Welcome to BestCarSeatsReviews.com. If you’re on the hunt for the best car seat, you’ve come to the right place. This website is designed to help you narrow down your search. From Infant Car Seats and Convertible Car Seats, to Combination Car Seats and Booster Seats, read full in-depth reviews and comparison reviews. Watch video demonstrations, compare prices, features, and customer feedback. Find the BEST Car Seat for your little one!
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Car Seat Laws
Purchasing a car seat is no simple matter, there are several different factors to consider. First of all, you must have a proper understanding of what the car seat laws are in your state. Each state is somewhat different, but as a standard, most states require that your child ride rear-facing until the age of 1 and 20 pounds, and forward-facing, harnessed, from the age of 1 to 3 or 40 pounds. Most states also require the use of a booster seat until your child is at least 5 years old, however, some states require a booster seat until the age of 8. It’s important to know what your state’s car seat requirements are before you buy.
- Check here to see what your state’s Car Seat Laws are.
Car Seat Recommendations
Britax Advocate 70 CS Convertible Car Seat
Aside from laws, the next important factors to understand are Car Seat Recommendations. The NHTSA (National Highways Traffic Safety Administration) is responsible for crash testing car seats sold in the U.S. and they have also provided a list of car seat safety recommendations that will help keep your child safe. The NHTSA recommends keeping your child rear-facing for as long as possible, and then once they’ve outgrown their rear-facing car seat, forward-facing and harnessed for as long as possible.
NHTSA Recommendations:
Birth – 12 months – Any child under the age of 1 should always ride rear-facing.
1 – 3 years – Keep your child rear-facing for as long as possible. Most convertible car seats allow your child to ride rear-facing up to at least 40 pounds, therefore follow the manufacturer’s weight and height requirements. If your child surpasses to weight requirements for your rear-facing seat, they should ride forward-facing and harnessed.
4 – 7 years – Keep your child forward-facing and harnessed for as long as possible. Once again, follow the car seat manufacturer’s weight recommendations. If your car seat allows your child to ride harnessed all the way up to 80 pounds, then do it, if your child outgrows the harness, they should then ride in a booster seat.
8 – 12 years – Keep your child in a booster seat until they are able to fit properly in your vehicles seat belts. Ensure a proper fit by checking both the lap and shoulder belts. The lap belt should fit snugly over your child’s thighs, not stomach, and the shoulder belt should fit snugly across your childs chest and shoulder, not their neck or face.
- For a print out of the NHTSA Car Seat Recommendations, click here.
Types of Car Seats
Once you have a proper understanding of the Car Seat Laws and Recommendations, you need to then understand what options are available. There are three different types of car seats, the infant car seat, convertible car seat, and child booster seat, each one has its own benefits and drawbacks.
Chicco Keyfit 30 Infant Car Seat - Limonata
Infant Car Seats – These car seats are designed to be used rear-facing only. Most offer a weight limit of around 30 pounds and minimum weight recommendation of anywhere between 4 and 7 pounds. Some come with infant inserts or seat pads that help with smaller babies, as well as LATCH and seat belt installation options. The biggest benefit of using an infant car seat is that they can easily be detached from their base and be carried around. This allows you to run errands with your newborn without having to wake him/her each time you need to leave the car, simply detach the seat from its base and you’re on the move. Some seats have even been designed with ergonomic carrying handles to make it more comfortable for Mom or Dad to lug around.
- Click here to see some of the BEST Infant Car Seats
Britax Advocate 70 CS Convertible Car Seat
Convertible Car Seats – These car seats are designed to be used from around 5 pounds all the way up to around 70 pounds. Most allow your child to ride rear-facing up through 40 pounds, and then can simply be turned around and used as a forward-facing car seat with harness until around 70 pounds. Convertible car seats are more expensive, but they also offer you the biggest bang for your buck, giving you the ability to use just one car seat through many different stages of development, verses several car seats. Most come with tons of safety features, and usually offer both seat belt and LATCH installation for older and newer vehicles.
- Click here to see some of the BEST Convertible Car Seats
Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seat
Booster Seats – These seats are designed to be used from somewhere around 40 pounds to 120 pounds. Some booster seats, like the Britax Frontier 85, can be used as a forward-facing harnessed car seat through 85 pounds, and then convert to a belt-positioning booster seat up through 120 pounds. Other seats transform from a high-back, belt-positioning booster seat to a backless booster seat, while others are only designed to be used as backless boosters.
- Click here to see some of the BEST Booster Seats
Car Seat Safety
When it comes to choosing the best car seat for your little one, safety should be the number one priority, and although convenience is extremely important, it should take a back seat to safety, not the other way around. All too often I hear frustrated parents say, “I don’t care how easy it is to install, how safe is it?” Unfortunately, although the Federal Government regulates car seat crash testing, the results are not considered public record, however keep in mind that if a car seat is for sale in the U.S. then it has passed these standard tests. It’s also important to understand that these federal regulated crash tests only test front collisions, not side impact collisions. Currently, the NHTSA is working to develop federal regulated side-impact crash testing, but until then we’ll have to rely on the manufacturers. Some manufacturer’s, like Britax, have taken it upon themselves to perform side-impact crash testing. That’s why you see “Side-Impact Tested”, or “Side-Impact Protection” on so many car seats, the manufacturer’s themselves are self-certifying. As a parent, I have mixed feelings about this. Can we trust these manufacturers to tell the truth about their own design? I believe we can, but really, do we have a choice? In the end, keeping our children safe and secure is what matters most, and I personally will take any reassurance I can get.
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I own a Britax Marathon which I still use for my younger child, and had purchased the Britax Frontier 85 as a long term seat for my oldest child, currently 3 years old. Occasionally I need to remove the car seats and install in another vehicle. The Marathon can be done with ease. The Frontier, is a bit more frustrating.
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