What is the last car seat you have to buy for your toddler?

Question

Lol so first baby and we got the infant car seat, than the convertible car seat. I just found out they usually go up to 40 lbs and then after that they need another seat usually like a booster seat. I’m kind of confused. I heard the nuna rava goes up to like 65 lbs I’m forward position. Will that one work until my child no longer needs to be in a car seat? When did your child stop sitting in a car seat? What age?

Answer

A convertible car seat is usually 40-50 lbs rear facing, then forward facing up to 65ish pounds, high back booster up to 100ish pounds and backless booster up to 120ish pounds. Height is also a factor, as well as torso length and other factors as well. Check out Car Seats For the Littles or Safe in the Seat on Facebook or instagram, they are great resources for finding the best option for your child and vehicle. This the weight guide for the Graco 4evr car seat

Answer

The best practice (from a safety standpoint) is to max out the upper height/weight limit of each transition before moving on to the next (rear facing > forward facing with harness > booster seat > no car seat.). Chances are they will max out one before the other, but once one limit is maxed out they need to switch. NEVER go by the minimum required height/weight of the next transition, ALWAYS wait until they max out the upper limit of the previous transition before moving forward. Rear facing is ALWAYS SAFER no matter the age; it is even a safer position for adults if only cars were built with rear facing passenger seats. 
Until a child’s vertebrae have fully matured they are at risk of internal decapitation; this is when the spinal cord is severed inside the body, resulting in either paralysis or death. The maturation and ossification of the vertebrae is something that happens with AGE, not with SIZE, which is why extended rear facing (rear facing for as long as possible rather than just until age 2) is so important. Quoting from csftl.org:
“Toddlers are not just small adults; their bodies are still developing and those developmental changes make them more vulnerable than an adult. A toddler’s vertebrae are connected via cartilage rather than ossified bone. Those connections are called synchondroses, which are slowly closing over time. There are three major points of ossification, each with two synchondroses. According to a study published in the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, the first station to close is the C3, second is the axis, and third is the atlas. The results of the study show:
🔴 50% probability that the primary closure of the C3 is complete at age 2 and the secondary at age 3.
🟠 50% probability that the primary closure of the axis is complete at age 5 and the secondary at age 6.
🟡 50% probability that the primary closure of the atlas is complete at age 7 and the secondary at age 8 (Yoganandan, Pintar, Lew, Rao & Rangarajan, 2011).

This image [above] shows the cervical (top), thoracic (middle), and lumbar (bottom) vertebrae of a one year old (left, each photo) and six year old (right, each photo). Note the easily visible synchondroses in each. These findings show that before age two, none of the cartilaginous spaces have completed ossification. Those pieces of cartilage have the ability to stretch up to two inches. Yet only 1/4″ stretch is enough to rupture the spinal column, resulting in paralysis or death  (McCall, Fassett & Brockmeyer 2004).”
What this means is that a child’s vertebrae do not finish fully ossifying until ages 8-9 years old, no matter how “big for their age” they are. In fact, a child that is large for their age is actually at a higher risk forward facing than a smaller child of the same age because their head is a larger percentage of their overall weight and will exert more force on their neck in a forward facing collision. Statistics show that riders of ANY age (even adults) are safer riding rear facing. 
Many parents cite concerns of their child being “too cramped” in a rear facing car seat once their feet touch the seat back in front of them and their legs are required to bend when seated. Statistically, there are more leg and hip injuries reported in children who are FORWARD FACING because their legs swing up and hit the back of the front seats in a frontal collision. In contrast, in a rear facing frontal impact all of the momentum is absorbed into the back of the car seat rather than between their legs and the seat back in front of them. 
Kids with longer legs will find ways to sit comfortably that may not look comfortable to adults; whether by bending their knees, crossing their legs, stretching them up the seat back in front of them, hanging them over the sides of the car seat. Remember they are much more flexible than we are! The fact remains that rear facing is safer so long as the child fits within the maximum rear facing limits of the car seat. Even if a leg injury was to occur in an accident, I would ALWAYS rather a broken leg than a broken neck. Spacious leg room is not a necessity!
Every child will outgrow their car seat at a different rate than another. You should base your car seat choice on the growth trend of your specific child. Some kids are taller and skinnier, so ideally you would choose a seat with a higher rear facing height limit. Others are shorter and heavier, so a seat with a higher rear facing weight limit would be better. Both of my kids are mostly middle of the road on both height and weight. The goal should always be to rear face them for as long as possible. Once they have legitimately outgrown their seat (not just that they “look cramped”) they need to either be moved to a different seat with higher limits or switched to forward facing. For some higher percentile kids, that might really be 3 years old; for others, they might be able to remain rear facing until age 7 or 8. 
My oldest (boy) is turning 6 in June and is still rear facing comfortably in a Graco Extend2Fit (50lb rear facing limit.) Youngest (girl) is turning 4 in June and rear facing in a Graco 4Ever (40lb rear facing limit.)  My vehicle is a 2017 Ford Edge SUV.  Photos taken 4/21/22.

Answer

My first is 5 and still in a rear-facing convertible. So with her I haven’t bought a car seat except this one since I got it at birth. Honestly our seat will probably expire before she outgrows it.

Answer

We have a grow with me car seat and it grows with them until they are in a booster seat then it is used as that as well.
We will have to buy a regular car seat that you carry for this baby but when it's old enough (or old enough that I feel comfortable) we will use the spare car seat we have which is the same one our toddler uses (they can be used from birth up until they reach a booster seat but we feel safer using the other one first then switching it into the car seat like our son has later on)

Answer

A backless booster is the very last seat you’re going to have to buy, but just like others have mentioned none of your questions comes with a one size fits all kind of answer. It solely depends on the size of the child on how long they’re going to have to be in a booster seat. I spent the extra money and went from the Graco Snugride Snuglock 35 Platinum XT to the Graco 4ever DLX 4-in-1 convertible car seat that grows with my child and I’ll never have to buy another car seat again. A child can be 8yo and still be in a booster seat bc they haven’t reached the weight requirements.

Answer

My kids are taller than most so they quit needing a booster around 8.

Answer

We had an infant seat for the convenience of taking out of the car.    Then we bought a graco slimfit and it goes up to 90 pounds and 4ft 10in so do you research on how long they last prior to purchase.  I chose that seat in particular due to never needing to purchase another seat.   They can literally ride in that seat for the duration of needing to ride in a car seat.    Now some convertible seats max out at 40 pounds in the REAR facing position.   They have a much higher limit in forward facing.

Answer

We have the Graco 4Ever DLX. It can go from 5lbs to 120lbs. It transitions from rear facing to forward facing to booster seat. I didn’t want to have to buy a bunch of seats so just stuck to one that does everything. 
We had an infant seat when he was a newborn to make it easy getting in and out of car and hooking it up to a stroller. But once he hit around 6 months we switched to the convertible seat.

Answer

Most convertible car seats are up to 40lb rear facing. There are some that go to 60lb. Then they forward face until 65lb. A lot of them are also a booster seat up to 100-110lb. So you may only have to get a regular booster seat once they are ready for one.

What is the last car seat you have to buy for your toddler?

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