https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Tue, 28 Apr 2026 12:01:15 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-84827 Thu, 01 Mar 2012 02:33:54 +0000 looch 84827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@venice4504: I think you've got to do what's right for your family, and if that means you research and put your car seat in the front, using all the appropriate means.</p> <p>If I drove a lot, I'd totally have done it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-84138 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:43:43 +0000 venice4504 84138@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Looch- Yes, my car has a button to turn off the airbag. If it was more common here in the US I would totally do it. I honestly think he'd be a lot happier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83940 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:08:57 +0000 mrs. wagon 83940@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>RJ was rear facing til about 15 months. They changed the recommendation right when he turned 1, so we held on for a few more months. He was getting so fussy so we turned him around. That first car ride was magical! He was totally silent and his eyes were like saucers the entire time. </p> <p>He was well over 25 lbs by then. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83939 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:06:59 +0000 looch 83939@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can also "turn off" the passneger airbags in some cars, it's common here (Europe) to have a rear facing infant seat in the front. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83896 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:17:53 +0000 venice4504 83896@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Crumbs...I would LOVE to be able to rear face our kiddo in the front seat. He'd be so much happier! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83873 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:39:20 +0000 SugarplumsMom 83873@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrstilly: Yeh, I was pretty surprised too when my husband mentioned how everyone usually drives around that way here (he's the Swede, I'm American). A lot of people do that even if they have only 1 child in a carseat (and a parent driving alone). But most people with 2 kids usually trade in their car and opt for a station wagon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83848 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:16:58 +0000 mrstilly 83848@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Crumbs: Oh ok! I'd never heard of that before, but it's not really common over here in the US unless you have a pickup truck. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83841 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:11:29 +0000 SugarplumsMom 83841@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrstilly: That's the way they do it here in Sweden, but after they take the airbags out, of course. I think people have them professionally removed here. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83820 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:36:55 +0000 mrstilly 83820@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Crumbs: From what I've read, you shouldn't put a rear facing seat in the front because of the airbags. I know in pick up trucks you can use the car key to turn off the airbag if you need to put a carseat in the vehicle, since there is no backseat, but I didn't think that was possible in other vehicles. Every car I've ever ridden in has warning labels on the sun visor saying to never put a carseat in the front seat. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83811 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:29:32 +0000 SugarplumsMom 83811@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We'd rear face both of them, but with the older child in the front seat. So for instance, I'd sit in the back seat with my infant rear-facing and hubs would be driving with our toddler rear-facing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83790 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:16:29 +0000 venice4504 83790@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In my car he'll probably outgrown the space when he's about 1.5. Which works, since that will be summer and flipping him to FF would be nice so he can get the A/C. He gets so stuffy back there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83751 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 08:44:42 +0000 mamabolt 83751@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We plan to keep our LOs rearfacing until they completely outgrow their seats in that direction. Of course, that's easy to say now having never dealt with a fussy child in the car... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83723 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 06:22:52 +0000 SAHM0811 83723@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We rear-face the 4 year old! I watched a video on YouTube on how RF can protect their necks from flipping back and forth so much and I have never gotten it out of my mind. She'll stay RF for as long as possible... same with DD#2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83710 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:30:08 +0000 Boogs 83710@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>LO really seems like he's over rear-facing so we are going to forward face him when he is 1 and see if he's happier. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83706 Wed, 29 Feb 2012 02:19:17 +0000 looch 83706@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Our son is rear facing in a Swedish Britax, he will stay rear facing until he outgrows the seat. Drivers on europe are a bit less safety oriented, so even for the one time a week G is in the car, he's rear facing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83626 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 20:11:02 +0000 mrstilly 83626@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ds is only 11 months but has started to fuss on the ride on the way home from daycare. He's rear facing now in a convertible seat. I know he'll likely be happier forward facing, but we are going to keep him rear facing until he hits 40 pounds. It just isn't worth it to us if anything happened to him. I'd rather listen to him fuss, sing kids songs loudly, and get toys to attach to the seat for him to play with than take the risk of turning him any earlier than necessary. </p> <p>I am really happy that most seats rear face to 40 pounds and Diono/Sunshine kids make the radian edge that rear faces to 45 pounds. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83591 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:48:24 +0000 chopsuey 83591@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lo is 1 in a month.. Haven't decided if we'll keep her rear facing or not. She used to love being in the car but had started to get fussy.. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83588 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:42:04 +0000 Andrea 83588@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We had to switch at 1. She was having fits already at being rear facing and once we flipped her around she was happy again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83552 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 17:08:25 +0000 banana 83552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>At 18 months, we switched to front facing. Before that he used to fuss in the car. After the switch, no fussing at all! He loves to look out the window to see where we're going. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83368 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:41:34 +0000 Rock n Roll 83368@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We kept her rear facing until she was 2. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83363 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:39:18 +0000 heffalump 83363@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lo will be rear facing until at least 2. We'll see what the recommendations are then to see when we switch her. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83340 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:20:13 +0000 aunt pol 83340@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Just checked and the Swedish law is that they are 55lb in weight when they face forward. It's about the strength of the neck, rib cage etc. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83332 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:12:44 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 83332@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We're going to keep Lala rear facing until she can't fit anymore. She's almost 2 and looks like she'll probably fit rear facing until age 3. The crash dynamics are so much better rear facing, and her sister will be rear-facing too, so I think it'll be ok. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83331 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 11:09:19 +0000 aunt pol 83331@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In Sweden where the child must rear-face until they absolutely don't fit anymore- 4-5yrs old- they call the baby seat, in that position, the Orphan Seat. Because in the event of a serious collision, the rear facing child is the most likely person in the car to survive. I certainly intend to rear-face them as long as humanly possible. We live in the middle of nowhere so our kids will be in the car a lot. You can also get little mirrors for them so you can see them clearly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83322 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:59:24 +0000 pelikila 83322@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The weekend after my son turned 1 we switched his carseat to face forward. He's happier, which makes driving a lot less stressful. I chose to follow the law rather than the recommendation in this instance. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/do-you-rear-face-your-toddlers-car-seat#post-83318 Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:57:03 +0000 Mrs. Bee 83318@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The AAP now recommends children rear face until they're 2. But since Charlie rarely rides a car, it is really hard to rear face him since we can't see him and he gets really antsy. Plus we have two kids in car seats so both kids are in the back in car seats without much room for one of us to sit in between them.</p> <p>So Charlie faces forward and he is much happier when he can see out the window and see where we're going. Perhaps if we drove a car everyday and he were used to sitting in a car seat we'd try to keep him rear facing, but for our occasional car rides he faces forward.</p> <p>Does your 1 year+ toddler face rear or forward? </p>