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