How long did you rear face your child's carseat?

[hroyale]

Sorry I don't remember the age/weight. I do know that I turned DS ff before DD even though they are the same age so I was going by size/weight. They were in Brittix and it was well within the guidelines of the manufacturer (5+ years ago) the deciding factor for me with DS was when his legs seemed to be too long for the seat rf. They looked like they would break in a crash bunched up against the back of the seat like that. AND he was a kicker.

Maybe 18 months?

Even for a premie he was tall for his age.

 

[dhardawa]

I'm a car seat tech so this is near and dear to my heart. My daughter is 11 now. I didn't know better and turned her forward facing at 13 months when she hit 20 lbs. When she was three, I learned how much safer rear facing was (saw some crash test footage and realized there was no way her tiny body could withstand that) and immediately turned her back rear facing. She rear faced another six months until she was 3 1/2 and outgrew the seat rear facing by weight (at the time, the highest rear facing limit was 30 lbs). She cried for a month every time we got in the car after I turned her seat back forward facing because she wanted to ride "backwards". She was never uncomfortable and either sat with her legs crossed or propped up on the seat. At 3 1/2, she was VERY vocal and would have told me all about it if she had been uncomfortable in any way.

My son came along 8 years later. He rear faced until he was 2 1/2 and he outgrew his convertible seat rear facing at 35 lbs.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

I haven't read all of the posts, but I know this can be a REALLY hot topic!

ds1 rear-faced until 23 months old. I still have ds2 RF at at 21 months. He will RF until at least age 2.

I seriously wonder when the USA will catch-up with other countries and require rf for a longer period of time. IMO, you can't argue with the statistics that RF is so much safer than FF in many accident scenarios.

Our ped. asked about carseat placement at our 15 month appt, and I told her about our plan to RF until at least age 2, and she literally gave me a high 5.

Oh, my almost 4 year old will stay in a 5 point harness for a long time to come too.

 

[brendawl]

I moved DS to ff when he was 23 months old. We went on a 7 hour drive, and it was easier to entertain him having him face forward.

 

[herdtoDisney]

My children were born over a 10 yr time span and it's interesting to see how things progress. When my now-18 yo was born, typical seats only RF till 18 lbs, so 6 mo or so was typical to FF. I actually found a seat that RF to 20 lbs (it was expensive, but I saved for it and got a good sale. But the doggone thing got recalled a year later and I had to toss it ) and DS was RF till nearly a year-which was longer than usual then. Had a seat been available to RF longer, I would have.

As my other kids came along, the weight limits crept up (with 5 children, I have probably purchased a dozen or more seats in total over the years) and I kept them RF until the stated limit on the seat. My youngest is 7, but the weight limits have increased dramatically since then (she was RF till maybe 15 mo?) and if I have another baby, I'll just keep them RF till the limit.

I will say, I wish there was some sort of standardization of seats, as far as weight and installations. It's so confusing! I have wresteled with many many seats over the years and they are ALL different. I don't have LATCH or tether points in my van so this didn't apply. They just need to make them so it's reasonably simple to install them with a seatbelt, since every car has those.

 

[MommyBell08]

Just wanted to say I really appreciate this discussion. I was unaware of extended RFing and plan to RF my next DS until at least 2. I had also got a booster for DS2 who will be three in a few weeks, but after this thread I will not be needing that for a long time. Although he is 40lbs and 40inches, I will be keeping him in his 5-point harness as long as possible. The car seat with 5-pt I have for him goes up to 100lbs. Thanks for this discussion, I posted a few Youtube videos to my FB about 5-point harness's and their safety, as I have lots of friends with LO's around three. Thanks so much girls!

 

[Ava]

Just wanted to say I really appreciate this discussion. I was unaware of extended RFing and plan to RF my next DS until at least 2. I had also got a booster for DS2 who will be three in a few weeks, but after this thread I will not be needing that for a long time. Although he is 40lbs and 40inches, I will be keeping him in his 5-point harness as long as possible. The car seat with 5-pt I have for him goes up to 100lbs. Thanks for this discussion, I posted a few Youtube videos to my FB about 5-point harness's and their safety, as I have lots of friends with LO's around three. Thanks so much girls!

