Welcome to CarseatBlog.com! You’re here so you’ve obviously heard about the new recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) regarding carseats and boosters. Perhaps you saw something on the news today or read a comment on facebook. You might be a little (or a lot) confused right now and are looking for some accurate info and helpful advice. We’re here to help! Consider us your tour guides in the confusing but wonderful world of Child Passenger Safety.
These are the new recommendations from the AAP:
- Keep kids rear-facing until at least their 2nd Birthday (keeping them rear-facing beyond age 2 is fine also if they haven’t maxed out their convertible carseat in the rear-facing position by either weight or height).
- Once the child has maxed out the convertible seat in the rear-facing position – turn them forward-facing but keep them in the 5-point harness until they reach the maximum weight or height limits for that particular seat.
- Don’t rush to “graduate” kids into booster seats before it’s necessary but do use a booster seat once the child has legitimately outgrown the harnessed carseat. Every seat has different weight or height limits so make sure you understand what those limits are for your seat(s). Some child safety seats are “combination seats” which can be used initially with the 5-point harness and then the harness is removed after it’s outgrown and the seat is used as a booster using the vehicle’s adult seatbelt system (lap/shoulder belt).
- Keep kids in a booster seat until they reach at least 4′ 9″ tall (57″) and the vehicle’s lap/shoulder seatbelt fits them properly. See our blog on The 5-Step Test to help you determine if your older child can ride safely in your vehicle using just the seatbelt.
- Keep kids out of the front seat until they are TEENAGERS (and yes, we realize that most 9-11 year olds think they’re teenagers and may act accordingly but they are not actually teenagers and they need to sit in the back seat). Truthfully, many of these tweens still need to use a booster in order for the seatbelt to fit them properly. I know what many parents may say about this but I’ve been through this with my oldest child who is now almost 14 and please trust me when I say, “they’ll live”. And if you’re unlucky enough to crash with them in the vehicle – they’ll live without potentially devastating internal injuries caused by an adult seatbelt that didn’t fit them properly or wasn’t worn properly.
To Worry or Not to Worry?
When it comes to carseats there are lots of things you do need to worry about like making sure the carseat is properly installed and that the harness straps are snug and positioned correctly. But here’s a brief list of things that you DON’T need to worry about when it comes to rear-facing toddler and older kids:
- Child’s legs are bent and/or their feet are touching the vehicle seat cushion when they are rear-facing. This is not a safety concern and really isn’t a comfort issue either. The kids won’t mind and they’ll always find a way to position themselves so that they’re comfortable. Don’t sweat it. Really.
- Sensory Deprivation. Honestly, I always want to laugh when I hear parents mention this as a reason for wanting to turn their child forward-facing prematurely. It’s another non-issue. All children in Sweden ride in rear-facing carseats until about 4 years old and there is no proof or data whatsoever to back up this concern. Swedish children are not damaged for life because their parents understood the importance of rear-facing carseats.
- But I can’t see them! Of course we’d rather be able to look in the rear-view mirror and see their sweet little faces. But it’s just so much safer for them to be rear-facing in the event of a crash. You’ll be able to turn them around eventually – I promise. In the mean time enjoy the fact that you have some privacy to munch on that candy bar without them seeing it and demanding that you share your loot.
- But what if they’re choking back there or something? As a general rule, you shouldn’t give your child anything that they could choke on while they’re strapped into the carseat. Save the grapes, popcorn and marbles for when they’re older.
- They’re too big to be rear-facing in this carseat! Are they really? Do you know the correct way to determine if they’ve really outgrown the seat? You will in a moment….
How and when rear-facing carseats are outgrown
Any carseat can be outgrown by weight or height. The weight limits are easy to follow. Once your child reaches the rear-facing weight limit of your seat (which could be anywhere from 22-45 lbs depending on which model you have) that’s it – they’ve outgrown it. But outgrowing by height (which happens frequently) can sometimes be harder to determine. Some carseat models will give you a height limit in inches or cm. It may say something like “for children 30 inches or less” or “rear-facing for children from 19-40 inches tall”. That’s pretty easy to understand too. Once your kid reaches that magic number – they’re officially too tall to use that seat in that position. But many carseats list what we call the “1 inch rule”. The 1 inch rule states that your child has outgrown that seat in the rear-facing position once there is only 1″ between the top of the child’s head and the top of the shell of the carseat. This is how to correctly measure that distance between the top of the head and the top of the shell:
Different seats for different stages of your child’s life
Many parents start off with the infant carseat and then transition to a convertible when the infant seat is outgrown (or you get tired of lugging it around). But you don’t have to use the infant seat until it’s fully outgrown. You can ditch it as soon as you’re ready to move up to the bigger rear-facing convertible seat but you lose the convenience of lugging baby around town in the bucket once you move up to a convertible. Some parents don’t even bother with the infant carseat at all and use a convertible seat from day one (rear-facing of course). This is perfectly acceptable as long as the harness on the carseat fits your newborn well. Some convertibles are better than others in this dept so if you’re planning to skip the infant seat and use a convertible from birth – ask on our forums for some specific recommendations. If you start off with an infant carseat just know that the next step is a convertible seat used in the rear-facing position.
Most convertible carseats sold today are rated up to 35 or 40 lbs in the rear-facing position. If possible, try to avoid buying a new convertible seat that is only rated to 30 lbs in the rear-facing position since it might not accommodate your child rear-facing to at least age 2. The good news is that only one or two of the currently available convertible models are rated to 30 lbs. However, if you have an older seat that was made a few years ago – check the labels and/or the instruction manual to determine what the rear-facing limits are. For the record, you don’t have to spend a lot of money to get a convertible seat that will accommodate your child rear-facing for two or more years. Check out our Recommended Seats List for convertible seats that we like in a variety of price ranges.
Eventually every kid will outgrow their convertible in the rear-facing position. The child may be 2, 3 or even 4 years old at that point. Then what do you do? You turn the seat around and reinstall it forward-facing! All convertible seats can be used rear-facing AND forward-facing. That’s why they’re called convertibles! Just make sure you read the instruction manual carefully and make all the necessary adjustments when you transition to the forward-facing position.
What’s after that? Well… you have a choice. Once your child outgrows the 5-point harness of the convertible seat you get to decide whether or not your child is ready for a belt-positioning booster seat. If your kid is still under age 4 or 5 then you really have to ask yourself some tough questions. You know your child best. Can s/he stay properly seated in a booster seat for the entire ride, every ride, awake and asleep? Most preschool age kids cannot and these kids really benefit from staying in a 5-point harness for a while longer. The good news here is that there are plenty of higher-weight harnessed seats on the market that can accommodate older, taller, heavier kids in a 5-point harness. Again, check our Recommended Seats List for some suggestions in different price ranges. All of the “combo seats” on our list can be used as a booster once the harness is outgrown so it’s a seat that your child will be likely to use for several years. And depending on which combo seat model you get – it might just be the last seat you ever need to purchase for your child.
Besides combination seats that transition into a booster there are also many “dedicated booster” models. These seats are just boosters. They do not have a 5-point harness. They can only be used with a vehicle’s lap/shoulder system. Boosters come in 3 types – highback, backless and “dual mode”. Dual mode boosters have a back that can be removed so you have the option of using it as a highback or a backless booster. Generally, backless boosters are most often recommended for much older kids who never sleep in the vehicle. I personally don’t like to see younger kids in backless boosters but think it’s an appropriate option for older kids and tweens who still need to be in a booster but may be self-conscious about being “seen” in one.
Here are a few different options for keeping your kid as safe as possible through every age and stage:
- The “Traditional” Carseat Progression: Infant carseat, rear-facing convertible, same convertible used forward-facing, higher-weight-harness combination seat used with 5-point harness, same combination seat used without the harness in booster mode, backless booster.
- The “Fewest Number of Carseat Purchases” Progression: Higher-weight-harness convertible seat used rear-facing from birth, same seat used forward-facing to max weight or height, dual mode dedicated booster
- The “I don’t have a lot of money but I still want to keep my kid as safe as possible” Progression: Skip the infant seat. Use Cosco Scenera or Evenflo Tribute convertible from birth (around $50). Use convertible forward-facing when rear-facing limits are reached. When outgrown switch to Evenflo Maestro combination seat ($80). Use Maestro with 5-point harness until outgrown then switch to booster mode and continue using the seat as a booster until outgrown. This seat isn’t very tall in booster mode since it isn’t height adjustable but once it’s outgrown you can just buy a backless booster (around $20) until your child reaches 4′ 9″ tall and passes The 5-Step Test. Total cost from birth to seatbelt: About $150
As I have tried to demonstrate – you have lots of options and you don’t have to sacrifice safety just because you’re on a tight budget or can’t afford $250 for a single carseat. The main message here is not to rush each stage. Keep kids rear-facing for as long as possible, once they’re forward-facing keep them in a 5-point harness to the limits of the seat, use booster seats longer and learn how to determine when it’s really safe for your child to transition just to the adult seatbelt. Last but not least – keep your tweens and younger kids out of the front seat if there’s an available seatbelt for them to use in the back seat.
And what about you? Yeah, I’m talking about you now. Do you always buckle up? Always wear your seatbelt properly? Do you buckle up even if you’re riding in the back seat? Do you blab on your cell phone while trying to merge in heavy traffic? Fire off a quick text message while you’re sitting at a red light? If you’re guilty of any of the above – please promise yourself that you won’t do this anymore. Crashes kill so many people every single day. They kill young and old – moms, dads, grandmas and kids. They kill rich people in expensive cars and the rest of us poor souls just trying to squeak by in whatever we’re lucky enough to be driving that day. And when they don’t kill they often cripple, maim and destroy lives.
I know to some people this whole carseat and booster safety thing may seem overwhelming and/or a bit extreme. But it’s really not. It’s just perception. And if you change the way you think about it, you’ll realize it’s really not that big of a deal. Keeping kids as safe as possible in motor vehicles crashes isn’t all that difficult. I know some people like to fuss and make a big deal about how inconvenient it is and how much trouble they have to go through every time they get in the car but here’s a newsflash for those people – having kids is inconvenient! Changing diapers every day for 2-3 years is inconvenient. Not sleeping through the night is inconvenient. Getting your picky kids to eat a healthy balanced meal once in a while is inconvenient. Doing 8th grade ELA homework with your kid at 9 PM is definitely inconvenient! But that’s our job. Justifying turning a child forward-facing before 2 years old (or before it’s really necessary) doesn’t lessen the risk to the child. Giving in to a whiney 10 year old who wants to sit in the front seat because all his friends sit in the front seat doesn’t make it okay. Being a parent is hard work. Here at CarseatBlog we’re parents too and we totally understand that. We know how hard it is and how many challenges we all face every day as we do our best to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted kids. Understanding and following the new AAP recommendations for optimal child passenger safety is just one more tool in our parenting toolbox. And let’s face it – you can never have enough of those!
When it is time to turn my child around to forward-facing (he is 3.25 years old, but not at the weight limit for RF yet), can I move him to a harnessed booster? Any reason that is less safe than flipping the convertible around? I would like to put LO#2 in the convertible (RF) at that point. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this! This is the best information I’ve found on the traditional “car seat progression” online. It can be a little confusing so I’m very happy I was finally able to find what I’ve been looking for!
Sensory deprivation itself isn’t the right word in my opinion.
There are all sorts of sensory input that a child experiences on a daily basis and the sensory input ff’ing really wouldn’t be dramatically different compared to rf’ing. It’s not like a child in the back seat takes in the view out the front window even when they’re ff’ing – I remember as a child looking out the side windows, and a rf’ing child can still look out the side windows.
Humans have 5 senses – taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound. I can’t think of any way that any of these senses would be blocked for a rf’ing child. Anything that they could do ff’ing they can do rf’ing too.
So far as toys go, just avoid the heavy kind and you’ll be good. There are nice soft mirrors on the market that are safe to use as long as they don’t pose a distraction to you, and lightweight books and teddy bears and other toys all work perfectly fine. In fact with an older rf’ing child, you could even give them a coloring book and crayons.
I’m sorry that I’m not able to link you to any specific studies, but on a very basic common-sense kind of level, I just can’t see sensory deprivation being an issue when none of the senses are being deprived.
Good info. I’ve been very curious about the sensory deprivation issue, as there are many parents, like me, who do not have the standard suburban life. It’s 1.5 hours of driving just to the grocery store for us. I’ve read some information from UK studies that says this actually IS an issue over longer periods. I am curious as to what time periods the children in Sweden are spending in their carseats, given the smaller landmass and that culturally less time is spent in the car on a daily basis. Can you point me toward the actual studies? I’ve tried to provide a mirror, toys, etc. for stimulation, but then of course there is the insistence that this is unsafe because they become deadly projectiles in a crash. It seems increasingly impossible to provide a good environment for kids.
great summary – will link to our parents of multiples club blog 🙂
KATE – For my own kid I would put up a soft mirror and attach it securely to the headrest and tether anchor before I considered turning him forward-facing. Just keep in mind that checking the mirror too often while driving makes for a distracted driver which is probably a bigger problem.
