How Do You Know When Your Baby Is Too Big for His Car Seat
The rules for car seats are pretty articulate – your baby or young child should be sat in a car seat when you're driving around in a auto unless they're 12 years old or at least 135cm alpine. That'south the law.
But knowing when to motion between seat sizes tin can exist more confusing.
Read on to observe out what to consider to keep your baby or child condom in their car seat, or caput directly to our car seat reviews to pick a All-time Buy in your next size upwards.
How long is your baby?
If y'all have a car seat that'southward approved to the latest R129 i-Size regulations, then the unlike categories of seats are based on height measurements.
Confusingly, there aren't prepare height groups, like yous get with weight-based seats (more on this below). You lot'll need to check the measurements of each seat to work out how long it will final your kid, and they may exist categorised every bit either a babe, toddler or child i-Size seat.
Nearly i-Size baby motorcar seats will concluding from 40cm to 85cm, which is birth to around fifteen months.
But the height limits tin differ between manufacturers. Maxi-Cosi infant carriers ofttimes but go upwardly to 75cm, which is effectually 12 months old, while Cybex car seats are approved up to 87cm, which is closer to xviii months old.
To measure out your baby, lie them downwards (or look until they're sleeping) and measure from the crown of their caput to their toes, with their leg as directly every bit possible.
Retrieve, always keep your baby in the seat until it reaches the upper height limit to ensure that your baby is adequately protected in the upshot of a crash.
i-Size child car seats explained
How heavy is your baby?
Car seats canonical to the older (but still legal) R44.04 regulations are based on weight, and are divided into 'groups'. These include:
- Grouping 0 – Newborn to 10kg (effectually 6 months)
- Group 0+ – Newborn to 13kg (around 12 to 15 months old)
- Group 0+/1 – Newborn to 18kg (around iv years old)
- Group 0+/1/ii – Newborn to 25kg (around six or 7 years old)
- Group 0+/i/two/three – Newborn to 36kg (around 12 years quondam)
- Grouping 1 – 9kg to 18kg (nine months to four years sometime)
- Group 1/ii – 9kg to 25kg (ix months to six or vii years old)
- Group 1/2/3 – 9kg to 36kg (nine months to 12 years old)
- Group 2/3 – 15kg to 36kg (four years to 12 years old)
- Group iii – 22kg to 36kg (125cm or around five or six to 12 years former)
The sheer number of options for R44 is one of the reasons the newer regulations accept less options.
To check the weight of your infant, stride on some scales to weigh yourself and then weigh yourself over again while holding your infant. Then simply decrease your weight from the combined weight of you and your infant.
Automobile seat weight groups explained
Check where their head is in line with
Nosotros're not expecting parents to be measuring or weighing their children every week, but you lot can look out for visual clues that it might soon be time to change your motorcar seat.
For case, your child volition have outgrown their machine seat if the top of their caput is higher than the pinnacle of the seat.
This makes sense, as you lot desire the car seat to protect your child's head, so if it's sticking out of the top, information technology won't be protected.
The all-time child car seats for older children
Check the shoulder straps
Some other sign to look out for is with the harness shoulder straps.
The safest position for the top of the straps will depend on whether your child is rear or forward-facing. We'd always recommend keeping your child rear-facing for as long as possible, ideally until they reach 4 years old, as research shows it'due south the safest way for babies and young children to travel.
In a rear-facing automobile seat, the indicate at which the straps meet the back of the auto seat should be at or merely below the height of the child's shoulders.
In a forward-facing seat, the straps should exist at or just above the level of the child's shoulders.
If your child is forrard-facing and the shoulder straps take to come up upwards and over their shoulders, this could exist a sign they're ready to move to the next size up or car seat.
You're less likely to spot signs that your child has outgrown their seat via the harness, just you can use other methods such equally head height to guide you instead.
Don't forget to check first that y'all've adjusted the height of the shoulder straps to their highest setting (if that'south an option) earlier moving up a seat.
Baby and child motorcar seat rubber features explained
What about extended rearward-facing seats?
If you've got your child in an extended rearward-facing seat (upwardly to 18kg/105cm), then past the time they offset getting towards the upper end of these limits, y'all may spot their knees are bent and they sit cross-legged.
Bent or folded legs is not a 'sign' that they've outgrown the seat or that information technology needs to exist turned forward facing (if this is an selection).
Every bit long as your child still feels comfy to bend or cantankerous their legs while sitting rearward-facing (and due to their inherent flexibility, this is rarely an upshot), and then the seat is all the same fine to employ.
Some extended rearward-facing seats have more space when rearward-facing than others, so it'due south worth reading our car seat reviews to meet which ones are best.
The all-time rear-facing babe car seats for older children
Is your child 135cm/4ft 5in alpine?
UK constabulary states that in one case your child is 135cm tall, they no longer demand to use a child auto seat, and can exist restrained with just the vehicle three-point seat belt.
However, the laws are different in Ireland and some other European countries, such as French republic and Deutschland.
Children need to be 150cm/4ft 11in to stop using a car seat in these countries, and many rubber experts concur. If y'all're able to keep your kid in a car seat until this point, information technology would provide more protection for them.
Read our guide to child car seat law in the UK and abroad to find out more.
Cybex? Joie? Maxi-Cosi? Which babe car seat brand should you choose?
Is your child 12 years old?
Nearly children will striking the height measurement earlier the age limit, and then by the time your kid is 12 years old, there'southward no need for them to sit in a high back booster car seat.
This may not be the case if your child has a disability (more on this below) or is especially small – so use parental sentence if you're worried.
What historic period can my child use a backless booster seat?
Some parents want to move their child from a loftier-backed booster seat to a backless version equally it creates more space in the motorcar and is less obvious as a auto seat if your child doesn't like sitting in one.
From 1 March 2017, backless booster seats can at present just be used with children taller than 125cm and weighing more than 22kg (around five years former).
Nonetheless, backless booster seats made and bought earlier this appointment are yet legal and approved for use by children weighing betwixt 15kg (well-nigh four years onetime) and 36kg (about 12 years old). They can also still be sold past shops.
So, if you ain a backless booster seat bought before this appointment, you tin still utilize information technology for a child inside this weight range.
However, we strongly advise confronting backless booster seats. Our crash tests demonstrate repeatedly that they do not provide the same level of protection every bit a high-backed booster in a side-on collision.
Booster seats – are yous breaking the police force?
Children with disabilities or medical conditions
The same rules on car seats apply for children with disabilities or medical atmospheric condition, and so y'all'll demand to keep an middle on weight or acme to ensure they're sabbatum in the right size of seat.
A doctor can consequence an exemption certificate if a child is unable to use a restraint or seat belt considering of their condition.
For more information go to child seat laws in the UK and abroad.
Source: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2021/02/six-signs-your-child-is-too-big-for-their-car-seat/
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