 

[amylynne01]

Just wanted to say I really appreciate this discussion. I was unaware of extended RFing and plan to RF my next DS until at least 2. I had also got a booster for DS2 who will be three in a few weeks, but after this thread I will not be needing that for a long time. Although he is 40lbs and 40inches, I will be keeping him in his 5-point harness as long as possible. The car seat with 5-pt I have for him goes up to 100lbs. Thanks for this discussion, I posted a few Youtube videos to my FB about 5-point harness's and their safety, as I have lots of friends with LO's around three. Thanks so much girls!

Please re-read your manual since there is currently no seat on the market that harnesses to 100lbs. Some 3-in-1 seats harness to 40 or 50lbs and then booster to 100lbs. to you for choosing to harness - 3 year olds really need to be harnessed because they are not developmentally ready for a booster!

 

[jshuff1]

we did it at 12 months but they say the longer the better

 

[MommyBell08]

Thanks

 

[MommyBell08]

Looking into this booster..

Britax Frontier 85 Combination Seat, Maui Blue

 

[amylynne01]

Looking into this booster..

Britax Frontier 85 Combination Seat, Maui Blue

I just bought this in Pink Sky for my DD who turned 3 last month. It is a great seat! It will allow for her to be harnessed until age 5 or 6 when she is actually ready to sit properly in a booster.

Another option is the Graco Nautilus. It harnesses to 65lbs, which is less than the Frontier, but most kids do not need to be harnessed forever. It is also less expensive at $150ish compared to the Frontier at $225ish. The Nauti is $125 at Target this week and $140 at Amazon regularly. Once every few months, you can find a Frontier for under $200 somewhere.

 

[justhat]

We have the Frontier and my daughter will be 7yo next month and is still harnessed in it. She's pretty tall for her age (about 50") and she still has one more notch left before she outgrows the harness.

My son is currently fine in his Decathalon, but we'll be getting him a Frontier when he outgrows his current seat too.

 

[jedijohn]

I thought you only had to rear-face to leave the hospital...after that you could do whatever.

 

[waltskids]

We also have the Graco Nautilus seat for DS (age 4) and we will be keeping him harnessed for as long as he can. I love that he can be harnessed longer with this seat. Our ped was also very happy that DD is rear facing until at least 2 and DS will be harnessed for a few more years at least. Thanks for all of the great advice everyone!

 

[Queen2PrincessG]

I have a carseat that has a max weight of 35lbs. Right now DD is 20 lbs.

She is SOOO long though and is kicking the seat a little. I'm torn, keep her rear facing or turn her around? Suggestions?

 

[tlbwriter]

I have a carseat that has a max weight of 35lbs. Right now DD is 20 lbs.

She is SOOO long though and is kicking the seat a little. I'm torn, keep her rear facing or turn her around? Suggestions?

I suggest you keep her RF. You don't say how old she is, but if she's under a year old, it's a must. And if she's older, it's added safety. Why is it an issue that she kicks the seat?

 

[Bren's Mom]

I do however have a concern about her legs as she gets taller. Do they just cross their legs? My DH keeps asking how it may be uncomfortable for her and I am wondering that too.

I have always been bothered by this and wondered about why, if you are intended to leave your child reafacing for extended time, are the seats not desigend to accomodate their legs. These seats are not designed for legs to dangle over the sides, or be crossed in front. It compormises the safety of the seat. It is obviously a less than ideal situation. Why is there no accomodation made for it?

I have a carseat that has a max weight of 35lbs. Right now DD is 20 lbs.

She is SOOO long though and is kicking the seat a little. I'm torn, keep her rear facing or turn her around? Suggestions?

There is no problem whatsoever with kids legs touching or kicking the back of the seat. It doesn't matter if they fling them off over the side, doesn't matter if they have to sit cross-legged, doesn't matter if they put them up on the vehicle seat back (although once they're wearing shoes you might want to cover it). What matters is their neck/spine. It is so much more protected when rear-facing.

