When to use the Convertible seat for baby?
Friday, July 31st, 2009 at
11:38 am
My granddaughter is now almost 7months old and weighing a little over 20 pounds, should we go ahead and buy a Convertible seat and get out of the infant carrier. It’s just such a struggle to get her in and out of the vehicle anymore. But I don’t want to rush things either. Please help?
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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).
The recommendation from safety experts and the American Academy of Pediatrics is to rearface (RF) to the limits of the seat which is 30-35lbs on all convertible car seats sold in the US. My daughter rode RF until she was 3 ½ and would love it if she still could, but she reached the weight limit on her Britax Marathons and had to be turned FF.
I have included several links with great pictures and videos of what happens to children’s necks when they are FF in a crash.
Most people are concerned about their child’s legs being scrunched or broken in a crash. There is absolutely no evidence that shows a child’s legs are in danger and I would much rather deal with a broken leg, than a broken neck.
Highly recommended convertible carseats are the Britax Decathalon, Boulevard and Marathon; Sunshine Kids Radian; Evenflo Triumph ADVANCE; Cosco Scenera and Safety First Uptown. 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.
I would go to a good convertible seat, like a Britax. I think they are safer than the infant carriers. Next time, I will not even bother with an infant carrier.