Convertible Car Seat Brands and Links

Car seat safety

If you want to make sure your child is safe during car trips, heed this advice: Choose a seat that best fits your child. Safety experts often recommend infant car seats for babies less than 20 pounds because they are built to better accommodate a smaller body and offer a slightly reclined position (which better supports an infant's head). Infant seats usually also double as carriers, so you won't have to wake a sleeping baby every time you leave the car. Infant car seats are addressed in a separate ConsumerSearch report.

Booster seats are designed for older children who have outgrown car seats but are still too small to use adult safety belts; it is recommended that they are 4 feet 9 inches to go booster-free. Booster seats are also addressed in a separate ConsumerSearch report.

Convertible car seats fill the void between the two, as they provide rear- and front-facing options. Toddlers should ride in a rear-facing car seat until they are 2 years old, the American Academy of Pediatrics now says. Most convertible car seats let your child ride rear-facing even longer than that, until they weigh 35 or 40 pounds (usually around age 3 or 4) -- and that's the safest way for young kids to ride, ConsumerReports.org says. It cites a 2007 study that found children up to 23 months old were 75 percent less likely to die or get seriously injured in a rear-facing seat than in a front-facing one. "In Sweden, which has very low child-passenger injury and death rates, children often ride rear-facing up to 4 years of age," ConsumerReports.org points out. Editors go on to explain why the usual concerns about rear-facing -- the child's legs are bent against the seat back, for example -- don't outweigh the safety benefits. These articles are available for free.

How long will your child be able to use a particular convertible car seat? Even thelowest 40-inch, 40-pound weight limit will cover most 4-year-olds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's car seat growth chart. For more detailed data on child height and weight by age, check the child growth charts at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Seven out of 10 child car seats are "either the wrong size for the child or seriously misused," according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, so it's a great idea to have your seat checked by a professional. Many fire and police stations offer free inspections; hospitals and some Babies "R" Us stores also provide free checks. You can search for a location in your area at the NHTSA website.

None of the convertible car seats in this report had been recently recalled when we checked. However, it's always a good idea to check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for recall notices.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), decided to recall Dorel Juvenile Group (DJG) that includes Cosco, Maxi-Cosi, and Safety 1st car and booster seats manufactured from May 1, 2008 through April 30, 2009. This comes after Chicago father Bryan Dussault found that the harnesses would spontaneously loosen on three Vantage seats -- two that he owned, and one that Safety 1st sent him as a replacement after he complained. ConsumerReports.org says it crash-tested the Vantage and found no problems. In a video posted on both ConsumerReports.org and YouTube.com , Dussault demonstrates the problem with an Elmo doll strapped into the Vantage. Convertible child restraints Alpha Omega, Alpha Omega Elite, Enspira, Priori, Prospect, and Vantage; Infant child restraints Mico and OnBoard.

The Safety Belt Safe website contains information on types of car seats, fit, features, recalls and frequently asked questions.

Which car seat -- or seats -- will fit in your car? Car seats can take up a lot of room, especially if they're rear-facing or if you have to cram two or more into the back seat. CarSeatData.org offers a compatibility chart matching up makes and models of cars to better-fitting seats, as well as other car seat information. Experts at Cars.com and its affiliate MotherProof.com have also started testing vehicles to see how well -- and how many -- infant, convertible and booster seats fit.

Car-Safety.org discusses the LATCH system and tethers used with car seats. LATCH anchors can make it easier to install a car seat (versus strapping it in with the seatbelt), and tethering the top of the seat to the car can keep the head area more stable during a crash, which can lower your child's risk of head and neck injuries.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has an up-to-date car seat safety guide with information on safe installation and use.

Car seat brands

Britax

Cosco

Combi

Evenflo

Graco

Learning Curve (The First Years)

Maxi-Cosi

Sunshine Kids