Best Toddler Car Seats and Boosters

Once your child outgrows the infant bucket, a convertible or all-in-one seat carries them for years, so prioritize how long it rear-faces and how easy it is to install correctly. Keep kids rear-facing as long as the seat allows (most quality convertibles now go to 40-50 lbs); NHTSA and the AAP say to move to forward-facing only when they reach the seat's rear-facing limit, and to keep a harness until they reach its top forward-facing limit before a booster. If you are weighing a harness-to-booster seat like the Chicco MyFit, read when to switch from harness to booster first. Installation is where most safety is won or lost: features like ClickTight, rigid LATCH, and built-in lock-offs make a tight install far more achievable. Check that the seat fits your vehicle — and across the back row if you're three-across — look for steel-reinforced frames and side-impact protection on premium models, and favor zip-off, machine-washable covers. Never buy a used seat with unknown crash history, use an expired seat, or add aftermarket inserts the manufacturer hasn't approved. To date a hand-me-down, use our car seat expiration checker.