There is a perfect time for everything, and so are car seats for children. Children need specific car seats at certain stages in their lives!
As a parent, you’ll need a rear-facing infant car seat when your little one is born. However, as your child grows older, there is a need to change from rear-facing to forward-facing, and finally to a booster seat.
If you intend to buy a Britax car seat or own one already, you must understand that Britax has different types of car seats. You may decide to buy a rear-facing only car seat, convertible car seat, all-in-one, or just a booster seat.
In this short write-up, we will see if some Britax car seats can turn into boosters and what you need to know about these car seats before making a purchase.
Related: When to turn a Britax car seat forward? (Explained)
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Do Britax car seats turn into booster seats?
Britax has car seats that turn into booster seats. You can use such car seats from infancy up to when your child is about 10 years old. Such a car seat is referred to as an all-in-one car seat.
The Britax One4Life ClickTight All-In-One car seat is a perfect Britax car seat that can turn into a booster seat as your child grows older.
This car seat can convert from a rear-facing car seat into a forward-facing 5-point harness and into a highback belt-positioning car seat.
Having the Britax One4Life car seat that converts into a booster seat means that you won’t be needing to buy any other car seat until your child is ready to seat on the vehicle seat.
However, the Britax One4Life car seat is a bit more expensive than the rear-facing or convertible car seat.
Also, you can’t use a car seat that converts into a booster on a stroller – you can only attach a rear-facing infant car seat to strollers.
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A List of Britax car seats that convert to booster seats
Not all Britax car seats can turn into booster seats. Rear-facing infant car seats are only meant for babies from 0 to about 2 years old and can’t be used as boosters. Also, most convertible car seats only convert from rear-facing to forward-facing.
The difference between a traditional forward-facing convertible car seat and a harness-to-booster forward-facing seat is the seated shoulder height of both seats.
Harness-to-booster seats have higher seated shoulder height than the conventional forward-facing car seat. Hence, a harness-to-booster is suited for older kids.
Having said that, below are some of the Britax car seats that turn into boosters
- One4Life ClickTight All-In-One car seat – It can be used as an infant, convertible, and booster seat. It is suitable for kids weighing from 5 lbs to 120 lbs. This is the only Britax car seat that goes from rear-facing up to a booster seat.
For Britax forward-facing car seats that convert to boosters, we have the following:
- Britax Grow with You ClickTight Harness-2-Booster Car Seat – While this car seat doesn’t have the rear-facing feature, you can use it for your kid from toddlerhood to about 10 years old.
Note: For harness-to-booster car seats, you should always use the harness system for your child until your child exceed the height or weight limits specified in the car seat manual.
You might want to read this: Are Britax car seats non-toxic? (Read this first!)
What You Should Know About Booster Seats
A booster seat is designed for kids who have outgrown the rear-facing and forward-facing traditional car seats but are not yet big enough to use the vehicle seat.
Usually, a booster seat is used for kids until they are about 10 years old or when kids can use vehicle seat belts without any enhancer. There are usually two types of booster seats – Harness-to-Booster and Belt-Positioning Booster seats.
What is a Harness-to-booster seat?
A harness-to-booster seat has an internal harness system to reduce any impact in case of an accident. The harness is usually meant for kids who are not big enough to fit in a vehicle seat belt while using a booster seat.
The difference between a harness-to-booster seat and a convertible forward-facing car seat is that the former has a higher seated shoulder height than the conventional forward-facing seat.
You can use the harness system for smaller kids between 25 lbs and 65 lbs. Once your little one is ready for the transition, you can then convert it into the high-back booster mode by using the vehicle’s seat belt.
Read this: Do Britax car seats expire?
What Is A Belt-Position Booster Seat?
A belt-positioning booster seat is designed such that it boosts a child’s seated position so that the child can use the vehicle seat belt.
Unlike the harness-to-booster car seat, belt-positioning boosters don’t need an internal harness system. It relies on the vehicle seat belt.
A belt-positioning booster seat can be backless or high back. A backless booster seat doesn’t have a back-resting surface – it uses the back of the vehicle. A highback booster has a back-resting surface.
While there are backless boosters in the marketplace (and they are cheaper), most parents like to go for a 2-stage belt-positioning booster. A 2-stage belt-positioning booster can be converted from a high back to a backless seat.
A good example of a belt-positioning booster seat is the Britax Highpoint 2-stage belt-positioning booster car seat that converts from a high-back booster to a backless booster seat.
The Britax Highpoint booster seat uses a SacureGuard Clip that guarantees the proper positioning of the vehicle seat belt on your child’s hips.
You can convert a high-back booster to a backless booster when your little one weighs between 48 lbs and 120 lbs.
Conclusion
If you are looking for a Britax car seat that converts from a rear-facing into a forward-facing, and into a booster seat, the Britax One4Life all-in-one car seat should be your best bet.
