Rear Facing VS Front Facing

DavidStamps · August 2013

Hi!
Our LO is only 11 months and we are looking into moving up in seats, but we have noticed a lot of people have their LO (9-16 months) is convertible seats facing forward. I thought kids should face the rear for as long as possible? Which way does your LO face?

Our guy hates the car seat and I think he might enjoy it a lot more if he was seeing what we saw and could even see us as we drive. BUT I'm still leery about turning him around....thoughts?

jessican08 · August 2013

Legally they have to be RF until 1 year old. The AAP recommends RF until 2 years old, though, so if you can, I would keep him RF as long as possible!

jcsumm0 · August 2013

He's 5 times safer RF. https://www.beseatsmart.org/stage1/rear-facing-seat.php

https://www.safercar.gov/parents/RightSeat.htm

iwantnoworld · August 2013

We plan on keeping DS RFing for as long as possible. We weren't planning on it when we bought his current car seat, so we're gonna max out it's limitations and then look into one of the car seats that is specifically for ERFing. Just Google rear facing and you'll get a bunch of links that show you that turning your infant can is dangerous.

"A 2007 study published in Injury Prevention, a publication of the British Medical Journal, and funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that the standard advice of turning a baby from rear-facing to forward-facing at one year and at least 20 pounds puts a child at greater risk for severe injury than if they were to remain rear facing. The study states that children up to 23 months old are about 75 percent less likely to die or sustain serious injury in a rear-facing car seat than a forward-facing one."

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/baby-toddler/convertible-car-seats/rear-facing-longer-is-better/convertible-car-seats-rear-facing.htm

sschwege · August 2013

DD is still RFing and she will be 3 in September. I've had a few people comment on how little leg room she has (she's 75th% for her height), I always think, "Better to fix a broken knee than a broken neck" or worse!

shaunnna · August 2013

Nicb13 said:

sschwege said:

DD is still RFing and she will be 3 in September. I've had a few people comment on how little leg room she has (she's 75th% for her height), I always think, "Better to fix a broken knee than a broken neck" or worse!

Friends tell me that the reason they turn their kids around to FF is because "their legs looked cramped". The kids don't seem to mind!

I've always thought that argument was silly. I'm pretty short (5'0") and hate to sit with my feet dangling, which is how kids FFing sit. I am always sitting cross legged or with my legs pulled up to me like one would RFing.

Anyways, AAP recommends RFing until 2, and NHTSA recommends RFing until 4 now.

g8trkim · August 2013

Like people said, you have to RF until at least one but two is recommended. DS was RF until 22 months when he decided to start throwing temper tantrums every car ride. It was so stressful and distracting we turned him around. The height argument doesn't hold up IMO. Kids don't sit with their legs sticking straight out. Even a tall kid can comfortable sit RF cross legged.

cedenton · August 2013

We'll rear face until he hits the weight limit for RF in his seat or until another GOOD reason occurs.

smileybabyboy · August 2013

They say you should rear face your child for as long as possible which can be up to age 4 (sometimes longer). There has been a lot of testing and it shows rear facing is much safer than forward facing. The kids just get used to having their legs crossed and don't mind it. I plan to rear face DS for as long as his car seat allows then I'll turn him when he reaches the height or weight limit.

melody921 · August 2013

We RFed DS until he was past 2. I think it's silly to say a child would prefer to be facing forward. Kids don't know any different if they've always been RF. My advice would be to get a seat that can extended RF so you have the option. AAP now recommends RF until at least 2.

baloneydisc · August 2013

DD is 19mo and still RF. She's tiny so we will probably be RF for awhile. Anyhow, she use to scream constantly in her infant seat and DH was convinced that she was going to scream until we turned her FF, but as soon as we moved to the convertible seat she mostly stopped. She does still cryin the car some times, but it's nowhere near as bad as it use to be.

g8trkim · August 2013

elainelbuck said:

DD is 19mo and still RF. She's tiny so we will probably be RF for awhile. Anyhow, she use to scream constantly in her infant seat and DH was convinced that she was going to scream until we turned her FF, but as soon as we moved to the convertible seat she mostly stopped. She does still cryin the car some times, but it's nowhere near as bad as it use to be.

This was us exactly! We moved her to the convertible at 5 months. She screamed every second in the car until then. It was torture!!!

DavidStamps · August 2013

Thanks! We will definitely move up in seats and see if our LO is more comfortable, but I agree...it's safer for him to stay rear facing.