At some point, kids with long legs in shorter seat based seats can and do get too cramped. (Older Britax seats are one that comes to mind.) But many people are able to easily rear-face their kids until 3-4 years of age before that happens, even in the shortest of seat bases.

Newer seats are coming on the market every day with longer seat bases to give older toddlers/preschoolers more room to rear-face, in addition to manufacturer's giving us higher rear-facing weight limits.

It is not true that these seats with longer bases making it harder to have room in the front. Once a child can hold their own head upright, the seat no longer needs to be at the 45 degree angle required for car seats carrying newborns. An older child can be quite upright in their seat when rear-facing, and take up no more room than a forward-facing seat. That said, though, my feeling is if you (general, you) are able to manage from birth to age 1 with a rear-facing seat taking up space in the back...you can manage to age 2 or 3 also.

Queen2PrincessG, keep your dd rear-facing. She will be much safer that way! There is absolutely no question that between the age of 1 and 2 your dd will be 5 times safer rear-facing than forward-facing.

Coleen
CPST

 

[princessmom29]

There is no problem whatsoever with kids legs touching or kicking the back of the seat. It doesn't matter if they fling them off over the side, doesn't matter if they have to sit cross-legged, doesn't matter if they put them up on the vehicle seat back (although once they're wearing shoes you might want to cover it). What matters is their neck/spine. It is so much more protected when rear-facing.

At some point, kids with long legs in shorter seat based seats can and do get too cramped. (Older Britax seats are one that comes to mind.) But many people are able to easily rear-face their kids until 3-4 years of age before that happens, even in the shortest of seat bases.

Newer seats are coming on the market every day with longer seat bases to give older toddlers/preschoolers more room to rear-face, in addition to manufacturer's giving us higher rear-facing weight limits.

It is not true that these seats with longer bases making it harder to have room in the front. Once a child can hold their own head upright, the seat no longer needs to be at the 45 degree angle required for car seats carrying newborns. An older child can be quite upright in their seat when rear-facing, and take up no more room than a forward-facing seat. That said, though, my feeling is if you (general, you) are able to manage from birth to age 1 with a rear-facing seat taking up space in the back...you can manage to age 2 or 3 also.

Queen2PrincessG, keep your dd rear-facing. She will be much safer that way! There is absolutely no question that between the age of 1 and 2 your dd will be 5 times safer rear-facing than forward-facing.

Coleen
CPST

Do you have any data on that? Everything i ever learned in phisology class says the legs draped over a barrier or crossed are easier to break and dislocate. I would love to see a a study that says different. While I will agree the rear-facing is better overall, I do think that "no porblem whatasoever" is accurate about leg placment. I think it is a tradeoff. The spinei s better proctected, but the legs ARE vunerable. That's why i wish that something could be done to improve rear facing seats in that are. My DD is not tall, and was cramped in her rear facing seat at 18 months.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Do you have any data on that? Everything i ever learned in phisology class says the legs draped over a barrier or crossed are easier to break and dislocate. I would love to see a a study that says different. While I will agree the rear-facing is better overall, I do think that "no porblem whatasoever" is accurate about leg placment. I think it is a tradeoff. The spinei s better proctected, but the legs ARE vunerable. That's why i wish that something could be done to improve rear facing seats in that are. My DD is not tall, and was cramped in her rear facing seat at 18 months.

I don't think you want data, I think you just want to be persnickety.

But to indulge you, even though it's been stated in this thread repeatedly...

There is ample factual data to show that rear-facing after age 1 statistically results in less injury, less critical injury and less death. That's the bottom line. If a child's legs are uninjured but they've suffered an internal decapitation, it doesn't really mean anything. Their neck and spine must be protected, because statistically those injuries are not fixable. Broken legs are. But, again, there is no evidence whatsoever that legs are at greater risk when older chidlren are rear-facing. It's not borne out in any of the facts.