Forward Facing Carseats.....

Elisabeth - posted on 09/25/2010

Here in Norway we are incouraged to keep them facing backwards for several years, up to four years. If you have a car with reclining seats this is usually no problem. My four year old has been forewards for one year, and my nearly 3 year old is still backwards. Tests show that kids up to this age gets substantially bigger damages in an accident. Its not important to turn them around.

Christina - posted on 04/09/2010

In the state of oregon they have to be 1yrs old and over 20lbs both apply they can't be one or the other so thats when I switched my 2 kids.

Alison - posted on 04/09/2010

Usually there are three stages of carseats. The fist is the infant carseat (always rear facing). Once the baby is too big, you need to graduate to stage two, which should be able to face forward or back. The child should face the rear until he has the ability to stand up on his own without help from anyone or anything (i.e. you put him on the floor in the middle of the room and he can stand up on his own).

Once the child is too big for the second car seat, they move to the booster seat.

Hope this helps!

Shanna - posted on 04/09/2010

my carseat goes to 36" and 35 # there are bigger ones too! So my 3 1/2 year old is in a frontface because she is 41" long and my 14 month old is still rearfacing. I am glad that you did your research! COnvertable carseats are the best. My 14 month old we got her one at her !st birthday and it will last until 2018 it goes up to 100lbs and 52"



You just need to ask yourself is your child a minimum or a maximum? Not saying they should be rearfacing forever but look at the videos that did it for me.Outside the US there minimums are different!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_s2mE5ZV...

Ina - posted on 04/09/2010

well, my son was 9 months when he outgrew his infant carseat. he couldn't handle being in the car anymore being reclined and turned around away from us. so we got the 3-1 and b/c my car is tiny we had to face it forward, but tilted it back a bit. now he loves being in the car. he's just over 20 pounds and he'll be 1 in a couple of weeks.

*Fluffy Bunnies - posted on 04/09/2010

We bought a Safety First Complete Air convertible car seat. My daughter is 11 months and I plan on keeping her rear facing until 40 lbs (that is the seat max for rear facing) because it is the safest way.

Jen - posted on 04/09/2010

my son was 10 months till he got his recline car seat if he wants to sleep i can it back its got bumpers each side of his head to protect his head if there was a crash n if he wants to sit up he can. he loves his now 16 months n still loads of room for him. the time to get a new car seat is when the babys head is over the base of the car seat.

Sandra - posted on 04/09/2010

There are several things that could cause your child to go into a forward facing car seat. The child should be at least 20lbs and be able to hold his/her head up on their own. These days you have to check out the specific car seat, a lot of the new car seats are not rear facing and therefore are made to go forward facing for children 20lbs. If you have a car seat that does go rear facing it is recommended that the child stay rear facing until the child is 35lbs or until the child is too tall to fit comfortably in the seat. When looking at a car seat you have to take into consideration that all children are different shapes and sizes at different ages therefore there is not one right answer to the question. The best answer is to find a car seat that you feel comfortable with and see the proper position for your child in that car seat!!!

Peita - posted on 04/09/2010

Australian law is 8kg and 6 months old!!! It is better to stay rearward for longer though!!

Melissa - posted on 04/09/2010

My daughter outgrew her infant carrier at 5.5 months as she is too long and I hated carrying it (she hated being in it) so we bought a 3 in 1 carseat (they have 2 in ones as well, we just needed a small one as I have a smaller car and this one was the only fit) and its rear facing right now. I am not sure where you are from, but the minimum forward facing in Alberta is 1 year and over 20 lbs, however, they recommend waiting until your child is maxing out the weight on the rear facing way before converting it to forward, so depending on the seat this is between 30-40 lbs. I have also heard that when they are walking is a big deal as well, so if you child is 1 year and not walking its a good sign their spine needs more time to develop and you should keep them rear facing.

Karen - posted on 04/09/2010

the law in most places is at least 1 year and (in my area)22lbs...my son outgrew his first seat and i got him a new convertable that rear faces to 35lbs and i intend on keeping him until then

Cassie - posted on 04/09/2010

It is recommended to keep your child rear-facing as long as possible. Up to 2 years is best!!! I would suggest you purchase a convertible car seat that will allow you to rear face up to 35 lbs or more then turn around to forward face after they reach that weight limit.

My daughter is 17 months old and is still rear-facing in her convertible car seat.

Just because a child is tall does not mean that child needs to be forward facing. There is almost no risk of a child breaking a leg in a car accident when rear facing but there is a very good chance that a child will break his neck and suffer internal decapitation if forward facing before the age of 2 when involved in a crash. I would much rather my daughter *possibly* (although very unlikely) injure her legs rear facing than either die or live a paralyzed life because she was forward facing too early!

Shannon - posted on 04/09/2010

Well idk if it helps you but in the states the law is rear facing until 1 yr AND 20 lbs. The Academy of Pediatrics and lots of other sources suggest rear facing until age 2 though because it is the safest option for the child. They do make car seats that are both rear and forward facing. This is what I bought my son after he out grew his carrier at approx 8 months. It was only about $80 and goes up to I think 80 lbs. I rear faced it until a little after his first birthday because he didn't quite reach the 20 lb mark and at that point I hadn't heard about the new suggestions. Hope this helps you out some and good luck!

Louise - posted on 04/09/2010

My daughter went into a forward facing car seat at 8 months as she was to tall for a rear facing one. We used the seat with a head hugger and picked a chair that could tilt backwards to support her back whilst she was still small.

Sarah - posted on 04/09/2010

it was a little after she turned one