Did you guys see the new rear facing seat law??

MissLauraQ · March 2011

https://health.msn.com/health-topics/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100270772&GT1=31036

Now 2 years old, which does sound safer - yet how pissy do you think a toddler will be rear facing that long

mishquiche · March 2011

Yep, there's a post down below about it.

IdahoGirl · March 2011

Only - it's not law, just a recommendation.

Mike&Care · March 2011

We just switched our toddler at 20 months. I planned to keep her in till 2 - 2.5, but she screamed every time we got in the car, shrill high pitched screams and now she doesn't. I am okay with switching her early. It's crazy that I thought you were supposed to switch at 1 year with my first. Embarrassed

ChubbyCheekiesMom · March 2011

IdahoGirl:
Only - it's not law, just a recommendation.

This. WA state law as of right now is RFing until 1 year and 20 lbs.

We do however have the booster seat law which is age 8 or 4'9".

Seattle_JiLLn · March 2011

Ben was rear facing til nearly 2.5. Cooper is almost 1.5 and rear facing. No one gets pissy. If they've only ever sat that way how would they know it's an option?

IdahoGirl · March 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
Ben was rear facing til nearly 2.5. Cooper is almost 1.5 and rear facing. No one gets pissy. If they've only ever sat that way how would they know it's an option?

I have to disagree slightly. Madelyn was 19 months when Jim switched her. She knew it was an option because she'd ridden in my SILs car (with her car seat) and had seen her cousin forward facing.

She got to the point where she would scream bloody murder if we were in the car longer than 15 minutes. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere. I do not exaggerate. It was to the point that she was such a distraction I was afraid I was going to crash because I couldn't concentrate.

And I really, really didn't want to switch her. It was a last ditch effort to be able to go anyplace more than 15 minutes away.

IdahoGirl · March 2011

Seattle_JiLLn:
Ben was rear facing til nearly 2.5. Cooper is almost 1.5 and rear facing. No one gets pissy. If they've only ever sat that way how would they know it's an option?

I have to disagree slightly. Madelyn was 19 months when Jim switched her. She knew it was an option because she'd ridden in my SILs car (with her car seat) and had seen her cousin forward facing.

She got to the point where she would scream bloody murder if we were in the car longer than 15 minutes. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere. I do not exaggerate. It was to the point that she was such a distraction I was afraid I was going to crash because I couldn't concentrate.

And I really, really didn't want to switch her. It was a last ditch effort to be able to go anyplace more than 15 minutes away.

IdahoGirl · March 2011

Ugh - I hate it when it double posts.

Mrs.Kiltlifter · March 2011

ChubbyCheekiesMom:
IdahoGirl:
Only - it's not law, just a recommendation.
This. WA state law as of right now is RFing until 1 year and 20 lbs.
We do however have the booster seat law which is age 8 or 4'9".

And actually WA Law is only that the child must be in a restraint system until 4'9" there is no provision for rear facing. See RCW 46.61.689

coribecca · March 2011

IdahoGirl:

She got to the point where she would scream bloody murder if we were in the car longer than 15 minutes. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere. I do not exaggerate. It was to the point that she was such a distraction I was afraid I was going to crash because I couldn't concentrate.

And I really, really didn't want to switch her. It was a last ditch effort to be able to go anyplace more than 15 minutes away.

This was the same for us. Once it was so bad that I actually swerved over to the side of the road and made an emergency stop because Evie was screaming so loud I thought there must be something seriously wrong with her. She was fine, just pissed off. I turned the car seat around that night and it was never an issue again. She was rear facing until 22 months. I had planned to keep her rear-facing longer, but having her scream like that was a safety issue in itself.

When G started wailing, we flipped him around, too. He was 18 months. I'd hoped to keep him RF longer, but it was not to be.

If they had been tolerant of RF longer, I definitely would have kept them that way. However, distraction is a factor in most car accidents. I didn't want to take the risk of causing an accident by keeping my kids RF.

