Infant car seats are normally used from newborn age to 1 year or so. They offer babies protection and care with comfort. Without any doubt, car seats are the best travel partner babies have.
Infant car seats come in different price ranges depending on their features and specifications. Some infant car seats can be too expensive due to extra and advanced features, but you can get infant seats at an affordable price too with the blend of basic and some extra features. Some infant seats are too affordable, under $100 making them budget-friendly.
The comfortable and impact-absorbing foam and padding protect babies in devastating collisions, so there is no question regarding the usefulness of car seats.
This article is to help parents find the best suitable infant car seat and especially for those parents who are thinking their baby is tall enough to be adjusted in a regular infant car seat with normal specifications. Such parents will find the best suit from the list of the best infant car seat for tall babies.
What is the height limit for infant car seats?
Infant car seats normally can accommodate the baby from newborn to the size of 28 to 32 inches. Some infant seats offer even greater height and weight limits.
If you think your baby is growing at a rapid rate then you should think out of the box, and look for infant seats with higher weight and height limits. But in general, you can choose an infant seat that fascinates you and you should not be so circumspect regarding the height and weight recommendations.
Is my child too tall for his car seat?
Children grow at a fast rate and everything they own seems to be shortening in a hurry. When it comes to car seats if you see your child is feeling uncomfortable in his car seat or he is close to touching the canopy or upper boundary of the car seat then it is the time to upgrade to another car seat.
But be careful to upgrade to another type of car seat; If your baby is in the age range of an infant car seat and has outgrown his car seat then you should buy another infant seat with a higher weight and height limit.
Be sure that your child will fit properly in another type of seat before upgrading to the next level or just stick to the previous type with higher specifications.
What is the next car seat after the infant seat?
An infant car seat is used right from birth to the age of toddler and when your child outgrows the infant seat the next level is the convertible car seat.
A convertible seat can both be used as rear-facing and forward-facing. There is a practice of choosing a convertible seat straight away from birth and bypassing the infant seat, but that is not highly recommended. For more information regarding the car seat recommendations, installation and the list of approved car seats visit the NHTSA site.
If you are looking for affordability and want to save your bucks on spending on infant seats, you can buy a convertible seat for your infant and can put your infant in rear-facing mode. After that, you can put your child in a forward-facing position.
When your child outgrows the convertible seat( harness mode) you can switch to a belt-positioning booster seat and the next and last level is a backless booster seat.
What is the best infant car seat for tall babies?
It is difficult for parents to find the best suitable products for their kids usually, but if your baby is growing faster than his age fellows then it becomes more challenging for you to find the best suits for him.
Infant car seats normally can bear a baby from newborn to the weight of 35 pounds and up to the height of 32 inches. If your baby is still in the age range of infants and outgrows his infant seat, then you must look for alternatives like a convertible car seat.
A convertible car seat can operate in a minimum of two modes; rear-facing for infants under the age of 2 years, and forward-facing above 2 years.
We have researched a lot to solve the problem of parents facing the issue of choosing car seats for their tall babies. Following are the car seats that will give you the best results:
1. Britax One4Life ClickTight Car Seat ( Best All-in-One)
Britax one4Life all-in-one car seat is a very sleek and sturdy car seat, it gives full value to your money. It is all-in-one which means you can use it from newborn age to the backless booster level.
You have to invest one time and enjoy the luxury for years. It can operate in 4 modes; rear-facing mode for infants, front-facing harness mode, booster, and backless booster mode.
If it comes to its specifications, it won’t give you any point where you think, Oh! that’s missing. It has all those features and advanced facilities that parents look for. The ease of conversion from one mode to another is quite remarkable.
Convertible seats may take a lot out of your wallet but in some ways, they can prove to be an affordable option; most convertible seats are 3-in-1 seats and some are all-in-one. If you see on the long run you may find they are the best affordable option, but that is another aspect.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Britax one4Life car seat is an all-in-one car seat and can serve you for 10 years at least. Its own weight is 30lbs means it’s not heavy.
Modes of operation are 4; Rear-facing, front-facing harness mode for toddlers, harness mode for pre-school kids, and belt-positioning booster seat,
Weight and height recommendations are as follows:
| Mode | Weight Recommendations | Height Recommendations |
| Rear-Facing for infants | 5-22 pounds | Less than 35 inches |
| Rear-facing for toddlers | 22-50 pounds | Up to 49 inches |
| Harness booster | 22-65 pounds | 42-56 inches |
| Belt-positioning booster | 40-120 pounds | 46-63 inches |
Britax one4Life is one of the top car seats due to its comfort level, ease of use, and the protection it offers. It has a ClickTight Installation system to make the installation so easy and safe.
A built-in mesh system is to ventilate air through it. It offers 9 positions of recline with just a push. Safe Cell technology offers crumple zones to absorb impact and provide protection to your child. Double-layered padding around the neck, head, and torso makes it the safest car seat.
Other appealing features are :
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2. Diono Radian 3RXT, 4-in-1 ( Best slim design car seat)
Diono Radian 3RXT is also a 4-in-1 car seat, it is the baby’s first and only car seat due to its 4 ways to operate. Most importantly it is the best pick for tall babies, it offers extended rear-facing mode up to 50 pounds approximately to the age of 4 years.
It is a slim car seat( fits 3 across), which makes it doubly useful in the sense that most car seats for extended rear-facing are heavier and cover a lot of space.
It can be used from birth to the age of 10, to serve 10 years requires quality manufacturing material. Thankfully, it has powerful steel-core, high-grade plastic, and supreme quality fabric. Surely, it can stand 10 years without any worry.
