When To Use Convertible Car Seat? What You Need To Know

Convertible car seats can be used for a variety of reasons. There are three stages of using a convertible car seat for youngsters. This car seat can be used as a belt-positioning booster or as a rear-facing-to-forward-facing convertible.

Because a child’s bones are still fragile at the age of four, they are more susceptible to injury in an accident if they remain in the harness mode.

Only by taking frequent, legally mandated measurements of your child’s height and weight will you be able to determine when he or she has outgrown this stage (every time you go through inspection)

The shoulder straps must be at or above the child’s shoulders, with the elbows secured at a 90-degree angle, before switching to a forward-facing position. Keep the child’s head and shoulders at least an inch from the seat’s edge.

A car seat with a removable headrest allows you to recline it in a more diagonal position that provides better support for the neck.

Does a backless booster need a latch?

Latch connectors are not required on a backless booster seat, but many of them are. To keep your child safe while driving, the lap belt should be utilized as the primary means of restraint.

In order to avoid accidents, always choose a backless booster with latch hooks that are securely fastened. If you don’t have a latch connection for your child’s booster seat, a conventional three-point seatbelt will do the trick.

When can my child move to a booster?

It is time to upgrade your child’s car seat when they reach the weight or height restrictions. That usually means they weigh at least 40 pounds and are taller than four feet. It is important to remember that there are additional factors to consider when determining whether or not your child is ready to ride in a booster seat.

Some questions can be answered by your child’s pediatrician. While some children may be ready for boosters earlier than others, all children under the age of eight must ride in one until they reach the maximum height and weight recommendations of their particular seats, regardless of age.

How much do you have to weigh to sit in a backless booster seat?

Children weighing between 40 and 100 pounds can utilize a backless booster seat. Your child’s height and weight should be taken into account while determining the belt position, while the shoulder belt should fit over their chest diagonally.

When should a child move to a backless booster?

Outgrow forward-facing chairs and switch to a backless booster as soon as possible. When it comes to the AAP, child restraints should only be used on kids that weigh between 40 and 80 pounds (note that some state laws may be different).

Please contact your local police department or fire station as well as an expert at Kiddie Academy for more information about transitioning your child from a car seat to a booster seat.

Our recommendation for infants under 20 lbs. is to use a convertible car seat instead of an infant carrier until they reach this weight requirement. When in doubt about which sort of restraint is best for your family, please contact Kiddie Academy and we’ll help you choose the safest solution for you and your children.

Do high back boosters need to be top tethered?

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends anchoring children in strapped car seats or high-back boosters, even if it is not required.

If your car has a top tether strap, it’s normally located behind either the headrests or the center seat belt between the two front bucket seats.

Crash-related neck injuries can be avoided by using this feature, which prevents the booster seat from being shifted forward in the event of a collision.

Refer to the information provided by the car manufacturers on what works best with their individual designs of automobiles and booster seats in terms of kid restraints.

What Do Those Results Mean to You?

• Height is important. Your child’s weight will likely fall inside the 30 to 35 pound weight restriction for many infant and rear-facing-only seat models, so you may think those seats are adequate until your child reaches this weight. Your child, on the other hand, is more likely to outgrow such seats in terms of height than in terms of weight. The Types and Timeline may be found in our guide to car seats.
• You’re going to need one. You’ll still need a convertible model if you want to keep your child rear-facing until her second birthday. Rear-facing till the age of two is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as by Consumer Reports’ child-seat specialists. Children under the age of two must ride in a rear-facing child safety seat under new legislation in California, New Jersey, and Oklahoma.
• Best for your children. According to these recent findings, convertible seats may offer an advantage over infant seats in terms of head protection for children around the age of one.
• It’s better to be safe than sorry. The baby carrier’s simplicity and portability are lost when you switch to a fixed rear-facing seat. However, the weight of your growing infant and the portable seat negates the seat’s attraction. A study published in the Journal of Pediatrics indicated that letting a baby sleep in an infant seat while outside of the automobile poses a risk to their health. Your kid will not wake up when you remove him from his rear-facing car seat. You should go with it.
• Now is the time to make the change. If your child has not yet outgrown her infant seat, we recommend that you switch to a rear-facing convertible seat no later than the age of 1 to take benefit of the convertible seat’s additional head protection.

When Should You Make the Switch?

A majority of babies are too tall to fit in an infant car seat even before they reach the weight restriction, especially in cars with 30+ pound weight limits. Too high is when the child’s head is less than an inch from resting on the seat’s top. Make sure you know the height and weight limitations of your child’s car seat before he or she gets into the vehicle.

Rear-facing convertible seats are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for babies who have outgrown their infant seats and have reached the minimum weight or height requirements. Even if a youngster is within the height and weight restrictions, it is not recommended that they utilize the seat (and vice versa also is not safe). As soon as your child crosses one threshold, they’re out of your reach.

According to Consumer Reports (CR) crash testing, it may be advisable to switch your child from an infant seat to a rear-facing convertible seat early, before the child’s head is within an inch of the seat’s top.

It was found that the danger of brain injury in an infant seat is substantially higher than in a rear-facing convertible seat since the dummy impacted its head on the back of the front seats in more than half of the crashes in an infant seat, but only 4% of the crashes in a convertible seat. 1

The car seats of rear-facing children can be removed. To prevent their head from hitting something hard, like a hard part of the front seats, a child riding in a convertible seat has a lot more of its shell over their shoulders.

When Should You Make the Switch?

A majority of babies are too tall to fit in an infant car seat even before they reach the weight restriction, especially in cars with 30+ pound weight limits. Too high is when the child’s head is less than an inch from resting on the seat’s top. Make sure you know the height and weight limitations of your child’s car seat before he or she gets into the vehicle.

Rear-facing convertible seats are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for babies who have outgrown their infant seats and have reached the minimum weight or height requirements. Even if a youngster is within the height and weight restrictions, it is not recommended that they utilize the seat (and vice versa also is not safe). As soon as your child crosses one threshold, they’re out of your reach.

According to Consumer Reports (CR) crash testing, it may be advisable to switch your child from an infant seat to a rear-facing convertible seat early, before the child’s head is within an inch of the seat’s top.

It was found that the danger of brain injury in an infant seat is substantially higher than in a rear-facing convertible seat since the dummy impacted its head on the back of the front seats in more than half of the crashes in an infant seat, but only 4% of the crashes in a convertible seat. 1

The car seats of rear-facing children can be removed. To prevent their head from hitting something hard, like a hard part of the front seats, a child riding in a convertible seat has a lot more of its shell over their shoulders.