Types

There are several types of car seats available. Choose the appropriate car seat based on your child’s age, weight, and height.

Infant car seats

These rear-facing seats—the first stage—are a must for babies up until their first birthday and until they weigh at least 20 pounds. A built-in harness secures the infant facing rearward at an incline that provides optimum protection in a crash without interfering with breathing. Most infant seats now have weight capacities of 22 pounds or more.

Pros:Safety data show that keeping an infant facing rearward in an infant seat for as long as possible offers the best protection. With its removable carrier and swing-up handle, an infant seat lets you move your baby in and out of the car without disturbing him. (Make sure the seat is always properly inclined so your baby's head doesn't fall forward and obstruct its airway. And don’t place the seat on a high surface.)
Cons:Once your infant grows too big or too tall for an infant seat, you’ll have to switch to a larger-capacity seat or a convertible car seat. Though it might be tempting to jump to the next stage—a convertible seat—at birth, an infant seat is often more compact and secure during the early months.

Travel system

Many car-seat manufacturers offer a combination consisting of an infant car seat, a mounting base for your car, and a separate stroller. Snapping the infant carrier into the wheels creates a stroller system, with the infant facing you as you push. Many stand-alone strollers can also accommodate infant car seats from various manufacturers—or you can buy an empty stroller frame.

Pros:A travel system lets you move a sleeping baby from car to stroller and vice versa without disturbing it.
Cons:Travel systems can be bulky. If you're a city dweller who has to negotiate subway stairs, or if the trunk of your car has limited space, a separate car seat and compact stroller might be a better choice.

Convertible seats

These allow either a front- or rear-facing seating position, with the child secured by a built-in harness. Facing the rear, convertible seats can hold an infant up to at least 1 year old and weighing up to 35 pounds, in most cases. Facing front, most can accommodate toddlers up to 40 pounds. (More models are becoming available with weight limits as high as 80 pounds.)

Pros:Convertible models eliminate the need to switch seats when your infant becomes a toddler. And their higher weight capacities allow you to keep even larger babies facing the rear, safer orientation longer.
Cons:They don’t offer the convenience of a separate carrier, and they’re not compatible with strollers, so you’ll have to transfer your baby to a carriage or stroller when you set out on foot, a problem if you take your child on frequent errands.

Toddler booster seats

These front-facing seats with a built-in harness look like oversized convertible seats, but they secure a child only in a front-facing position. When the child reaches 40 pounds (some seats go higher), removing the harness converts the seat into a booster, which positions the child to use the car’s safety belts. Use a booster until the child weighs about 80 pounds and is at least 57 inches tall—the minimum height at which a car's safety belts fit properly without a booster. In their booster mode, some models accommodate children weighing as much as 100 pounds.

Pros:The ability to accommodate a wide range of sizes and weights increases these seats’ useful life.
Cons:Some high-backed models can interfere with some car head restraints.

Belt-positioning booster seats

Boosters lack a built-in harness and are designed to be used only with the vehicle safety belts. They lift the child so the shoulder strap fits properly across the child’s shoulders and the lap strap goes across the upper thighs. High-back, low-back, and no-back models are available. Belt-positioning boosters have a high back and include a built-in guide that helps position the car’s shoulder belt even better so it doesn’t ride across the child’s face or neck. A no-back booster is simply a cushion, essentially a “telephone book” that raises the child so the safety belts fit properly.

Pros:Many are relatively inexpensive. Those with belt-positioning guides can accommodate differences in belt position in various cars.
Cons:Boosters can tempt parents to stop using a seat with a harness prematurely, just because boosters allow the car safety belts to fit properly. The latest safety research shows that it’s best to keep children in a harness as long as possible before switching them to a booster.

Built-in seats

Some cars and minivans offer an integrated, forward-facing booster seat for toddlers weighing more than 20 pounds.

Pros:They’re convenient to use and easy to convert back to a standard seat for adults or older children.
Cons:They offer little protection in a side impact, and they're often in an outboard rear seating position, rather than in the safer center of the seat. You’ll still need a proper child restraint when your child rides in other vehicles.

Special seats

Small car beds are available for preemies and other very small newborns who might not fit securely in a conventional infant car seat and might need to lie flat to maintain proper breathing. In addition, you can buy specially designed car seats for children with breathing problems and other physical disabilities. Consult your pediatrician, visit the Automotive Safety Program at www.preventinjury.org, or call 800-543-6227.

See also:

Strollers

High chairs

Play yards

Bouncer seats