More and more parents are choosing to buy convertible car seat over a baby cappsule these days; and there are two main reasons why; lifespan and money savings.
The reason to choose a convertible car seat over an Baby Capsule; should not be based purely on price alone. However given that you will need to purchase a number of carseats; it is an option with pro’s and cons to be considered before making a judgment.
Baby Capsules – Infant Car seats
Infant car seats (sometimes called baby capsules) tend to be more convenient when transporting a newborn baby around. The Capsule easily clicks into a base m;aking it much easier and quicker to get the baby in and out of your car. A second base means that grand parents can easily and safely take their grand children. Another seemingly convenient aspect to infant car seats is the fact that they can be carried.
One of the main reasons in choosing a baby capsule over a convertible child restraint; is that many of the capsules, can easily snap into prams with the use of adapters.
Some parents may consider it a problem, but infant car seats can only face rearwards. An A1 can be rear facing to approximately 6 months of age and an A2 can be rear facing until 12 months of age. Many parents also find that as their baby gets bigger, it becomes much more difficult to carry them around. This leaves a lot of parents only using their infant car seat for the first six or seven months.
Convertible Car Seats
Convertible car seats on the other hand are designed to rear-face and forward-face. They can be used from birth to approximately four years of age (50th percentile), so they are much more practical and cost-effective. Most convertible car seats can rear-face until your child is 12 months of age, however with the release of the Australian Standard in 2014, extended rear facing was introduced.
Extended rear facing
The major car seat manufacturers, have introduced extended rear facing into their convertible car seat product line> Britax have the following Convertible car seats with extended rear facing
- Britax Bfirst (easy installation – click tight)
- Platinum Pro
- Graphene (narrow)
- Britax Brava (narrow)
- Britax Compaq (narrow)
Drawbacks of Convertible car seat
The downside to using a convertible child restraint, is that they must stay secured in the car at all times and you can’t remove the child restraint and carry the child around in the child restraint.
All things considers, the long-term benefits of convertible child restraints far exceed the benefits and convenience of Baby Capsule.
A huge advantage of a Baby Capsule may the that you only need a second base and your parents can easily pick up the children from day care. Check out our reviews of Child restraints and baby capsules.