How old is a child when they are 20 lbs & 40 lbs. trying to decide on car seat options.?

Question

How old is a child when they are 20 lbs & 40 lbs. trying to decide on car seat options.?

Answer 1

my 5 year old neice is 42 lbs.  Shes thin.  My son is 4 months and almost 15 lbs.

Answer 2

my son was about a year for 20lbs

he's now 5 and 42 lbs

just remember, even if a seat says it will last from birth to 12 years, it will be worn out by then!

Answer 3

It totally depends on the kid.  My son is already almost 15 pounds, and he's 2 and a half months old.  I'm so glad we didn't go with the car seat that was only good up to 20 pounds.  

Answer 4

With my son, the infant car seat lasted him until about 18 months and he's had the next step up from that since then. He's 4 1/2 and 46", 38 lbs. He's a super active boy, 100percentile in height and weight for his age.

And trust me, after a year or two of use, they get filthy, sometimes break and you'll likely buy a newer one sooner than you planned anyhow.  

Answer 5

my son was 20lbs at about 7 months.

he weighs 30lbs now and is nearly 2yr.  I would guess a 3 1/2 year old would weigh about 40lbs

Answer 6

My DS is 20 lbs and he's 9 mos

Answer 7

20lbs...well who knows? Could be a year, could be younger.

40 lbs....about 3-4 yrs.

Answer 8

My son hit 20 pounds around 9 months. He's almost a year now and he's about 25 pounds.

Answer 9

My son hit 20 lbs at about 6 months old.  He's now 5 years old and varies between 39-40 lbs.  

My daughter hit 20 lbs at about 11 months, she's now 21 months and about 24 lbs.

Each of our kids will have had 3 car seats.  First they each had an infant carrier.  Then a convertible seat which can be installed rear and forward facing (our 21 month old is still rear facing as it is the safest way to ride and her seat is approved rear facing up to 30 lbs).  The third seat is a forward facing 5-point harness to 40 lbs and then full back booster to 80 lbs with seat belt use.

Answer 10

You know, weight really is not indicative of age.  Or even what car seat to have a kid in.  My kids were 20 lbs before age 1, and they were 26" before age of 6 months - so that meant they used a Graco snugride until 6 months, moved to a convertible facing backwards until 1 year.  But other kids aren't 20 lbs at 1 year, so they have to ride backwards until they do weigh 20bls.  As for 40 lbs, well my 3.5 year old was at 40lbs at 3 years - but he is too young to move up to a booster as a child in a booster has to be able to sit still in it.  However whatever convertible he is in needs to accommodate his height as well, and right now he's almost 4'.

If you are looking for longevity of car seat and your child is probably going to be tall and/or heavy, then you might want to go straight to a Britax Marathon or Monarch which accommodate an infant to a large toddler of up to 60-70lbs (depending on the model).  If you are going to have a small child, skipping the bassinet-like car seats like a Snugride might be tempting, but you really need to be able to strap that newborn in so that they do not move - and most convertibles don't really do that.

The best thing to do, and yes I know what a pain, is to go to a baby store that has a wide selection of car seats and read the pamphlets - the websites for the various companies leave a lot to be desired in terms of information.  Consumer Reports has a good rating that you can use to make a decision, but as a parenting instructor I has said, what makes the most difference is that you use one - and use it the right way every time.

Answer 11

my daughter is 6.5 months and is nearly 19lb so i guess it depends on the baby

Answer 12

My son was 8 months old when he turned 20lbs but he out grew his infant car seat at 4.5 months old when was too tall the shoulder straps were more than an inch below his armpits.