Travel Baby

It’s important to choose a car seat designed for your child’s age and weight to give him or her the best chance of escaping injury in a crash. There are three main types of car seats — infant car seats, infant/toddler convertible car seats, and booster seats. Below are the facts about car seat options and some tips for making educated purchasing decisions for each car-seat type:


If your baby is less than a year old, he or she must ride in a rear-facing car seat.


One choice is to buy a rear-facing infant car seat (suitable for babies up to 20lbs), that will fit your baby snugly during the first few months and often comes with a handle for easy carrying. And, if you’re looking for the utmost in convenience, select a travel system. Infant travel systems include a ready made car seat and stroller combination.


The downside to the infant car seat is that you’ll spend $60 to $150 on the seat and your child will outgrow it in 6 months to a year. You’ll have to upgrade to a convertible car seat once your baby reaches 20 lbs. If this is a concern for you, you can buy a convertible car seat that will face the rear for your newborn and can turn around to face the front for your baby once he or she reaches 20 lbs.


However, some parents feel that their newborn is “swimming” in a convertible car seat and prefer to use an infant car seat until their baby gets big enough to sit in a front-facing car seat.


No matter what you decide to use for your infant, you’ll eventually need a convertible car seat.


Regardless of the choice you make as to whether to use a convertible car seat from day one or use an infant car seat until your baby weighs 20 lbs, you’ll need to buy a convertible car seat at some point. Convertible car seats are larger than infant-only car seats and are designed to grow with your child through the toddler years. Most convertible car seats fit babies up to 40 lbs (usually around age 4) and some convert to a booster car seat and are safe for children up to 80 lbs.


Convertible car seats range in price from $80 to $300.


For toddlers weighing more than 40 lbs and big kids, you’ll need a booster car seat.


Booster car seats are designed for children age 3 or older who weigh at least 40 lbs. They are designed to use your car’s lap and shoulder seat belts. They literally boost your child into a position that makes it safe to use the car’s seat belt system.


Booster car seats are essential to your child’s safety because using your car’s seat belts on a child without a booster seat can actually cause injury. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends that children who’ve outgrown their convertible car seats use a booster car seat until they are 8 years old and 4 feet 9 inches tall.


Some booster seats provide back support and you should choose one of these options if your vehicle seat is low or has no head restraint. A backless option is fine for vehicle seats that offer plenty of support behind the head.


Booster car seats range in price from $60 to $200.

By: Bob Russell

If a child is using either a toddler only seat, or a ‘convertible’ infant/toddler seat, its time to transition the child into a booster seat when he or she has outgrown the existing seat restraints (usually at about 40 pounds), but is not yet ready for just seat belts (the minimum height recommended for a child to start using just seat belts is 4′9″). These seats can typically accommodate a child from 30 to 100 pounds (usually 4 to 8 years of age). Child car seat manufacturers are bound by very strict guidelines, and you may be surprised to find that some of the more expensive seats don’t provide any better level of protection than those which are more moderately priced.

Many State laws require children to be in a safety seat only up to age 4 or so, and many parents assume that children who are older than this will be safely restrained by just an adult safety belt. This, however, is not the case. An automobile’s seat belt system is designed for use by adults, not small children, and it usually will not fit a child properly. A booster seat is designed to improve the fit of the vehicle’s safety belt system across the child’s body, for greater comfort and safety. (These seats should never be positioned in front of an air bag, as deployment of the bag can cause serious (even fatal) injuries to a child.)

Booster seats are available with either a “high back” or a “low back”. High back seats should always be used in cars without headrests, or with low seats, both to provide the child with a comfortable place to rest his or her head, and to provide protection against “whiplash” in an accident. Low back seats are generally cheaper than high back seats, and are easier to move from car to car, but should only be used in cars with headrests and high seat backs.

High back seats are often available with a 5 point harness (when car seats are not being used with a harness, they are considered being used in the “belt positioning” mode). Using a harness is generally the safest way to restrain a child, and it is recommended that, if a harness is used, it be used until the child outgrows it (usually at about 40 pounds). There are also ‘convertible’ toddler/booster seats available. These seats can be used for children from the time they are ready to start using a toddler car seat until they are ready to start using just the car seats belts.

Booster seats are designed to raise the child up so that the lap and shoulder seat belts fit properly. Belt positioning seats must always be used with a car’s lap and shoulder belt (never with a lap only belt). The car seat will raise a child so the lap belt goes over the child’s pelvis and hips (instead of his or her abdomen), and the shoulder belt crosses the middle of the child’s chest and shoulder (the seat may have a clip that can be adjusted to ensure that the shoulder belt does not cross the child’s face or neck).

By: Tom Littlepage