Toddler Car Seats

Choosing a car seat for your baby is usually pretty easy, as there are only a few options. Infants have to sit in a rear-facing, infant-only car seat (with a carrier that sits on a base), or a rear-facing, convertible car seat.

It can be more confusing for toddlers though, as there are more options for toddler car seats, including:

• forward-facing toddler car seats -- can only be used facing forward and with a harness strap; appropriate for children until they are 40 to 80 pounds
• convertible car seats -- can be used in the rear-facing position until a child is 30 to 35 pounds, then converted to a forward-facing car seat; some models can also be used as a booster seat
• combination car seats -- can be used as a forward-facing car seat with a harness strap until a child is 40 to 65 pounds, then as a booster seat

Rear v. Forward-Facing

In addition to there being more types of car seats to choose from for their toddler, parents may also be confused about the safest way for their toddler to ride.

Most parents know that their infant should ride facing the rear of the car until they are at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds, but what about after that? You can turn your toddler into the forward-facing position when he meets these minimum limits, but does that mean it is the safest thing to do?

While many parents turn their toddler around as soon as they can, that is likely not the safest thing to do. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that it is best for your child "to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of her car safety seat."

That means that your toddler can ride in the rear-facing position well into her second year if she is in a convertible car seat, which often has a rear-facing weight limit of 30 to 35 pounds, or a newer, infant-only car seat with a higher 30-pound weight limit, such as the:

• Chicco KeyFit 30 Infant Car Seat Compare Prices
• Graco Infant Safe Seat Compare Prices
• Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP 30/30 Compare Prices

If rear-facing is safest, then why don't more parents keep their toddlers in this position in the car? It is usually because they either think their toddler won't like it, or because they feel like they can't see their child when he is rear-facing. Neither, however, is more important than a toddler's safety.

_Sources:

American Academy of Pediatrics. Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2008.

Marilyn J. Bull and Dennis R. Durbin. Rear-Facing Car Safety Seats: Getting the Message Right. Pediatrics, Mar 2008; 121: 619 - 620.