Did anyone do it before age two?
My mom keeps giving me a hard time because she said "back in her day" my LO would be forward facing already and much happier in the car.
When did you switch?
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We're not going any earlier than 2 if we can help it.
And back in the day some of us weren't even in carseats and we were in the FRONT seat on our parents LAP! Pretty sure noone would advise that anymore... lol
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I turned ds at one, and regret it. I'm gonna keep dd rear facing until she asks to turn around.
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@katiew92081: may I ask why you regret it?
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C is almost 1 and still RF, even though the law is 9 months/9kg here in the UK. I plan to keep her until 2 or until she starts protesting, whichever comes first.
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Until 2 is the new recommendation:
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@zippylef: I was reading an article that some countries (like Sweden or something?) Rear face until 4!!! That seems crazy to me.
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The new AAP recommendations are no earlier than 2 years old. We haven't forward faced the carseats yet and he is 1 month from 2 years old. He is a peanut and is only 23 pounds so I still feel he is too little. He has used a friends forward carseat when in their car twice.
Rear facing is safest so he will be rear facing until he can't anymore (probably 40 pounds). I put a 4 year old friend in the rear facing carseat still.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: Nothing happened, I just think I should have been safer with him. I was very naive and did a lot of social norms with him that really aren't recommended for babies (except I did ebf him).
Like I said, nothing bad happened out of it, I just know that I should have been safer and more patient to turn him around.
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My doctor said not to switch 'till 2 years or 40 lbs. My car seat says 4 years or 40 lbs.
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We're probably going to have to turn soon. I didn't want to as he's not 2 yet,, but he has just about reached the RF height limit in his Marathon. Sucks! Anyway, just a PSA that seats have height limits too, because he's definitely not 40 lbs.
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I hope to make it to 40 lbs, but 2 years would be ok if he's uncomfortable and vocal about switching.
But it really bugs me when people question stuff like this. If I say I do it because its safer - it doesn't mean I'm bubble wrapping my son. It means I understand the risk/reward. Ugh my MIL annoys me about this too and DS is 9.5 months and 18lbs!!!
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I'm planning on keeping her rear facing until at least 18 months, but more likely 2+. FIL gives us a hard time about it.
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@Mrsjets: Totally agree! There is a major difference between wrapping our babies in bubble wrap and doing what is safest for them. Trying to prevent a skinned knee if they run on the playground is one thing (bubble wrap); trying to prevent a broken neck by keeping them rear facing in the car seat is a completely different issue.
In Australia, it's only required until 6 months here, but we have a convertible seat and will be keeping DD rear facing as long as we can. She's only 8.5 months now so we still have a while to go yet.
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We turned LO forward facing at a year.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: w is def not ready yet. Tell your mom about the height & weight restrictions which I don't believe W meets either, right?
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: please explain to me how someone can contain a 4 year old in a rear facing seat without a fight, every.single.time? That seems so absurd/unrealistic! Poor Sweden Mommas
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I attended a carseat clinic at our hospital where they showed us a crash test video of both front and rear facing. The rear facing is so so much safer. Based on that we will try to keep her rear facing as long as possible!
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@TurtleDoves: my DD was actually only 33-34 lbs at 3.5 yo and her Britax Marathon had a RF limit of 35 lbs. We didn't ride in cars much though at the time because we lived in NYC. When we did ride in cars, she was still RF and didn't complain because that's all she ever knew. She sat with her legs criss-crossed and was just fine!
@Rainbow Sprinkles: if you go to YouTube and search "rear facing safer" or some other similar search term, you should find plenty of videos that can help you explain to your mom why RF is so much safer. Carseats these days are also being designed to help kids be more comfortable rear-facing at 2, 3, and even 4 yo.
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My 18 month old is just about to finally outgrow her infant seat, and I'm going to buy her a new one in a month or two. I'll forward face it then.
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In CA we're required by law to keep our littles rear facing until 2 at least. (Not that the families of two cops that I know actually pay attention to that, but whatever.) We intend to rear face as long as possible, definitely until 2, hopefully longer or until she outgrows the rear-facing limitations of the Britax marathon. She's ridiculously tall, so we'll see.
Would it be easier and more convenient for us to face her forward? Totally. But it's not as safe, and I'm driving in a high-density place often at higher speeds. In the end, I'm her parent and just because she whines about something doesn't mean I need to give her what she wants. That, and she doesn't know any different! I'm fairly lax about most parenting things, but car seat safety isn't one of them.
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@SAHM0811: That blows my mind. I hope LO is as obedient as that.
I plan to RF as long as he will let me. If not, 2 is our cut off -
LO is 19 months and I just switched her to forward-facing just last week because her legs were getting all squished. She's still rear-facing in my husband's vehicle.
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We turned after 1 year, but before 2. It made driving less dangerous for me, because LO complained a lot less (driving with a screaming mimi in the backseat is also way unsafe, IMO). But I would probably try harder to follow the recommendations next time, now that we're suburbanites.
Positioning the seat is also important, and we at least did that right--LO is in the middle.
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W is sooo petite! She isn't ready for sure. Not even J is at the minimum height/weight to forward face. I think it's 22 lbs.
I'm definitely keeping him rear facing as long as possible.. hopefully until two!
Does W seem unhappy rear facing?
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With my older girls they were under the old recommendations (they are 10-almost 11, and 4). I can't imagine keeing a a baby rear facing until they are 2. but we will give it a try since it does seem to be the safest.
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@Mrs. Pen: Oh I am definitely not considering facing her forward! Just thought I would ask everyone else since my mom was making me feel like I am the only one in the world forward facing at this age. I guess "back in the day" kids faced forward as soon as they outgrew their bucket seat.
She has always been unhappy in the car.
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@Rainbow Sprinkles: ha! Well so has Cobi! I don't think it's an issue of being rear facing as much as not enjoying car rides in general..
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@LittleGBee: hi! Where have you found that rear-facing til 2 yo is CA law? I've seen law regarding children in rear seats (as in, not sitting up in front with the driver), but not a rear-facing carseat law.
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