Traditional car seats are made to accommodate children that fall into a healthy weight range. If your child is larger than an average child his age, what can you do to keep him safe in the car? As bigger kids become the rule rather than the exception, there are car seats being made that can keep your larger child safe on the road.

A 2006 study published in the medical journal Pediatrics highlighted the need for car seats with higher weight limits. The study showed that nearly 300,000 children between the ages of one and six were too heavy for traditional car seats, which required their parents to use a seat not approved for their height or body type. Using a car seat that is not designed for your child’s body weight is unsafe and cannot protect him during an accident, so car seat manufacturers have started to offer car seats that will keep this growing demographic safe.

Listed below are car seats available for larger children:

• Britax Frontier 85 Combination Booster Car Seat

This car seat is convertible to accommodate a child weighing up to 85 pounds in the car seat mode, and up to 120 pounds in booster seat mode. Features include a 5-point harness system that keeps children secure and safe. The seat has been shown to be effective in side impact type accidents.

• Orbit Baby G2 Infant Car Seat

For infants, this car seat has a higher weight range than other comparable seats, accommodating infants up to 30 pounds. The prior version of this car seat only held infants up to 22 pounds, but Orbit changed the design to keep even larger infants safe.

• Maxi-Cosi Pria 70 Convertible Car Seat

Like the Britax car seat, this seat can be used as both a car seat and a booster seat. Used as a car seat, the Maxi-Cosi seat can accommodate a child weighing up to 70 pounds. Once converted to a booster seat, the weight limit is 100 pounds.

Just because your child is larger than average doesn’t mean that you have to settle for an unsafe car seat that isn’t designed for him.