The problem is that with a RF toddler, you have no idea if they have wiggled free. How do you feel about mirrors?
KATE – Unfortunately there is nothing that can be safely attached to a carseat or buckle that will make it escape-proof. Toddlers rarely have the thumb strength needed to unlatch the metal buckle. The usual method of escape is pushing the chest clip down and then wiggling their shoulders out of the harness. Once their top half is free it’s pretty easy for them to get the rest of the way out if they’re so inclined. My rear-facing toddler pushed the chest clip down and got his arms out on a few occaisions when he was around 18 months old. Each time he did it I read him the toddler version of the riot act and soon he knocked it off.
To parents who are having this issue I suggest making sure the harness straps are really snug (it’s so much easier to escape from a loose harness) and try to keep them entertained in the vehicle. These kids get bored spending so much time in the car and when they’re bored they’re more likely to do stuff like this. My son really enjoyed CDs of kids music. Sure, I got tired of listening to B-I-N-G-O but it keep him happy so I dealt with it.
Is there a way you can prevent particularly nimble and non-compliant toddlers from unbuckling their own harnesses, like an aftermarket safety latch or something? I’ve had several people say that they NEEDED to turn their one-year-olds around because otherwise the driver couldn’t tell when the kids had unbuckled themselves. They’d release the buckle and then hang out in the seat unrestrained.
I’d like to have a link to pass around to these people. They argue that it’s safer to be FF than to be loose in the seat, which is true… but surely this can’t be an unsolved problem?
Well written. Very informative. Thanks for taking the time to do this. And highly applicable to us Canucks too; so thanks! J.
I’m so glad Kecia brought up bone density (not that what Darren said wasn’t important either 😉 ). That’s what I always mention to parents when they ask me incredulously why their 10-11 year old 5′ tall kid can’t sit in the front seat. “But he’s nearly as tall as I am!” Yeah, but his bones aren’t as strong as yours are. Another thing to consider is seatbelt geometry. I’m 5’6″ and I sat in a Grand Am we rented for vacation a few years back and the lap belt fit on me was *horrible*. The more we educate the public on seatbelt fit for everyone, the more aware they become as consumers as well when it’s time to shop for vehicles that fit them :).
Just adding to what Darren had to say:
When she was alive, my wonderful grandma always drove with a kitchen chair cushion underneath her bum. Granted this was years ago before vehicles had driver seats that were height adjustable and features such as adjustable pedals. But I’ll always remember Grandma’s flowery booster cushion which was a constant in the driver’s seat. I don’t know if that cushion provided any safety benefit for her but it helped her to see over the steering wheel which had to be a good thing, right?
The point you raise about stature is important. For years auto manufactuers have gotten away with ignoring short people (most of whom happen to be women and children). Thankfully, some of that should start to change now that NHTSA requires that the small (5th percentile) female dummy be used in all new vehicle crash testing.
The question about age is a good one too. It’s important to understand that a child’s body is not just a smaller version of an adult body. There many physical changes in bone density and bone formation that happen just before and during puberty. The best advice is to use a booster if it’s needed up to age 12 years when some of those internal changes to bone density and structure (especially in the hip bones) have had a chance to mature.
At what age does a kid stop being a kid? I ask because of the new 4’9″ booster seat rule. I like to think of myself as a hip old lady. But the truth is, I am a little old lady…barely 4’9″. Should I be in a booster? Should my gorgeous, deliciously petite 41 year old daughter? Or my still under 5′ fabulously exciting 12 year old grandson? There are hordes of us shorty’s…way past the age for the 4’9″ rule. Perhaps ya’ll would not appear so foolish and degrading to those of us under 5’if you add an age to your new rule. Perhaps you should have talked to me first. But…it’s never too late.
Hi Marsh,
The difference between an adult and a child who are both under 4’9″ tall is one of maturity. Adults are beyond the age of reason and generally able to make choices about their own well being for themselves. For example, if the seatbelt is uncomfortable, they can choose to leave the shoulder belt in place and not to slouch in order to be more comfortable, knowing that the consequences of misuse could be serious injury or worse. Kids generally are not able to make such life and death choices for themselves. They will simply put the shoulder belt behind their arm or back if it doesn’t fit right, or slouch so they can bend their knees at the end of the seat, putting the lap belt above the hips into the soft tissue of the abdomen. I do not believe any of these guidelines has advocated booster use for kids above 12 years old, though of course an adult could choose to use a booster if it is more comfortable.
Well said. Thank you.