My Big-Girl Livvy is moving on up. In the car seat world that is! My girlfriend and I don't usually put both the babies in the car together, but yesterday we decided to carpool to the farmer's market. When I went to pull my base out of her car the big WARNING sticker was staring me square in the face...as in "Hello?!? Get your act together, lady."
Almost made me feel like a careless mom for not realizing that Olivia needs to be in a bigger car seat - like NOW! I've been so wrapped up in when to turn her forward facing (more on that in a minute) that the thought of getting her into a convertible car seat never even crossed my mind. The labels says "for children under 22 pounds and 29 inches." As of Wednesday's doctor's appointment Olivia was 21.5 pounds and 29 inches. Thankfully I have half a pound to spare. Although with the way she eats, not for long. I guess I know what we'll be doing this weekend. I quickly called my friend and told her about the weight and height limits. She had no idea either.
I've been doing a little research on the car seat laws and child passenger safety laws and I thought I'd share with you what I found. I was under the impression that at one year or 20 pounds children could start facing front. But apparently, there's a new push to keep car seats rear facing for as long as possible. Some advocates are even encouraging parents to leave seats rear facing until the child is 4 years old. (I know, I know!) In my state there is no law on rear facing seats, but double check the laws in your state. At the very minimum children should be facing backwards until they are one year old and/or 20 pounds. Convertible car seats can, and should, be installed rear-facing. Child passengers should be in car seats until at least four years old or 40 pounds, but consult your state's laws. After that children move to a booster until 6-8 years old, again depending on the laws in your state.
Finally, did you realize you can get a free check to make sure your child's car seat is properly installed? It's a good idea since 75% of car seats are improperly installed. Find car seat inspection sites.
Car Seat Safety Resources
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration
Advice from The Car Seat Lady
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