Maddimom · March 2011

M has been forward facing since 1 year. She screams bloody murder and kicks non stop if she is rear facing. I rather have her sitting forward them hurting herself kicking and screaming facing the rear

She must have known how much fun sitting forward is because I let her sit in the font seat sometimes. KIDDDDING!!

m&m823 · March 2011

I tried to hold out until age 2 also, but it was a couple/few months shy of 2 when I flipped DS. We too had the screaming and such. My concern is with kid #2, when he gets big enough to notice his big brother is facing forward.... I'll do it as long as I can with DS#2, but if he's half the screamer my first son was, it's too dangerous and causes too much of a distraction while driving. I can only control how safe my driving is, not how safe other peoples' driving is. If it causes a significant distraction (think: kid in major distress in the back, you can't see him/her, something might be wrong, older kid is now screaming because younger kid is screaming, etc) then I might begin to weigh the pros/cons of turning the seat around before 2. I won't know til the time comes. There are a lot of recommendations out there that are very cautionary (and some are, frankly, alarmist) - you just got to take it all with a grain of salt and do what's best for your family.

I also think that my son could've broken the world record for high pitched screeching/screaming as a baby. I swear I have hearing loss. Love him, but DANG he screamed something horrible.

IdahoGirl · March 2011

coribecca:
IdahoGirl:

She got to the point where she would scream bloody murder if we were in the car longer than 15 minutes. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere. I do not exaggerate. It was to the point that she was such a distraction I was afraid I was going to crash because I couldn't concentrate.

And I really, really didn't want to switch her. It was a last ditch effort to be able to go anyplace more than 15 minutes away.

This was the same for us. Once it was so bad that I actually swerved over to the side of the road and made an emergency stop because Evie was screaming so loud I thought there must be something seriously wrong with her. She was fine, just pissed off. I turned the car seat around that night and it was never an issue again. She was rear facing until 22 months. I had planned to keep her rear-facing longer, but having her scream like that was a safety issue in itself.

When G started wailing, we flipped him around, too. He was 18 months. I'd hoped to keep him RF longer, but it was not to be.

If they had been tolerant of RF longer, I definitely would have kept them that way. However, distraction is a factor in most car accidents. I didn't want to take the risk of causing an accident by keeping my kids RF.

Until you posted this - I'd forgotten that on the trip we'd taken in which we switched Madelyn, she (in a total meltdown) figured out how to get her arms out of the harness and I was honestly afraid she'd dislocate her own shoulders trying. She hasn't done that once since then.

MrsEditorJax · March 2011

IdahoGirl:

She got to the point where she would scream bloody murder if we were in the car longer than 15 minutes. It was nearly impossible to go anywhere. I do not exaggerate. It was to the point that she was such a distraction I was afraid I was going to crash because I couldn't concentrate.

And I really, really didn't want to switch her. It was a last ditch effort to be able to go anyplace more than 15 minutes away.

THIS. We flipped Collin at 16 months because he would scream bloody murder to the point where it was distracting me while driving. He once flipped out while I was on I-5 coming home from Seattle to the point that I had to get off the freeway to see if he was being murdered in the backseat. Nope, just mad.

We turned him FF the morning we left for Pullman (i.e. 5-hour road trip) and he was much happier to be able to see us -- I can't help but wonder if he was getting motion sick since DH has some issues. He's never drama now in the car.

Because he is two months shy of two, I am not going to turn him again and deal with the drama. Besides, he's about the size of a 2.5-year-old at this point and I think it would make him physically uncomfortable since his legs are so long.

pinktulips · March 2011

I am happy that Ella is not a screamer. She is just fine rear facing, and doesn't really seem to notice the difference. We have even shared a car with friends whose little one is forward facing and Ella didn't seem to care. She also loves her car seat though... on our last trip to Seattle we borrowed a car seat, when we came home she yelled with delight "MY CAR SEAT!" when we got to the car.

I wish that they would be better at pointing out that the LATCH system has a weight limit as well.

Seattle_JiLLn · March 2011

Cooper screamed for what seemed like most of his first year in the car. It was awful. So I feel for you guys with screamers. Luckily Ben didn't join in. And now Cooper is fine in the car - phew.

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Did you guys see the new rear facing seat law??

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