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Toddlers: 12 - 24 Months
Forward Facing Car Seat
I know the recommendation is one year old for front facing, but then it says keep them rear facing as long as possible. I really want to face him front for convenience purposes, but should I wait? I feel like "convenience" is not an excuse. What has everyone here done?
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Re: Forward Facing Car Seat
IMHO, you should wait.
I would never trade safety for convenience.
FF at 13 months with Rylee...
Not sure what we will do with Kai... he is a peanut compared to Rylee....
Malakai - 8.3.09
Ezra - 12.1.11 ASD
You're going to get a bunch of opinions on this. The law is 1 year and at least 20 lbs. The AAP is recommending until 2 or as long as possible. Check the manual for your carseat for their recommendations.
We turned ds around at about 16 months.
How is FF a convenience?? either way you have to put the child in a seat
We are still RF and he will stay that way until he reaches the limit of the seat.
Just a warning, you may have opened up a Monday Morning Can o' Worms!
The AAP now recomends RF until at least age 2. DS doesn't mind being RF (he doesn't know anything different!), and while yeah, I guess it would be easier to get him in/out FF, I would rather keep him safe than make something a bit easier for me. So, he will be RF as long as possible.
If you google "extended rear facing carseat" you'll get lots of good (and some scary) info on why to keep LO's RFing.
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. Almost exactly. We moved 6 hours from home, and at 14 months we were desperate (6 hours in a car with a screaming infant is no fun for anyone, esp the kid) so we went FF and put in the Wiggles into the DVD player.
I felt horrible about it, but we couldn't do the trip without some relief, or he was going to make himself sick (again).
I plan to RF longer with the next one.
As stated, the recommendation is now 2 years. We're going to leave DS RF as long as possible, but if we feel we need to switch before 2, we will.
Reality is- it's safer for EVERYONE to ride rear facing. So the "recommendation" could be "for life" if that were actually possible!
~Benjamin Franklin
DS dx with celiac disease 5/28/10
I would keep him rear-facing as long as possible, especially if he does well in the car as it is.
DS turned 2 last month and is still rear-facing. He is still happy, and we have no plans to turn him around at this time.
Logan David 03.27.08
Jacob Riley 05.18.09
{Member since 2007}
I think it makes it easier to RF in our car. I have a volvo station wagon and she sits up high in her seat. With all the windows in the back she pretty much has an unobstructed 180 degree view and has lots to look at. T is 14 months and 24 lbs, but I would continue to RF even if we had a smaller car.
I do have one of those "dangerous" mirrors on the head rest, but it is on there so tightly that if it's going to hit her in a crash she will also get hit by the headrest itself.
The APA rec is not "until 2" Never was. That is misinformation. It is as long as possible, which might be 18 months for some kids and 3 years for others.
I do think 1 year is a bit early to turn almost all children, though I have a neighbor with a 30 pound one year old who is very large and very sturdy. He weighs more than my almost 4 year old and is very strong.
I kept my DD rear facing for 28 months. I will do the same for DS, until he is within 1 inch of the top of my roundabout. A larger rear facing seat does not fit in my car unless I drive so close to the windshield that I am in danger. I am sure I am not alone in this. My DD will be 5 point harnessed until probably about 8 years old.
My DS is still RF and I plan on keeping him that way for a while. At his 18 month appt he was only 21 lbs, so he is still tiny and I feel much safer keeping him RF for a while longer. DH wants to turn him FF, but I have begged him off at least in his vehicle (Durango) until DS is at least 25 lbs. I drive a corolla and it being a small car I feel he is much safer RF.
Friends of ours keep questioning us about why son is RF and I simply told them we are doing extended RF, they were shocked, but we have to do what is safest for our son the heck with what everyone else is doing.
The Mouse ~ 06.12.08 | The Froggy ~ 02.23.11
https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/121/3/619
https://aapnews.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/30/4/12-a
Well said. If DS doesn't know any different it doesn't really matter anyways.
We watched the youtube videos and that was the answer for us. DS will be RFing until he meets the limits. I am hoping to make it to age 3 or 4.
Totally on my long list of things I would like to do someday is to write my state legislators about educating parents on this issue. It could save many children's lives.
OP, I would do my own research before relying solely on the advice of what other parents have done. Many of the parents I know were told at their child's 12 month appointment that they could go ahead and turn the car seat around since that child had hit the minimum requirements by the law for forward facing. Although that it is true, they were not informed about what is safer for their child which is to leave them rear facing for as long as possible. And for most of the 12 months olds I know, keeping them RF was still a possibility. This was also true in my case. DS is still RF and will be at least until the age of 2. Although I can see how it might be more convenient for me to get him in and out of the car if he were facing forward (especially as I get more and more pregnant) the safety of my child is more important than what is easier on me. It helps that he is perfectly content to RF, too, so I have no good reason to turn him around early when he still fits properly in his RF convertible.
To answer your question, she's still rear facing. I would flip her if she had the issue of projectile vomiting or ripped her hair out, etc.
She's such a peanut at this point, though, that I want to keep her rear facing as long as possible. She also actually does better in the car rear facing - I've had to forward face her a couple of times, and she's freaked out.
DS#1 is almost 5. We turned him FF at 12 months.
Since the AAP has recommended keeping them RF longer, DS #2 is still RF. (He's 15 months-23 lbs and 32.5 inches long.) I think the saving grace for us is that we have their seats together and my oldest keeps him occupied so I don't have any of the freaking out/screaming issues. We plan to keep him RFing as long as possible.
I FF DD at 13mos also. I couldn't handle the non stop screaming any longer.
DS is pretty small and is still RFing at 17mos. I plan to keep him that way until he is 2yrs
9/24/2011 Plymouth Firefighters 5k: 47:13
11/12/2011 Diva Dash 5k: 45:45
5/5/2012 STEM school 5k TBD Coming up in 2012:
6/10/2012 Walk to Remember SIDS foundation 5k
(in memory of a sweet baby boy)
11/10/2012 Diva Dash 5k
If you hope to keep him RF until age 2, you probably can! What seat do you have now? There are lots of seats out there that accommodate taller kids. The Sunshine Kids Radian and First Years TrueFit will DEFINITELY accommodate a tall 19 month old. My DD is 4.5 and 43" tall and still fits within the RF guidelines for both seats. DS is 28 months and 37" and still has lots and lot of room in both as well.