Infant Car Seats
Do you need a new car seat already? While any child under a year old definitely needs to stay in a car seat, the type of seat she sits in is going to depend a great deal on how tall she is and how much she weighs. A smaller baby might be able to stay in an infant-only seat until at least her one-year birthday, while a bigger baby might outgrow that type of seat before she is six to nine months old.
When a child reaches twelve months of age and weighs twenty pounds, she can be switched to the forward-facing position. However, some people follow the advice that the rear-facing position is always safest, and continue to keep their older babies facing the rear for as long as they fit in the seat.
Which Type of Seat?
The average infant-only seat fits a child comfortably until she is about twenty to twenty-two pounds, so your baby can safely stay in this type of seat at least until she reaches that weight. If she doesn't weigh twenty pounds by the time she is twelve months old, you should continue to use your infant-only seat in the rear-facing position until she reaches twenty pounds. Keep in mind that many newer infant-only seats have much higher thirty to thirty-five pound rear-facing weight limits now.
Babies who weigh more than twenty-two pounds or are too tall to fit in their infant-only seat need to be moved to an infant-only seat with a higher weight limit or to a convertible car seat, which can be used in either the forward-facing or rear-facing position. These can be used as a rear-facing seat for children up to thirty to thirty-five pounds and thirty inches tall, and so will accommodate even the biggest of babies.
You should keep using your convertible seat in the rear-facing position until your baby is at least twelve months old. After that, providing she weighs more than twenty pounds, you can start to use it as a forward-facing car seat. Again, you can continue to keep your child in a rear-facing position until she reaches the seat's rear-facing weight limits. Many experts think this is still the safest position for your child.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Even with all of the publicity about car seat safety, the detailed instructions included with each car seat, and the car seat safety checkups provided in most communities, people continue to put their kids in their car seats incorrectly. Among the more common mistakes are:
Putting the harness chest clip in the wrong position and not at armpit level
Allowing the harness straps to become loose, twisted, or positioned too high above the infant's shoulders
Placing a child in a forward-facing seat before she is twenty pounds and twelve months old
Placing a child in a rear-facing car seat in the path of an air bag
Putting a blanket or heavy jacket under the harness straps
Be sure you avoid these mistakes. You should also read the instructions when you install your child's car seat. If you still aren't sure that you are using it correctly, go to a car seat safety inspection station. You can find one in your area at the website:
