When Is Baby Too Big for Chicco Keyfit 30

March 11, 2022 Post a Comment

Information technology'south a good time to be a kid in a car: both cars and car seats go along to become safer, child vehicle fatalities are down (PDF), and car seat usage is up. Much of the effectiveness of a car seat rests in its specificity: it needs to be the correct fit and size for the kid and their developmental phase. But with so many car seats available and configurations possible, it can be daunting to decide which seat to go and when to go it. Hither's a rundown of the unlike types of seats and a checklist to come across if your kid has outgrown their current seat and is set for the next one.

Baby seat

A baby in a car seat. — Photo: Michael Hession

The babe seat is the rear-facing saucepan-style seat that almost parents opt to utilize through the first year of their baby's life and sometimes up to age 2. (Others may instead use a convertible car seat rated for newborn use, but either way, a motorcar seat is required to take a brand-new baby dwelling from the infirmary.) All infant seats are rear-facing just, and the about common blazon snaps in and out of a base of operations. Then if you lot're a two-motorcar family unit, it's likely that yous can get merely one seat and two bases.

Babe seats all use a five-point harness and come with a newborn insert to utilize from birth until the kid is between eleven and 15 pounds (bank check the manual for verbal instructions, simply generally if the baby's shoulders don't accomplish the straps without the insert, yous should use information technology). Most babe seats accept more than than one recline option. For newborns, you want the seat in the most reclined angle possible. Lani Harrison, a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) who works with Car Seats for the Littles and does frequent car seat installations, said that when parents say their babe cries constantly in the car, it's often considering the baby car seat is set at also steep of an bending.

A child has outgrown the infant seat when either of the following happens:

the meridian of their caput is less than an inch from the superlative of the seat when buckled in
they've reached the weight limit, which is typically 30 to 35 pounds

Most children outgrow the seat's meridian limit before the weight limit. As they exercise, parents using an infant seat generally switch to a larger, convertible seat anywhere between 9 months and 2 years, depending on their child'due south size (bigger kids will likely move on faster), though they can opt to exercise so sooner if the seat is rated safe for their child'due south height and weight. Within that ix months to ii years age range in that location is no documented safety divergence between a rear-facing baby seat and a rear-facing convertible seat, assuming the child meets a given seat's pinnacle and weight requirements. Because the seats are equally safe, some parents may choose to employ an infant seat every bit long every bit possible to keep that click-in-and-out convenience that comes with a seat that separates from its base of operations (or multiple bases) instead of switching to a 1-slice convertible seat that stays in one identify.

Tiny preemies or babies with special needs may non be able to sit in a reclined position nonetheless and may require unlike solutions, such every bit car beds.

Convertible seat

A child in a car seat. — Photograph: Kyle Fitzgerald

A convertible automobile seat—also referred to as a toddler seat—is designed to face either backward or forward in the auto. Though it can exist used either way, experts recommend that a convertible seat be used in rear-facing mode for equally long equally possible. The AAP's updated recommendation agrees. Currently, eight states—California, Connecticut, New Bailiwick of jersey, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina—require children younger than two to be in a rear-facing seat. New York, Nebraska, and Virginia volition implement the same requirements in 2019.

Experts are still trying to decide the optimal age for turning a child from rear to forward facing. Although in 2017 in that location was a retraction of one of the studies that was the basis for the extended rear-facing recommendation, virtually experts go on to believe that rear facing for a longer time is safer. Those nosotros talked to for our car seat guides suggested keeping a child sitting rear-facing by the age of 2 for increased safety, and pediatricians and CPST instructors such as Dr. Benjamin Hoffman recommend keeping your kid rear-facing for as long as possible, until they outgrow the rear-facing position.

That said, a child has outgrown a rear-facing position in a convertible machine seat when either of the post-obit happens:

They hit the weight limit for rear-facing. The limits for Wirecutter's top two convertible seat picks are 40 and fifty pounds (near the weight of an average five-year-onetime, though many parents, including myself, brand the switch earlier then).
The gap between the meridian of their head and the top of the car seat shell or head restraint is less than 1 inch. This measurement tin can be more than useful than overall height limits: a curt child with a long torso may outgrow their seat sooner.

Some parents decide to turn a child forward-facing before they outgrow the rear-facing requirements, often considering they find information technology easier to collaborate with their kid or hand them snacks this fashion, or because they remember the child is less likely to get car ill or just likes it more. And some websites, like Automobile Seats for the Littles, recommend 4 years old as a suggested cutoff. But before turning the kid to a forward-facing convertible seat, they should be:

two years old, older if possible
at least the seat's minimum weight requirement for forward facing (typically over 20 pounds)

Like an infant seat, a convertible seat relies on a five-point harness to continue a kid constrained. Information technology is safer to proceed a kid in a five-point harness until they outgrow the height/weight limits. Don't blitz moving to a booster.

A kid has outgrown a forrad-facing convertible seat when:

they hit the weight limit (which, for Wirecutter's picks, is 65 pounds)
the tops of their ears are at or above the top of the car seat's shell or head restraint
the harness straps tin can't exist positioned at or higher up their shoulders

Booster seat

A booster seat relies on the motorcar'south safety belt to continue a child in place, lifting the child higher in the seat then that the belt contacts firm parts of the body (like shoulders and legs) rather than soft parts, like stomachs. High-back boosters provide extra head and side touch on protection; backless boosters exercise not. (Our guide to booster seats will be published adjacent month.)

Before moving a child to a high-back booster, they should be:

40 pounds (minimum), according to many state laws, though this also depends on the seat manufacturer'due south recommendations
4 years quondam (minimum)
able to empathise and accept the need to sit nonetheless in the automobile
able to avoid slumping when falling asleep in the car; if a kid moves out of position, they could be injured by the seat belt in an accident

A child should stay in a high-back booster until their ears achieve the top of the head restraint, and then move to a backless booster.

They're ready for an adult safe belt without a booster when:

they are tall enough to remain in identify (or at least not slide through the seat belt) if the machine stops all of a sudden
they are able to go along their dorsum against the seat, knees bent over the border, and anxiety flat on the floor.
they fit in a seat belt properly, with it across the collarbone, low on the hips, and touching tops of thighs
they tin can sit in this proper position the entire car ride

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that most children are fix to switch from booster seat to using a seat belt alone somewhere between the ages of 8 and 12 years old.
For more details on choosing a car seat and car seat best practices, see our guides to baby seats and convertible seats.