My 9 mth. old has finally outgrew his infant carrier car seat(he has reached the 20 lb. weight limit) Can anyone recommend a good one to buy? When can I turn a car seat forward facing? Some car seats I have looked at say that they are rear facing up to 30 lbs. but yet they also say forward facing 20-40 lbs. When they say both like that does that mean that it is my decision to turn it which way I prefer? I have also heard the you cannot go by what the box says, that there is some law saying they have to be at least a yr. old for forward facing. Is this true, does anyone know or know of anyone I could call and find out? Also, I see alot of car seats that have a bar that runs across them(like the older models) are the bars more safe or not?

moved to the other thread

I got ds the one and only carrier that holds an infant up to 35 pounds -- opus something or other by graco. 'Course was a LOAD to carry by the time he was a year old, but it was nice and handy through out the winter to use -- just tucked him into his nano bag in the carseat and off we went.

He now has an evenflow triumph which is like a huge easy chair and reclines. Can be used backwards until they're 1 and then faces forward and is good up until 40 pounds. Still takes up a lot of room in the car. BTW, my car is newer, so the carseat is LATCH equipped and can be secured to the floor of the car instead of having to use seatbelts.

The law is 20 lbs before you can face them forward. But, I kept my daughter facing backwards until she outgrew the seat, just to be safe. There are many good car seats out there. Make sure you look for one with the seal on it that it was safety testedby the JPMA (juvenile products manufacturers assoc). This is a good bet that it is a quality product.

I don't know if its different in every state but in my state you are not allowed to turn the kid forward until they are 1 yr old regardless of their weight. There are alot of carseats out on the market that can be used as rear facing infant seat then once their of age can be used as face forwarding seats. The ones that have the bar across them are completely safe and I think their called tray shield seats. They also have the 5 point harness seat that is just strapes no bar...then there is also a t sheild seat..its a t shaped hard piece that goes inbetween your childs legs and locks in the seat. I hear that the 5 point harness is the saftest, but I think really any seat is safe as long as you have them fitted with the strapes and have the secured properly. Also with the tray shield seat if you have a small vechile you may have complications with gettin the bar up high enough without it hitting the roof. I truthfully like the 5 point harness best. Usually the store let you take seats out and test them in your vechile before you decide to purchase one. Good Luck!!

The law is 20 lbs. and one year. So if your child is not 20 lbs. by one year he/she should still be rear facing. If you do have a carseat that goes up to 30 lbs. rear facing it is safest to be rear facing as long as possible over 1 year. Car seats with over head shields are not safe! I would give you links but they are not allowed. The baby could get severe head injuries from them. A 5 point harness is best.

I know this is an older thread but I just wanted to add that you should never put an infant forward facing until they are at LEAST 1 year old and at least 20 lbs. There are bones in the neck and head that do not fully fuse until they are a year old. They could be really hurt in the event of even a minor fender bender. Better to be safe than sorry. :)