Ready for front-facing carseat?

iris2717 · February 2013

My LO is turning 1 in a couple of weeks. Im thinking that I will turn his carseat around then. I know that its 'recommended' to wait until 2yrs old and I wanted to see how many out there actually wait that long...

Are you all waiting for the 2yr mark?

meglette417 · February 2013

I would love to say we will but I doubt it, DS hates the car seat for long rides so if forward facing helps then I would do it. I asked our pedi and she said that is hard to do, but she said they have to be at least one AND 20lbs so we will definitely wait till one and see how much longer.

wedsept · February 2013

With my first LO, we turned her in January. (She will be 3 in early April.) With my second LO, we will try to go longer.

nah82 · February 2013

I waited 2 years with my oldest son and will with my now 10 month old, also. I think it is state law here in PA now. We bought a seat that could rear face up to 40 lbs. when he grew out of the infant seat. It didn't bother him a bit and it's safer.

acaudill75 · February 2013

::ducks for cover::

Sparks in training! · February 2013

OHHH...we just watched a documentary on reasons to wait! Here is a link to a similar video as to what we watched. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8mFsXNXOLw

I actually was super excited to switch him...until our pediatricain mentioned this. I live in South Fl and literally almost get rear ended, side swiped daily by all the terrible drivers.

oliversmommy32912 · February 2013

We will be waiting until he outgrows the minimum weight and height requirements for rear facing in his car seat.

I think as a parent you make decisions that you think are best for your child and if that means forward facing at a year then you have a right as a parent to make that choice. As long as you are following the law you will receive no judgement from me. However, before making that decision, look up a video of a crash test dummy in an accident forward facing vs rear facing and look into the reasons behind choosing to ERF. If you're going to make a decision then it is best to make one when you have all of the information at hand.

KatFCo · February 2013

If it's at all possible, we're going to wait. DS is really long, so I hope we don't have to turn him around sooner. My thought is, it doesn't hurt anything to keep him rear-facing, but it could really hurt him if we were in an accident and he was forward facing too soon.

mnnice · February 2013

acaudill75:

::ducks for cover::

haha!!

no we will be waiting until closer to 2 years

Zimger · February 2013

yes...at least.

It's the law in some states...

Aurora_Borealis · February 2013

We are absolutely RF-ing as long as possible. Our seat RFs to 40 lbs, so as long as DD fits, she will RF beyond 2 years. She's happy riding in her seat, so I see no reason to switch.

acaudill75 · February 2013

kbruington:
acaudill75:

::ducks for cover::

Lol, no kidding!

Right!! Today, I might put DD2 in the back of the van if she doesn't stop complaining!

JENandJEH · February 2013

Absolutely waiting until minimum of 2 but most likely until he outgrows the rear-facing limits on his car seat. I have done the research and seen the videos and fully believe that rear facing is safer. We travel quite a bit and I want to make sure that he is as safe as possible while in the car.

Kristinmo · February 2013

We turned DS 1 week shy of his 2nd birthday. We will wait at least that long with DD.

Zimger · February 2013

Is it just me or did half of this conversation vanish?

ETA: Nevermind wrong thread. Ha. It's been a long day.

Nel11 · February 2013

oliversmommy32912:
We will be waiting until he outgrows the minimum weight and height requirements for rear facing in his car seat. I think as a parent you make decisions that you think are best for your child and if that means forward facing at a year then you have a right as a parent to make that choice. As long as you are following the law you will receive no judgement from me. However, before making that decision, look up a video of a crash test dummy in an accident forward facing vs rear facing and look into the reasons behind choosing to ERF. If you're going to make a decision then it is best to make onewhen you have all of the information at hand.

This, especially the bolded.

Cheerio B · February 2013

DS will rear face until at least 2. Longer if his seat allows.

DD rear faced until 2.5 and I only turned her because I was due with DS and couldn't fit two rear facing seats in my car.

I agree with the poster who said to at least understand the reasoning behind extended rear facing.

