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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Turning the car seat around?
When did you turn the car seat around?
Was LO happier once she was FF?
So I know the new recommendation is 2 years BUT I'm thinking she is too tall for the car seat to be rear facing. We have the Britax marathon and she is within the weight but I can't remember the height limit... She now hates the car seat and looks uncomfortable when she is in it. I think we will have to turn her around this weekend. or at least soon.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Turning the car seat around?
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
DS#2 turned 17 mos yesterday & is still RFing in his "My Ride 65". He is 28lbs, 34" tall & still very comfortably fits RFing. My plan is to keep him this way until 2- at least (weight & height allowing, of course). He has never FF, so he doesn't know what he's missing, so to speak. It's all he's ever known.
Personally, even if he wasn't happy, I would have him RFing, since it's the safest for him. Safety trumps happiness in this house...and believe me, that's something that will carry into the upcoming years of parenting. I am applying the same practices with our 14 1/2 year old, lol!!
We turned him at 15 months. He wasn't happier or more upset one way or the other.
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I'm going to keep him RF as long as possible, but if he starts to fight it, I'll turn him before 2 years.
It's a recommendation, not law. And in reality, EVERYONE is safer riding backwards. I personally don't see what is so magical about 2 vs 1 vs 3 vs 10.
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
This is soooo helpful, thank you for imparting all of your wisdom on us
Its pretty easy for you to be high and mighty when you aren't wrestling a toddler in to a car seat for 5 minutes at a time multiple times a day.
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
This is true... however it has to do with the development of the spine. So obviously at 2 or 3 or 10 there are differences in the bodies development.
"The rear harness works in a way that allows the head, neck, and spine to move all straight up and down, so the body movies with the restraint of the seat, preventing crash-related injuries," she said. "In a front-facing seating, all of the body weight is going forward on the harness, which can cause injury to the head, neck and spine for children under 35 pounds. There are documents of spinal cord injuries because of children facing frontward at such an early age."
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/story?id=7818004&page=2
Wow. That was uncalled for and snarky! Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, lol!
Just because I said that our 17 month old DS doesn't mind RFing doesn't mean that NONE of our 4 kids have minded it! Trust me, we have had our share of battles with kids in car seats over the last 14 (will be 15 this July) years of parenting! Not all of our kids have enjoyed RFing as much as our current toddler! But that doesn't mean that we didn't continue to keep them RFing as long as possible. My point was that parenting can be a constant battle, over all sorts of issues- some more important than others. Of course it's easiest to do what makes your kids happy, but it's not always what's best for them. If I let our teenage son do what he wanted just because we "battled" over it, he'd be running wild!
Sorry you were so offended by my post. She asked...I answered! I was honestly just trying to share some of my 14 1/2 years of parenting wisdom with her. It wasn't like it was unsolicited advice.
We had the same issue... and I was seriously 'this close' to turning her and DH was like... She is probably going to love FF for all of a week and then fight getting in that way! He is probably right... hence why she is still RF.
FWIW, a lawyer friend of mine said the recommendation for 2 years is due to lawsuits not siginifcant medical research.
My DS is almost 14 mos and he's still RF as I'm undecided about when to turn him around. He's definitely big enough-33 inches and 26 lbs.
Listen, you implied that those of us who turn our kids sooner than age 2 were lazy parents who always let their kids have their own way. I think your comparison to my 14 month old baby throwing a tantrum in the car to letting a teenager run wild is absolutely not a fair comparison to make. Apples to oranges and all that. I doubt that after I turned my kid FFing, my toddler thought to himself "wow, I sure showed them who is boss!"
DD #1 passed away in January 2011 at 14 days old due to congenital heart disease
DD#2 lost in January 2012 at 23 weeks due to anhydramnios caused by a placental abruption
It's not about "showing them who's boss." If that's how you parent, you are in for a long, long ride. It's about sometimes making decisions for your kids that you know won't make them the happiest but will keep them the safest. Period. It's not apples to oranges. Kids of all ages throw tantrums when they want something. Sometimes it's OK to give in- you choose your battles. Sometimes you can't give in though, especially when it comes to safety. That applies to ALL ages.
And, FWIW, I never said anything about being lazy. Doing something that makes your child unhappy is hard. There's no way around that.
meh. i have nothing new or original to say, but..
dd is still RF - she's 22lbs and 33.5 inches tall. and the height limit is 49 inches. you'd have to have one monster of a child to hit that at this age.
for us it comes down to the fact that RF is 5x safer. we take a better safe than sorry approach to car safety b/c quite frankly no matter how well you drive, there are bsc people behind the wheel that aren't paying attention or worse. i don't get all pearl clutchy about much, but car safety is very high on the priority list.
eta: dd throws fits sometimes, but other times she's fine. bottom line is she's remaining RF. i agree with whoever said safety trumps everything else in the car (and don't get all "you called me a lazy parent" on me - i did not say that...for US it's very important)
This isn't true. There is a TON of research that supports why babies/toddlers should be left rear-facing.
I completely skipped reading the replies because this always turns into a debate on here.
We turned DD at 13mos, car rides were so much better with her FFing. Looking back, if I had the patience that I do now I would have kept her RFing anyway. DS is 1000x better in the car then DD has ever been, he is still RFing at almost 17mos and I don't have any plans to FF him yet. He is also really short so he has a long way to go before he reaches the height limit for RFing.
Do what is best for your family and GL in whatever you decide!
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