If the average person spends 25 years of their life sleeping, parents must spend at least that long reading online product reviews, right? But even after the best Google/Insta/Amazon search, there are still products that can leave us scratching our heads—and carseats are a major culprit. To help set the record straight, we tapped Global Safety Advocates at two of our favorite brands—Nuna and Diono—to package up all the details on the what, when, and how of convertible carseat-ing.
Convertible seats are seats that can be used both rear and forward facing.
Convertible seats hold newborns from 4 to 5-pounds and can extend rear facing use to higher weights; [some allow] for children rear facing up to 50-pounds.
In the order of things, convertible car seats fall between infant car seats and booster seats (belt positioners for children too big for a car seat, too small for an adult seat belt) and are typically the longest-used car seat.
A second point to consider is that a convertible car seat does not have a canopy, so sun protection is also a factor. For older children, Robert suggests sunglasses, a thin blanket to cover, hat, and sunscreen to protect your child. (We would add that window shades can also help!) To further protect your child from both crash forces and sun damage, Robert recommends parents consider the center seating position. “While this could pose an issue getting in or out of the seating position, it is the furthest point from any crash forces, as well as away from a side window where the direct sun could be damaging to the child.” Good thought.
And as the age-old saying goes (or at least since Tony Robbins has been alive): know your why. In this case, the why is why rear-facing is safer: “The rear facing seat’s job is to contain the child’s body in a crash, transferring the crash forces into the seat and not into the child’s body,” says Robert. “They are designed to keep the child in the vehicle while spreading the forces over a large portion of the body, reducing head, neck and spinal cord injuries.” Adds Allana, “When a child is forward facing, the crash forces may be too strong on smaller children and cause serious injury.” And remember, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children should remain in a rear facing seat through age two and beyond.
Is the child’s head contained within the shell of the seat? The infant’s head should be at least an inch below the top of the shell of the seat. This is a key indicator the seat is too small.