Cars are a big luxury to have but for your children you have to use car seats that are specially made for kids, car seats for kids come in different varieties and specifications. This article is written to educate the parents who are looking to buy a suitable car seat for their baby and specifically for those who are in search of a lightweight car seat for a 2-year-old baby.
Finding the best-desired product is not rocket science, you just have to be educated about the basic must-have features and check whether it is according to your lifestyle or not. Every product has some unique and distinct qualities and benefits that the other lacks. You, only have to check for your desired additional features along with basic must-have things. Also, your lifestyle matters a lot when choosing a particular product.
Basically, there are three stages of kids; infants which are under the age of 1 year or 9 months, toddlers which are above 1 year and below 2/3 years, and school-going kids in the range of 3-6 years. Age groups are not according to any hard and fast rule, someone may regard kids of 9 months as toddlers or infants. The main point is that there are three basic age groups of kids regarding the usage of car seats.
- Infant car seat or convertible for newborn?
- Lightweight car seat for 2 year old
Infant car seat or convertible for newborn?
For infants most parents use infant car seats, infant seats provide extra padding, extra comfort accessories and other head and body supports as well because a newborn or infant cannot support his/her head, so head support is a must-have for an infant car seat.
Another plus point of infant car seats is that they are always rear-facing which means they are the safest car seats, one may ask how? The answer is a bit technical, as many of you have observed that whenever we apply sudden brakes of the vehicle we are pushed forward and if we apply brakes sudden at high speed, we cannot avoid hitting the front of the vehicle, that’s why it is imperative to use seat belts of the vehicle, but the point here is that kids or newborns cannot have much control over their bodies so they cannot hold themselves and they hit the vehicle badly.
Rear-facing proves life-saving in critical accidents and collisions that is the reason it is the law in many countries to use a car seat rear-facing for 1 year and in some countries this age limit is 2 years.
So, it is better to use an infant car seat for newborns and babies under the age of 9 months or a year. If you are to buy an infant car seat for your newborn or baby under the age of one year and at an affordable price then open the link and check your favorite affordable infant car seat and infant car seats under 100$.
The difference between the infant car seat and a convertible car seat?
Infant car seats are primarily for infants under the age of 9 months or 1 year, most infant seats can hold a baby up to the height of 32″ and weight in the range of 4-35lbs. In short, a baby will outgrow the infant car seat very soon and you have to look for some other car seat that can accommodate your kid.
Here comes the convertible car seat, you can use a convertible car seat as rear-facing as well as forward-facing. Some 3-in-1 car seats are also available in the market that can serve you for three purposes; rear-facing, forward-facing, and as a booster.
Some convertible car seats can be used for newborns as they have a lower weight limit of 4 or 5lbs and can save you from changing car seats and spending more money. But if you have some money to spend, it is advisable to buy an infant car seat for your newborn.
Nowadays, most people use an infant seat for 1 year and after that, they convert to the convertible car seat and use it as rear-facing until their baby crosses the age of 2 years, then they use it front-facing and when their baby approaches the age of 4 years they operate it in the booster mode.
Lightweight car seat for 2 year old
We have enlisted car seats that can be used for your infants, toddlers, a 2-year-old child, and a bit older than that too, but our main concern is the lightweight car seat for 2 years old.
- Graco Atlas 65 2 in 1 Harness Booster Seat
- Diono Radian 3RXT, 4-in-1 Convertible Extended Rear and Forward Facing Convertible Car Seat
- Britax One4Life ClickTight All-in-One Car Seat
1.Graco Atlas 65 2 in 1 Harness Booster Seat
Graco Atlas 65 is a 2-in-1 car seat; can operate in harness mode (22-65lbs) and as a high back booster (30-100lbs). It is a 2-in-1 car seat which means it cannot be used as rear-facing. The harness mode is used front-facing and another mode of operation is as a high back booster. It is a quality lightweight car seat for 2 year old and above.
It has all the basic must-have features and apart from that it also offers some unique and modern advancements as well. It has a 5-point harness to ensure the safety of your child with comfort. For unused harnesses, it has a pocket where you can keep them hidden. Like other great car seats, it has nice and comfortable foam and padding. Headrest height is adjustable according to your child. When you feel your kid is growing you can change the headrest height accordingly.