Kara011889 · August 2013

I went to get my new car seat installed at our local firehouse and the fireman made the comment of, "All these people are saying to rear face as long as you can, but they aren't the ones trying to get these kids out of a car crash. We can get a child out incredibly faster if they are front facing after 1 year"

Not looking to start a debate, I just thought that was an interesting comment.

kjsmith9 · August 2013

Kara011889 said:

I went to get my new car seat installed at our local firehouse and the fireman made the comment of, "All these people are saying to rear face as long as you can, but they aren't the ones trying to get these kids out of a car crash. We can get a child out incredibly faster if they are front facing after 1 year"
Not looking to start a debate, I just thought that was an interesting comment.

That IS interesting coming from someone who is supposed to promote car seat safety in the community! It might take longer to get them out, but at least they're more likely to be alive (and without a spinal cord injury) when they do so...

starsinger17 · August 2013

I have a friend who chose to turn her daughter around because when she'd fall asleep and her head would be at a bad angle. I didn't really agree but to each their own. Then again I have other friends back home who's kids probably never rear faced in a convertible car seat but I really believe most of that is from ignorance about the suggestions of the AAP than anything else. I want to wait until at least 18 months until I turn DS around.

mysticl · August 2013

kjsmith9 said:

Kara011889 said:

I went to get my new car seat installed at our local firehouse and the fireman made the comment of, "All these people are saying to rear face as long as you can, but they aren't the ones trying to get these kids out of a car crash. We can get a child out incredibly faster if they are front facing after 1 year"
Not looking to start a debate, I just thought that was an interesting comment.

That IS interesting coming from someone who is supposed to promote car seat safety in the community! It might take longer to get them out, but at least they're more likely to be alive (and without a spinal cord injury) when they do so...

I've heard from paramedics that they prefer to leave the child in the seat till they get to the hospital at if all possible so they just uninstall the seat and they will cut the LATCH straps or the seatbelt holding the seat in if they need to.

g8trkim · August 2013

Kara011889 said:

I went to get my new car seat installed at our local firehouse and the fireman made the comment of, "All these people are saying to rear face as long as you can, but they aren't the ones trying to get these kids out of a car crash. We can get a child out incredibly faster if they are front facing after 1 year"
Not looking to start a debate, I just thought that was an interesting comment.

Wow, that's pretty shocking. I'm not really sure why it would be more difficult if they're RF. I would think it would depend on the condition of the car. Either way, that's such an ignorant comment.

ASmallWonder · August 2013

Kara011889 said:

I went to get my new car seat installed at our local firehouse and the fireman made the comment of, "All these people are saying to rear face as long as you can, but they aren't the ones trying to get these kids out of a car crash. We can get a child out incredibly faster if they are front facing after 1 year"
Not looking to start a debate, I just thought that was an interesting comment.

This is absurd. You know what else can make it easier to get out in a crash? Not using a seatbelt. But you don't base your safety choices on how hard/easy it is to extricate you after a crash. You base your decision on how well that choice will PROTECT you in that crash in the first place.

plus12012 · August 2013

We plan to keep LO rear facing for at least another 6months (she's going to be 1 in 2 weeks).

blondie42107 · August 2013

DS2 will rear-face until at least 2 years.

kasheton · September 2013

DS will be rear facing until he is at least 2. I would love to keep him rear facing as long as his seat allows (which is quite a while) but I have to convince my husband of that. He would probably turn him around at 1 if I would let him, but I told him that he had to be rear facing until he was at least 2.

minervacullen · September 2013

kjsmith9 said:

Kara011889 said:

I went to get my new car seat installed at our local firehouse and the fireman made the comment of, "All these people are saying to rear face as long as you can, but they aren't the ones trying to get these kids out of a car crash. We can get a child out incredibly faster if they are front facing after 1 year"
Not looking to start a debate, I just thought that was an interesting comment.

That IS interesting coming from someone who is supposed to promote car seat safety in the community! It might take longer to get them out, but at least they're more likely to be alive (and without a spinal cord injury) when they do so...

ALSO, there is a very common misconception that all firefighters, police officers, etc are trained in car seat safety. That is not the case. You should look up a CPST in your area and have them help you and show you how to install your seat. You also have the right to ask to see their certification. If they aren't certified, don't use them.

ETA
If that firefighter was a CPST, he needs to be reported. That's negligence.

Want a personalized experience?

Rear Facing VS Front Facing

Re: Rear Facing VS Front Facing

Choose Another Board

Search Boards