What age/weight

[~PICKLE~]

my daughter is 7 months today and weighs 20lbs. At what age/weight can she be in a car seaat instead of a carrier and also faceing forward. I guess I could look it up on the baby webpage, but right now, i'm lazy, so I'll do it the easy way and ask ya'll

 

[andiesmama]

I found this on the website babyzone.com. My daughter is 2, & I didn't trust myself to remember!! But now that I read it, I do remember that they say even if your child reaches 20-22 pounds prior to 1st birthday, they need to reamin rear-facing until they are 1 year old, something to do with muscle development, I think. Anyways, hope this helps!!

Infants

• From birth to one year AND 20 to 22 pounds, children should be in rear facing infant or convertible seats.
• Harness straps should be pulled up to shoulder level or just below.
• Do not put a child in a side passenger seat equipped with air bags.

Toddlers

• Children over 20 pounds and one year, but under 40 pounds can face forward in a convertible or forward-facing car seat.
• The harness straps should be at or above shoulder level.
• Never use pillows, books or towels to boost a child. They can shift in a moving car.
• Never allow a toddler to buckle himself in unless you check to be sure the seat is securely fastened.

Preschoolers

• Children between 40 and 80 pounds should be in a booster seat (belt-positioned), using both a lap and a shoulder belt.
• Be sure that the lap belt fits low and snugly to prevent injury to the abdomen in the event of an accident.
• Children should be in a booster seat until they are 80 pounds and 57 inches tall -- this can mean as old as 8 to 10 years! An adult lap belt used on a smaller child rides up on the abdomen while the shoulder belt can cut across the neck. During a crash, this can cause critical injuries

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[~PICKLE~]

I found this on the website babyzone.com. My daughter is 2, & I didn't trust myself to remember!! But now that I read it, I do remember that they say even if your child reaches 20-22 pounds prior to 1st birthday, they need to reamin rear-facing until they are 1 year old, something to do with muscle development, I think. Anyways, hope this helps!!

Infants

• From birth to one year AND 20 to 22 pounds, children should be in rear facing infant or convertible seats.
• Harness straps should be pulled up to shoulder level or just below.
• Do not put a child in a side passenger seat equipped with air bags.

Toddlers

• Children over 20 pounds and one year, but under 40 pounds can face forward in a convertible or forward-facing car seat.
• The harness straps should be at or above shoulder level.
• Never use pillows, books or towels to boost a child. They can shift in a moving car.
• Never allow a toddler to buckle himself in unless you check to be sure the seat is securely fastened.

Preschoolers

• Children between 40 and 80 pounds should be in a booster seat (belt-positioned), using both a lap and a shoulder belt.
• Be sure that the lap belt fits low and snugly to prevent injury to the abdomen in the event of an accident.
• Children should be in a booster seat until they are 80 pounds and 57 inches tall -- this can mean as old as 8 to 10 years! An adult lap belt used on a smaller child rides up on the abdomen while the shoulder belt can cut across the neck. During a crash, this can cause critical injuries

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thanks again, my son is 4 and I didn't remember, LOL

 

[Mayzoo]

One thing the stats don't mention is when she is one year and 26" long she is supposed to be turned around even if she is not 20lbs. Their legs get to cramped otherwise.


Ask you pedi about the whole car seat thing. I went to a state approved inspection station to make sure my daughter was safe. I learned that you also are supposed to put the carrying handle all the down while the seat is in the car (so they cannot hit their heads on it omin case of accident)

 

[~PICKLE~]

Thanks Mayzoo!!

 

[~PICKLE~]

when my son was a baby, I thought we were able to turn them around like after they reached 25lbs, has it changed in 4 years?

 

[Entertaining_Angels]

Definitely switch to a convertible seat now. The AAP recommends that you leave your baby rear-facing until 30 or 35 lbs even if their legs are long. With my son, my ped has us turn him at 10 months because he was off the charts in his height. My daughter is the same way but studies show now that spinal damage can be very severe if they're front facing and in an accident before they are 30 lbs. I play it safe. My 15-month-old daughter (about 28 lbs) is still rear-facing. I figure we'll turn her when she is a year and a half. Somebody sent me the statistics of deaths rear-facing vs. front-facing and that was enough to convince me.

Hope this helps.

 

[~PICKLE~]

Definitely switch to a convertible seat now. The AAP recommends that you leave your baby rear-facing until 30 or 35 lbs even if their legs are long. With my son, my ped has us turn him at 10 months because he was off the charts in his height. My daughter is the same way but studies show now that spinal damage can be very severe if they're front facing and in an accident before they are 30 lbs. I play it safe. My 15-month-old daughter (about 28 lbs) is still rear-facing. I figure we'll turn her when she is a year and a half. Somebody sent me the statistics of deaths rear-facing vs. front-facing and that was enough to convince me.

Hope this helps.

thanks, I was gonna change to a convertible tomorrow, just wanted to make sure first

 

[Busybee]

Hmm, my first was/is skinny as a rail and she never really outweighed her carseat before we had to move her, she literally grew out of it length wise (allows up to 20lbs and she would've been in it a looong time based on weight, but feet would've been hanging out lol).

She's only 38lbs now and about 3ft 8inches . Sometimes you'll have to use your best judgement based on how your lil one has grown or how much he weighs.