Another great advantage of this car seat is that you can adjust the headrest and harness height in one movement. Easily accessible 2-cup holders are there to help you feed and drink your baby on the move.
| PROS. | CONS. |
| 1. It is a lightweight car seat 2. Has 5-point harness 3. Headrest is adjustable to 5 positions 4. Harness storage pocket 5. Easy to access 2-cup holders 6. One-motion adjustable harness plus headrest 7. Machine-Washable seat pad 8. High rating of crash test 9. Has a removable seat cover | 1. Does not convert to a backless booster 2. LATCH clips are simple metal clasps |
Reasons to buy Graco Atlas 65
Graco Atlas 65 car seat is a very comfortable car seat, it is a very lightweight and beautiful car seat. It is so comfy that your baby can easily sleep long while traveling. Only its basic fabric material is worth considering but that is not an issue nevertheless. Overall it is a very good product and another plus point is that it is very affordable. The afore-mentioned pros and features are very handy, that’s why it is recommended as a lightweight car seat for 2-year-old especially.
2.Diono Radian 3RXT, 4-in-1 Convertible Extended Rear and Forward Facing Convertible Car Seat
Diono Radian 3 RxT is a 4-in-1 car seat. It is a very versatile and efficient car seat. It is very unique in its outlook and specification, although it has premium and advanced features despite that it is compact and lightweight.
It is a 4-in-1 car seat which means you can use it from the day of birth of your baby till your baby does not feel any need of any car seat, so it saves your money and proves to be an affordable tool. Just spend one time on this car seat and enjoy the safety and comfort for 10 years.
4- different modes
It can operate in 4 different modes; as an infant car seat is rear-facing, for a toddler as rear-facing, front-facing harness mode, and as a booster seat.
Infants require special protection and safety that’s why it is recommended to use infant car seats for them as they have specific features for them. But a major drawback of infant seats is that they cannot accommodate your kid over 1 year and if you have to sit your baby rear-facing you have to look for an alternative.
This particular car seat resolves your above-mentioned issue and gives you a sigh of relief as it can be operated in a rear-facing mode much longer approximately up to the age limit of 4 years and a weight limit of 50lbs.
This slim-fit 4-in-1 car seat is very valuable and comfy and provides the child a complete protective ride without any fatigue and discomfort.
| PROS. | CONS. |
| 1. It is slim and compact 2. Has the steel-reinforced frame 3. High-quality plastic and steel core 4. Extended rear-facing mode 5. Easy and secure LATCH install 6. Very beautiful and attractive 7. Sleek, sturdy, and stylish 8. Extendable sides 9. Angle-adjuster provides extra legroom 10. Longer seat bottom | 1. Rear-facing mode offers only one recline angle 2. Harness is re-thread 3. Some people may find the buckle stiff a bit |
Why buy Diono Radian 3RxT?
Diono Radian 3RXT is a wonderful addition to the family of car seats. It is a very beautiful, stylish, and graceful car seat. Apart from its beautiful outlook, it has very beautiful features too that are very fascinating and charming.
As a replacement for infant car seat
It is a replacement for infant car seats as it offers a very low weight limit in rear-facing harness mode. If you are buying it then you don’t need to buy an infant car seat because it will serve as an infant seat too, and provide all the features and facilities that an infant car seat does.
Extended rear-facing
Infant car seats accommodate babies up to a maximum of one year or 18 months and after that, you have to look for another car seat. Many countries like the US have the law to keep the bay rear-facing till the age of 2 years, here comes this car seat which can accommodate your baby from birth to the age of 4 years as rear-facing which is almost matchless. Due to these reasons, it is recommended as a lightweight car seat for 2-year-old, infants, and over 2 years old kids.
Slim and compact car seat
It is a very lightweight, slim, and compact car seat. If you are having a middle-sized car you can fit 3 such car seats side by side that shows how compact and slim it is. Another plus point is that it has extendable sides as well, whenever you feel your kid is gaining some fat and is uncomfortable you can adjust it accordingly. on the contrary, for your slim baby, you can adjust sides inwards so as to perfectly hold the baby.
Safe, comfy and easy to install
It is very safe, comfortable, and easy to install. It has LATCH connectors to make the installation one step and easy. Good quality plastic and steel are its main building blocks, so it proves to be very strong and safe and protects your baby from any sort of mishap or accident.
Apart from these aforementioned features, it has other very good reasons to buy. Be confident to buy it if it attracts your attention, it will be a good investment for your baby. The biggest reason to buy it is that it is all in one car seat and you don’t need to buy any other car seat whatsoever after purchasing it, once you buy it you can enjoy its durability and protection for up to 10 years.
3.Britax One4Life ClickTight All-in-One Car Seat
It is an all-in-one car seat for babies, yet it is one of the best lightest infant car seats as well. With a perfect balance of quality and weight, it is a very strong candidate among lightweight car seats.
Britax One4Life ClickTight all-in-one car seat is one the best car seats for kids. It is very strong, sturdy, and sleek. It has a very pretty outlook and is very safe and comfortable too. It saves you from spending money on buying car seats, again and again, you just have to buy it once and can use it for your kid till he/she crosses the age when he has no need of a car seat.