SPECIFICATIONS: Height and weight recommendations are almost same as that for Britax One4Life
| Mode | Weight Recommendations | Height Recommendations |
| Rear-Facing for infants | 5-22 pounds | Less than 35 inches |
| Rear-facing for toddlers | 22-50 pounds | Up to 48 inches |
| Harness booster | 22-65 pounds | 42-56 inches |
| Belt positioning booster | 40-120 pounds | 46-63 inches |
We have read the reviews on the Amazon, Diono store, and other such resources, and after reading them we surely can conclude it the lifesaver. Someone shared his story when he caught an accident with two kids on a highway, they were upside down as the collision was serious. But fortunately, they were safe despite the high magnitude of the accident.
The person reports he applied ‘mom mode’ and was able to unbuckle both children easily while they were upside down and they crawled out of the windows of the burning car. This car seat nevertheless saved their lives.
Diono Radian 3RXT is an up-gradation of Diono Radian RXT, with some advancements and improvements. This car seat has quality features that you might love:
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3. Britax Marathon ClickTight Convertible Car Seat ( Our Pick )
Britax Marathon ClickTight seat is a very strong and safe car seat. It offers special care and a comfy ride to your tall baby. It gives full value to your money as do other car seats of Britax.
It offers great features that make it to the list of the best car seats for tall babies; It offers additional harness positions(14) so you can adjust according to the height of your baby.
This car seat can be used in the rear-facing mode for a baby between 5 – 40 lbs that means it also gives some extra upper weight limit than regular infant seats(which can handle a baby not more than 35 lbs). In forward-facing it can be used for a baby between 20-65 lbs.
SPECIFICATIONS:
| Mode | Weight Limit | Height Limit |
| Rear-Facing | 5-40 lbs | Up to 40 inches |
| Forward-Facing | 20-65 lbs | Up to 47 inches |
It is equipped with a v-shaped tether that is very essential for a car seat to be safe, it reduces the impact in case of any crash and helps the car seat to slow down. Your child will find padding of high-quality foam all around his neck, head, and torso.
7 positions of recline gives you ease to adjust the height according to your need and the size. 5-point harness holds the baby solely and prevents form bobbing around in case of any collision.
ClickTight installation means a secure and easy connection. Manual rethreading is time-consuming and is less convenient, thanks to this car seat. It offers an easy and convenient ClickTight installation system. 1.Push dial, turn and lift 2. Thread and buckle 3. Click it closed, and all set.
There are a lot of reasons to tag it as the safest convertible car seat such as; Energy absorbing base, side-impact protection, crumple zones to absorb crash energy, and high strength steel frame.
There are many reasons to love this car seat for your fast growing kid, a few of those are as follows:
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Conclusion
We have presented 3 different car seats that are suitable for tall babies, as a buyer you better know which car seat is your best fit.
While finalizing any car seat from the list of 3 you must keep in mind some basic things in your mind such as; your lifestyle, your budget, and most importantly the size of your vehicle/car.
As parents it is up to you decide which one is the best, read specifications carefully, check the cons especially because some car seats can have very nice and attractive features but a single weak point can displease you.
If you are thinking the above car seats are only suitable for tall babies, let me clear this is not the case. They are the best for every child; for slowly growing babies or tall kids.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
Regarding the selection and use of baby car seats people frequently ask following questions:
- How much does a child have to weigh to face forward?
You should put your infant right from the birth to a minimum of 1 year rear-facing. Rear-facing is the safest way to ride for young babies and especially for infants and toddlers.
Now, different states are making it compulsory to put your baby up to the age of a minimum of 2 years. For instance, in California, it is the law to put your infant in rear-facing mode till the age of 2 years.
- What is the weight and height restrictions for car seats?
Different type of car seats have different restrictions, infant seats allow you to put your child up to the weight of 35 pounds and to the height of 32 inches.
Most convertible car seats allow you to put the child in rear-facing mode from birth to the weight of 40 pounds up to the age of 2 years or so. You can put your child in forward-facing harness from 22-65 pounds up to the height of 47 inches.
The next step is the belt-positioning booster seat which can be used from 40-120 pounds.
- Can I use a convertible car seat for my newborn?
Infant seats are the go-to seats for infants from day one of their birth. Convertible seats can also be used for newborns, so be comfortable while buying a convertible seat for your newborn.
Convertible seats can operate in a rear-facing way which is mandatory for newborns, If you think your newborn will outgrow his infant seat very soon you can buy a convertible seat from day one and can skip the infant seat altogether.
- Is it better to get an infant car seat or convertible?
It all depends on your situation, if your baby is a bit taller than usual then it is better to use a convertible seat instead of a regular infant car seat as it gives an extra bit of space and extra weight and height limit.
In normal conditions it is better to use a regular infant seat due to a lot of reasons, most importantly infant seat holds the baby solely and protects the infant better than any other seat.
- What is the biggest advantage of infant seats over convertible?
Apart from the fact that infant car seats are the safest car seats for newborns who cannot support their head, body, and torso, the biggest advantage of infant seats over convertible seats is that you can use them with a stroller.
A stroller or jogger is the basic part of the baby gear, so an infant seat gives you the ease to use it with your stroller that the convertible seat lacks. You just need to buy a stroller and car seat that is compatible with each other or you can buy a combo of stroller and car seat.
- How to install a car seat properly?
The car seats protect your child, and for that, you must know how to properly install them in your car. To maximize the advantages a car seat offers you must use it as it should.
It is advised to place the baby car seat in the back seat, preferably in the middle if possible. Otherwise, you can install it on either side of the backseat.
For infants put the seat backward, the rear-facing mode is the safest way to put a child in a car seat. Get full information on Whattoexpect.
