Which kind of car seat is next?

ketchupklf

He won't need a child safety seat (carseat or booster) anymore when he *safely* fits in an adult seatbelt. Your law may let him out sooner... but if you want him to be safe he needs one till he can pass the '5 step test' in the link at the bottom. That typically happens between 8 and 10 yrs old... at about 4' 9".

The laws are often behind the best practices when it comes to your child's safety. They don't require what is known to be safest. They require a *minimum* degree of safety. We as parents are around to see to it that our child is more than 'minimally' safe.

The fact is... every step 'up' in car seats is less safe than the step before it. Rearfacing is safer than forward facing... a harnessed carseat is safer than a booster seat. So no matter what your law you should keep him in the safest seat he fits in.

Right now you should be looking for a 'convertable' carseat that will rearface now and forward face when he outgrows it rearfacing. Don't turn him because he is a year and 20 pounds... that common state law is based on *old* recommendations and will not keep him nearly as safe as he could be. Most convertable seats will allow him to rearface to about 33-35 pounds.... when he should be *well* past one year old. (My 'big' boy turned at 3yrs, my 'tiny' girl at 4yrs!)

Here is a 'shoppers guide' for convertable carseats that should help you a lot: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/ConvertibleShop.aspx

The last seat he will need will be a 'combination' seat that will let him harness forward facing for as long as possible (even race car drivers use a 5 point harness when they race... it is just plain safer in the event of a collision!) and then will convert to a booster seat that will last him to the end... up to 100 pounds if necessary! I personally like the Graco Nautilus combination seat on this page: http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/Over40.aspx

Since it isn't what you need for a looong time to come... I won't say too much about when it is best to switch to booster mode. But if you browse this website: http://www.cpsafety.com/default.aspx You will learn so much about keeping your child as safe as possible in the car.

Hope that helps!

UCANTCME

Try these sites they may help you........

http://www.carseatdata.org/

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Anna Nicole

They will always need one until about the age of 3 or 4 .....at least thats the LAW here...My baby started in the toddler/infant seat (the one that sits up) when she was about 5 or 6 months because she cryed the whole time in the lay down one and she would try to sit up all the time....good luck

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