Car seat confusion

snickersforeveryone

I'm confused about the regulations for car seats here in VA. I thought they had to be rear facing until the child is 2 years old. All I'm finding is that they need to be rear facing until age 1 and weigh at least 20 lbs.

I was researching because my parents have a car seat for Em that says it's suitable for rear facing until the child is 22 lbs. Em weighs more than that. If they want to keep her rear facing, does that mean she needs a new car seat?

If she can be forward facing, that is fine, and actually might be better, since she gets car sick. I just want to make sure we're not breaking the law. Haven't we said on here that they are supposed to be rear facing until 2????? What gives?

pinkangelmoon

Personally,I would find a carseat with a higher rear-facing weight limit.

cwm11985

Virginia does not have a law regarding FF/RF (https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/ofhs/prevention/cps/laws.htm); but if you'd want her to RF then you need a new seat.  If you're comfortable FF then you can just turn the current seat around. 

snickersforeveryone

amilyn9785 said:

summergirl1211 said:

@eafogel: Which carseat is it? A 22 pound rear-facing weight limit seems REALLY low.

That's what I was thinking too.... Eaf, try calling your local FD or L&D floor, they may do safety checks and be able to help.

I'm not sure te brand, it's something they got at Baby Depot (in Burlington Coat Factory). And I'm not sure if my dad told me the limit was 21 or 22. Either way, it's still ridiculously low. I'll check next time I'm over there.

Thanks for explaining...I will have to read the AAP site and figure out what to do.

snickersforeveryone

Trixi282 said:

Technically in VA the law still says they must be restrained... that's pretty much it.  But the recommendation is 2 years by the AAP and other safety experts. 

If she has outgrown her current seat rear facing, I would get her a new seat - does the seat your parents have for her forward face too?  Because I find it odd that the seat only goes up to 22lb rear facing, unless it's an infant carrier.

I have seen it, just not used it yet. It looks like a convertible seat. It makes more sense to me that maybe it was the minimum weight before FF. My dad was installing it and called me to say it was printed on the seat that it was only RF to 21 or 22 lbs and wanting to know if he should make it FF. I really need to look at it more closely. I was just in such a hurry when they showed it to me, it didn't occur to me that there might be an issue with it.

snickersforeveryone

OK, I think my dad must have read it wrong. I'm pretty sure I found the right one on baby depot's website. I'm not completely sure because it says FF from 20 lbs up, not 21 or 22. Not only that, but it says it is rated for RF up to 30 lbs. So if I found the right seat, we're good. I just need to get in touch with my parents and double check.

Oh, I think it's the Evenflo tribute dlx.