weight) should be considered when determining which type of car seat a child should use, or whether

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When should a child transition through the different car seats, to none, and to the front seat?
What parameters (age/height/weight) should be considered when determining which type of car seat a child should use, or whether to use one at all? When should they be allowed to sit in the front seat?

Ideal guidelines would fill in a table sort of like this:

| Infant Carrier | Car Seat | Booster | No Seat | Front Seat |
===================================================================================================
Age Range | | | | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Height Range | | | | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Weight Range | | | | | |
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Citations of industry standards, publications, or laws would be appreciated.

P.S.: I know some existing questions may cover certain aspects of this, but I don't think I've found total coverage of them all. I'm hoping this can be an all-in-one.

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@AllenHopper

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Notes:

For rear-facing seats, the child's head must be at least one inch from the top of the car seat, regardless of other height limitations.
For my purposes, a "booster" is a seat that raises the child so he can use an adult seat belt safely.
"Convertible seat" refers to a seat that can transition between being rear-facing and forward-facing. They're popular enough that I though they deserved a column as well.
Where age was not specified, I estimated using an average height/weight chart, and using the more restrictive of height or weight.

Sources:

Wikipedia "Infant Car Seat"
AAP "AAP Updates Recommendation on Car Seats"
CarSeatSafety.com "Convertible Seats"
CarSeatSafety.com "When To Switch"
Consumer Reports "Convertible Car Seats"

@JerryRodrick

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Although Sarato has given a good general overview, The answer to this will vary depending on the make and model of the carseats as well as local laws.

For example, some infant carrier carseats support a weight limit of 22 lb, but others have a weight limit of 30 lb. An infant carrier carseat can be used as long as the child is within the height and weight limits of the seat, and the seat fits properly (ie: the shoulder harness goes high enough and their head is not too close to the top of the seat). For some children and seats, it may be only 4 months before they outgrow their infant carseat, others may be able to use one until they are a year or more old.

In the state of California (where I happen to live), the new law going into effect in January is that children must sit in the backseat until they are 12 (with exceptions, such as backseat is already full with additional children), and be in a booster seat or carseat until they are 8.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a page summarizing the carseat laws in each of the 50 US States.

The NHSTA has a helpful infographic representing the age-appropriateness of the different types of seats. Eg: rear-facing 0-3, forward-facing 1-7, booster seat 4-12, seat belt 8+. Notice that these do not reflect the American Academy of Pediatric's most recent stance that children should be kept rear-facing until at least age 2 or as long as possible (within the limits of the carseat).

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: When should a child transition through the different car seats, to none, and to the front seat? What parameters (age/height/weight) should be considered when determining which type of car seat a child should use, or whether

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