It is an all-in-one car seat which means it is an infant car seat, car seat for your toddler, and a booster car seat. You can convert it according to your baby size and age at any angle and position.
It is an advanced car seat having a lot of premium features like a rip-stitch V-shaped tether; which controls the forward inevitable movement of the car seat in case of an accident and forbids the car seat to rotate. This feature is of very precious value because in collisions most car seats tend to move forward and hit the front seat badly which in turn wobbles the baby and he may get hurt because of it.
| PROS. | CONS. |
| 1. It is compact and lightweight 2. Has a no-rethread harness 3. Easy and secure ClickTight installation system 4. Offers color-coded belt for the sake of installation 5. Has a V-shaped tether which is rip-stitched 6. Made of EPS energy-absorbing foam 7. Seat has mesh for ventilation 8. Easily accessible 2 cup-holders 9. Seat cover is machine-washable 10. Hideable harness straps 11. Anti-rebound technology 12. The base is adjustable to 9 positions 13. 2-layered side impact protection 14. Built-in cooling mechanism | 1. Does not offer backless booster 2. In some cases Inner-buckle may prove to be short |
Reasons to buy Britax One4Life All-in-one car seat
Britax One4Life all-in-one car seat is a very safe and comfortable premium value car seat. It offers huge benefits and gives you mental and physical relaxation as well. Like high-quality car seats, it has all the required specifications that are mandatory plus it offers some advanced features that are very pleasing for parents and kids.
EPS energy absorbing foam
EPS foam absorbs any sort of shock that is produced during any collision or accident and protects the head and body of your baby solely. The crumple zones are the basic thing a car seat must have to be called a safe car seat, so as this car seat is.
15-position headrest
Most car seats offer 5 positions of the headrest or some advanced car seats up to 10 but credit to this amazing product, it offers 15 different headrest positions that are a unique feature of it. You have the ease to choose your desired position.
Color-coded belt to indicate proper installation
A color-coded belt is there to indicate whether you have properly installed it or not in your vehicle, another major plus point is that it has a ClickTight installation system which is very easy and secure and saves you from wasting your time in the hectic installation process.
Anti-rebound bar
ABR( anti-rebound bar) is also another good feature that makes it a very safe and protective car seat, ABR minimizes the rebounding effect resulting from any collision and the car seat holds your baby safely. Many car seats protect your kid in serious accidents but they do not offer ABR that can hurt your baby internally or may dislocate your baby joints or cause other similar damage, but this car seat offers this additional feature that is a life-saver indeed.
The above-mentioned features and qualities are enough to love this sleek and efficient car seat, but in addition, it also has some other benefits as well; it is based on SafeCell technology, has a high-quality steel-reinforced frame, and the base is adjustable to 9 positions.
Conclusion
All the three car seats that are categorized as the lightweight car seat for 2-year-old are carefully and diligently reviewed in order to help you find the best lightweight car seat for a 2-year-old baby. Our team has tried their best to make it easy and clear for you to make a clear decision, we have presented the pros and cons of all three car seats to make you find the best suit compatible with your lifestyle and needs.
Let us clear something first, the car seats enlisted and described above are labeled as lightweight car seats for 2 years old, but that does not mean that they are only better to use for this specific age group. They are all best suited for this particular group age but are used for other age groups as well, for instance, Graco Atlas is a 2-in-1 car seat which means it can be used in forward-facing harness mode or booster mode. And the other 2 car seats are 4-in-1 car seats and they are suitable for all age groups.
| FEATURES | GRACO ATLAS 65 | DIONO RADIAN RXT | BRITAX ONE4LIFE |
| Modes | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Harness type | Re-thread | Re-thread | No Re-thread |
| Harness storage pocket | yes | yes | yes |
| Average Rating | 4.3/5 | 4.6/5 | 4.9/5 |
The best lightweight car seat for 2 year old
Honestly speaking all the three enlisted car seats are of very good quality and high customer satisfaction level but if we have to label one of them as the best lightweight car seat for a 2-year-old, we as a team would pick Britax One4Life all-in-one car seat as the best among them due to its additional and advanced quality specifications and features. It is a bit expensive but it gives full value to your money and in fact, it saves your money from spending on the infant car seat and booster separately because it serves as an all-purpose car seat.
What is the next car seat after the convertible seat?
The convertible seat can be operated in multiple modes depending upon the features and specifications, most convertible seats can be used in rear-facing mode for infants, a front-facing mode for toddlers, and a belt-positioning system for kids.
When your child outgrows the convertible seat he is almost ready to face the world like adults. The only step left is to use a backless booster seat for a short duration of time.