MollySm · February 2013

We're in no rush to forward face. Rear facing is safer, so that's what we'll do. We'll make the decision to turn much later on.

sunnyday016 · February 2013

No, I will absolutely not be switching him FF any time soon. He will be at least 3 years old before I would consider FF for any reason. The spine and bone structure are not ready before then.

mben1119 · February 2013

DS is still RFing, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

ds1247 · February 2013

Wow, around here 1 is the "recommended" turn-around age. Our pedi even said that we would be ready at 1, since LO was at 20 lbs. I really haven't heard much different until this post. Very eye opening.....and I'm kinda embarassed for not knowing any different. I will be looking into our seat limits and riding that limit to the max now.

ABeautifulMind · February 2013

Aurora_Borealis:
We are absolutely RF-ing as long as possible. Our seat RFs to 40 lbs, so as long as DD fits, she will RF beyond 2 years. She's happy riding in her seat, so I see no reason to switch.

This 100%.

huskymomma94 · February 2013

Kimbus22:

My kid will stay RFing until he outgrows the limits on his seat. Hopefully he'll be way past 2 at that point.

FFing is just dangerous with kids this small. One accident and their necks snap. Not worth the risk.

This. I really think everyone should watch the video of the test dummies RFing vs FFing.

jmgcoggins · February 2013

DS was 18 months when we turned him around. He was also at the height and weight limit for his carseat to be RF. DD we will turn when she hits the weight and/or height limit. She doesn't know any better, so it's not that big of a deal to keep her RFing on top of the benefits.

shannm · February 2013

namcgee:
I waited 2 years with my oldest son and will with my now 10 month old, also. I think it is state law here in PA now. We bought a seat that could rear face up to 40 lbs. when he grew out of the infant seat. It didn't bother him a bit and it's safer.

No the law in PA is 20lbs and one year. We will be following the AAP's recommendation till 2 years.

nah82 · February 2013

shannm:
namcgee:
I waited 2 years with my oldest son and will with my now 10 month old, also. I think it is state law here in PA now. We bought a seat that could rear face up to 40 lbs. when he grew out of the infant seat. It didn't bother him a bit and it's safer.
No the law in PA is 20lbs and one year. We will be following the AAP's recommendation till 2 years.

I really thought they had changed it about 2 years ago, must've just been when the recommended guidelines changed. We do 2 years, anyway, whether it's the law or not.

joleine · February 2013

I will turn her when she hits 40 lbs as that is the RF max weight for her seat

SuperCuteBenz · February 2013

My son is 2.5 and we are still rear-facing. My goal is 3, but the longer the better. My daughter is 5, and she was rear-facing from birth til 2, and then from 2.5 til just after she turned 3. She hated forward facing and asked several times to rear-face again, because she said she had no where to put her legs. So, as much as some people think that it is torturous to kids, there are kids that actually prefer it.

The benefits of rear-facing far out weigh any benefit of forward facing. Have you ever been in a car accident and had whip lash? Think of that and then think about being 1. I often see/hear people saying that they turned their one year old because they were super tall and as big as a two year old. It doesn't matter, a huge one year old still has the spine of a one year old. Unless, they have specifically outgrown the limits of their seat, then they really should be rear-facing til as close to 3 or 4 as possible.

https://carseatblog.com/5168/why-rear-facing-is-better-your-rf-link-guide/

addam&tara · February 2013

My seat says FF at 20 lbs. I turned mine around once she hit that. My state also doesnt have the 2 year rule. She barely fit RFing at that point. Her poor little legs had no room.

SuperCuteBenz · February 2013

addam&tara:
My seat says FF at 20 lbs. I turned mine around once she hit that. My state also doesnt have the 2 year rule. She barely fit RFing at that point. Her poor little legs had no room.

There is NO manufacturer that says to turn before 1 year AND 20lbs. They have to meet both of those requirements. You are definitely misunderstanding the wording of your seat, and that is dangerous for your child. The 2 year recommendation isn't law. However, if 1 AND 20 isn't law in your state, then you probably have a proper use clause. I understand that not everyone is into extended rear-facing but turning your kid before one.... is just plain stupid.

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