There are several types of car seats available on the market, and every type of car seat is designed specifically for kids of a certain range of age, weight, and height. Depending on the criteria if your kid is less than 12 months old the infant car seats are his/her buddy on every road trip.
These seats are designed to comfort and secure newborn babies as well as very easy to carry for parents. As a new mother cum working woman you are using an infant car seat for your little star from the beginning. But do you know when you’ve to stop using that?
One day you’ll find your kid has outgrown the infant car seat, which you should have noticed earlier. \So When is my baby too big for an infant car seat? When your kid has passed 12 months of age weighing a maximum of 30-35 lbs, and height is 29 – 32 inches he/she is ready to ready to change the car seat.
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When Is My Baby Too Big For An Infant Car Seat? What Is Next?
We, parents, love to ride and fly, even shopping with our kids, whenever we get a chance. To make the journey more secure and comfortable, we use baby car seats which are changeable over time.
Now coming to your question, when is my baby too big for an infant car seat? Or how long an infant car seat should be used? Before I start, I would like to answer that with a brief intro.
What Is an Infant Car Seat
Infant car seats are the very basic type of baby car seat that is designed to provide exclusive safety and comfort to your little star. These children-only seats are generally rear-facing
Though an infant car seat can be used between 0 -12 months of age manufacturers recommend to use until age 6 months. Sometimes the age limitation increases to 2 years depending on the kid’s measurements.
When Should I Change An Infant Car Seat?
As I said earlier, infant car seats are useable until your kid exceeds one or more criteria to fit in. So, what are they?
Maximum Weight
You may not have noticed that every vehicle, even the chair in your home has a weight limit. So do your kid’s infant car seat. This kind of car seat can bear up to 35 lbs or 15.87 Kilograms of weight.
If your kid has an overweight tendency or has passed the weight limit naturally, it’s time to say goodbye to the infant car seat.
Maximum Height
Car seat manufacturers design infant car seats to carry a kid with a maximum height of 30-32 inches. It means he/ she can ride it till the height is below the limits. The body weight and height of a baby are proportionate to each other, so if weight increases, the height will increase too.
When your kid’s weight alone or weight and height both have already passed the limits or are about to pass, you should rush to the store to grab a convertible.
Top Clearance (Last Resource)
Do you know that a child can have a longer torso than the hands or legs? It means that if the torso is bigger than the legs still your kid can reach the top shelf of the car seat.
And for that, your kid doesn’t need to have a height of 32 inches. So what’s the game here? The rule of thumb here is that your kid must not reach the 1-inch space from the top of the car seat. If he reaches or exceeds, rush to the store ASAP before traffic stops.
Is There Any Other Reasons To Change Your Infant Car Seat?
Infant car seats are changeable not only for the kid’s outgrown body measurements but also for other reasons. And some of them are easily findable during the purchase. such as:
Involved In A Crash
No matter how safely you try to drive an accident still can occur. If your infant car seat is involved gets involved in the crash you can use it under one condition. As per NHTSA only car seats involved in a minor collision can be used afterward.
If the crash is a major one or more severe, then you must change the infant car seat.
External Damage
Spots from daily usage, heat and cold cycles, absent-minded storage keeping, etc. are common reasons of dame of an infant car seat. Again crack in the body, loose or missing component, and worn & torn straps, buckle, and clip are also responsible for calling it damaged.
Damage can also occur if your car seat hasn’t been cleaned for a long time or is not properly installed after washing. If the damage is not repairable you must change it.
Expired
This is not a regular thing to check, but it’s good to confirm that your baby’s infant car seat is not outdated. Every car seat comes with a label on the side which contains both the production and expiring date. Generally, a car seat holds a life span of 6 years.
You must check the label while purchasing a new or used infant car seat. If your car seat is expired already or about to, you better upgrade it ASAP as it can be harmful to your kid and the local car seat laws don’t recommend that too.
Recalled
Recalled means that a specific brand or model of baby car seat has lost its federal permission to serve. By recalling the admin secures that the kids are served well through those seats. You can easily check the status through the CPDSC online portal.
If you find your car seat enlisted, then it’s time to say hello to a fresh car seat.
Tip: if your infant car seat is not recalled or expired, donation is your best option.
What To Do Next?
There are several types of car seats.
When it is final that, your little star has outgrown, you have to switch to a rear-facing convertible car seat. Why not others? There are 4 major types of baby car seats available which are designed to serve under specific measurements.
This means if your kid has passed the infant car seat stage, he/she has to use a rear-facing convertible car seat. It is also a type of car seat designed to provide security and comfort to your kid after he/she outgrows the infant car seat.
On average rear-facing convertibles can be used when your kid has passed his 1st birthday and it can be continued till he celebrates his 4th. Again he has to weigh around 35-50 lbs, and the head has to be within 1 inch to the top of the car seat shell.
Frequently Asked Question
Can I Use My Car Seat On Buses?
No, you can not use a car seat on public buses, because seats in those buses don’t come with LATCH anchors or even seat belts. Rather you can try a sling wrapper or a baby carrier or even a stroller can also do the job.
When Do You Change Car Seats To Front-Facing?
When your kid is 4 years old weighs around 40-50 lbs and height is around 49 inches (standing) he/she is fit enough to use a front-facing convertible car seat up to 7th birthday.
What are the age groups for car seats?
Kids aged between 0 to 2 years can ride in an infant car seat. 2-4 years of age is to ride a rear-facing convertible and 4-7 is for front-facing convertible car seats. Age between 8-12 years are fit for booster car seats. Here is a list of the best car seats according to age.
Final Words
Infant car seats are to make your ride with the little star of your life more comfortable and safe. Your kid can ride in this for up to 1 year of age (in some cases 2 years), weighing around 22-35 lbs height of 30-32 inches, and reaching below the top clearance (1 inch).
If any one or more of the maximum measurements meet your kid, it’s time to say bye. Again, if your car seat has been in a major crash, has irreparable damage, is recalled, and expired still you have to change it to a rear-facing convertible car seat.
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My name is Olivia Brown, and I’m a New York-based blogger and stay-at-home parent. Former business executive enjoying retirement and time with kids Lily and Max. On my blog, I review things for kids and offer my honest thoughts and insights to other parents who may be having the same or similar experiences.
