Know when to Change Carseats

Figuring out when to change your car seats can be difficult. Child car seat safety recommendations change frequently and the laws do not always keep up with the latest recommendations. Knowing when to change from an infant bucket seat to a rear facing car seat and then a forward facing car seat can be challenging, since children grow at their own individual pace. Nonetheless, you can make an informed decision by regularly checking to see if your child’s height and weight falls within the recommendations for your car seat. By following height and weight recommendations, keeping your child in the rear facing seat as long as possible, and regularly shifting damaged car seats, you can ensure the safety of your vehicle.

Steps

Recognizing When to Switch to a Rear Facing Car Seat

1. Check the height and weight limit on your infant bucket seat. Switch from the infant bucket seat to the rear facing seat when your child exceeds the height and weight limit of the infant bucket seat. The height and weight limit are listed on the infant bucket seat.
2. Switch to a rear facing car seat. If your child is between one and two years of age, when they outgrow their infant seat, you should switch to a rear facing car seat. The rear facing car seat is safer for children in this age bracket based on a number of recent tests and state laws. The convertible version of the rear facing car seat is a little larger and allows your child to stay in the rear position for longer, so that is also an option.
   • Rear facing car seats are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics for children under the age of two or until the child exceeds the height and weight listed on the car seat. It is best to keep your child in the rear facing seat until they reach the height and weight limit even if they are older than two years of age.
   • If you are in a collision and your child is seated in a rear facing car seat, they will move deeper into the seat rather than away from it. This is safer than if they were facing forward.
3. Switch from a rear facing bucket seat to a convertible car seat. If your child outgrows their rear facing infant bucket seat, you can switch over to a larger convertible car seat. This car seat will allow you to keep your child in the rear facing position when they are a bit bigger.
   • In the United Kingdom, look for i-size car seats that allow you to keep your child in the rear facing position for longer.

Shifting to a Forward Facing Car Seat

1. Switch to a forward facing car seat. If your child exceeds the rear facing seat’s height and weight limits, you will need to switch to a forward facing seat. On average, children exceed height and weight limits at two years of age. However, you should follow the height and weight recommendations on the seat, as opposed to the age limit.
   • If your child is over two years of age and has exceeded the height and weight requirements for the rear facing car seat, you should move them to the forward facing car seat.
2. Avoid switching to a forward facing car seat too quickly. If your child is small or still meets the height and weight listed on the car seat after two years of age, you can keep them in the rear facing model.
   • If your child’s feet touch the vehicle seat, it is still fine to keep them in the rear facing car seat.
   • You can keep them in the rear facing car seat as long as their weight does not exceed the limit listed on the car seat and the seat is still in working order.
3. Change to an all-in-one car seat. The all-in-one car seat can be transformed from a rear facing position to a forward facing position and then to a booster seat. It can allow you to keep your child in the rear facing position a little bit longer. It is also adaptable, so it can save you money.

Changing Belt-Positioning Booster Seats

1. Change to a booster seat. When your child has outgrown the height and weight limits of their forward facing harness seat, you can move them to a booster seat. Look at the manual to figure out the height and weight limits for the forward facing car seat.
   • Choose high-back booster seats as opposed to backless boosters. The high-back boosters offer better head support for your child.
2. Avoid shifting to the booster seat too early. You should keep your child in the forward facing harness seat for as long as possible or, in other words, until they have outgrown the height and weight limits of the forward facing harness seat.
   • Recent studies have reconfirmed the improved safety of belt-positioning booster seats compared to regular seat belts for children between four and eight years of age.
3. Get rid of the booster seat. When your child gets to 4’9’’ in height and is between eight and twelve years of age, you can move them to the regular car seat. However, you should also check your state laws to make sure you can have your child in a regular seat. Many states require children to be in booster seats until age ten or twelve.
   • Given the improved safety of booster seats in comparison to seat belts for children up to eight years of age, you should avoid shifting your children out of them too early.
   • To check if your child can graduate to sitting in the regular car seat, see if your child’s knees bend nicely over the edge of the seat.
   • To check if your child can graduate to sitting in the regular car seat, check if the shoulder belt rests comfortably over their shoulders. If it rests over their face, they should still be in a booster seat.

Changing Old and Damaged Car Seats

1. Check the manufacturers’ expiry date on your car seat. Car seats can be damaged by temperature fluctuations in winter or summer and by everyday wear and tear. They don’t last forever, so you should check the expiry date on your child car seat. If it is past the expiry date, you should change your car seat.
2. Change your child car seats if you were involved in a collision. The national highway traffic safety administration recommends changing child car seats after either a moderate or a severe collision. In such cases, it is likely that your child car seat was badly damaged and you should have it replaced to ensure the safety of your children.
   • If your child was not in the car at the time of the collision, you should still change your child car seat.
   • Check if your car insurance covers new car seats.
3. Figure out if you have to change your car seat after a minor collision. If you were involved in a minor traffic accident, you will need to decide whether you have to replace your child car seat. If your collision meets the following definition of a minor crash, you do not have to replace your child car seat:
   • You were able to drive away from the crash site without difficulty.
   • There was no damage to the vehicle door close to the car seat.
   • Nobody in the car sustained an injury due to the crash.
   • There was no activation of the air bags during the crash.
   • You see no visible damage to the car seat. You should thoroughly examine the child car seat to make sure it is not damaged.

References

See also

• Anchor a Child Safety Seat
• Fix an Improperly Installed Child Car Seat
• Install Aftermarket Heated Seats in a Mazda MPV With Leather Upholstery
• Make a Car Seat Cover
• Repair a Tear in a Car Seat
• Adjust Your Seat Belt
• Paint Car Seats
• Buy Car Seat Covers
• Clean a Seat Belt
• Dry Car Seats

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