rear/forward facing car seat??? so confused!

Lynette - posted on 04/14/2011

unfortunatly in australia to extended rear face you have to import a seat and run the risk of getting a fine if caught since they arent australian approved , but imo its worth it, when we travel to australia to see my parents ive already checked to find erf seats and will import them if nessacary or take ours with us as checked baggage and use them, just caus the law says its ok to FF doesnt make it the safest option

Amy - posted on 01/16/2010

I am also in Australia and you can by law turn them around at 6 months or when they reach 70cm as their shoulders can't be more than 2cm over the 2nd strap hole which is the highest for the rear facing seat, if you have any questions though maybe speak to your community nurse (there is generally one at a local pharmacy depending on where you live) or go to a baby seat fitting centre (yellow pages is good) and ask them.

Kat - posted on 01/15/2010

thanks ladies for your replies :) i am going to dip into my tiny savings :) to purchase a reversible seat up to 12 kilos... i wonder if they come in a larger size restriction than up to 12 kilos in Australia,,,

Venessa - posted on 01/15/2010

up to 1 year of age the carseat should be rear facing.

Rachel - posted on 01/15/2010

Our dr just told us they have to be a year old and at least 20 lbs to be forward facing, if they reach 20 lbs before a year old, it is still safer to be rear facing.

Sheree - posted on 01/14/2010

If it is a converitable you can turn it around to use it as forward facing, but new laws have come in recently (at least in NSW) not sure about the rest of aus that all babies have to be in rear facing seats until they are 6 months, then they can be turned around if you want, if not they can stay rear facing. But if your seat advises they sound be turned at a particular weight i would look further into that. My daughter is almost 7 months and we turned her to forward facing from 6 months

Samantha - posted on 01/14/2010

They usually say that they have to be 1 year old or 20 lbs or which ever happens LAST. In other words. They must be over 1 year old and at least 20 lbs before you can put them front-facing.

Veronica - posted on 01/14/2010

I kept my son rear facing till he was 2 yrs old it is safer As long as his feet areable to be comfortable my son crossed his leg in the last month. He never complained we had a Evenflo - Triumph Advance Convertible Car Seat it is rear facing till 35 lbs. I loved it it was really adjustable and roomy for him.

Jessica - posted on 01/14/2010

The seat I had said 1yr or 20lbs. Then it is up to the parent. I turned my girls around but they always had strong necks. Some child seat consultants suggest waiting until your child weighs 28lbs. The convirtable carseats are wonderful, you can even get some that turn into booster seats when your child reaches that age.

Cassie - posted on 01/14/2010

My daughter is 15 months old as is still rear facing. She will remain rear facing until she is about 21 months old. We will turn her around at that point as a big girl present when her sibling is born in July (we're currently pregnant with our second).

Rear facing is the safest way for a child to ride in a car. If your car were to strike another car, the force of the crash will simply push your child's head into the car seat if rear facing. This causes no harm to the baby. Even if your child's legs are touching the rear seat, there have been no recorded incidents of a child breaking their legs in a crash when rear facing.

On the other hand, there are thousands of reported cases of children being internally decapitated and killed when they were turned forward facing and involved in a crash. I will never understand why so many parents are in such a hurry to turn their children forward facing when it is so dangerous on their tiny bodies. I would suggest that you continue rear facing your child. If you have to, buy a new car seat that will allow him to remain rear facing as long as possible. Our current car seat will allow our daughter to rear face up to 35 pounds (I'm not sure what that is in kilograms).

Mandy - posted on 01/14/2010

I totally agree with you keeping your son rear-facing for as long as possible. but since he is longer than the rear-facing length on the seat, you will have to either make it forward facing, or buy a new seat with higher length restrictions. The reason that they have the length restrictions on them is for safety.... if you were in an accident, and your son is still in the too small car seat, it could break his legs, and he could be severely injured .... this is what I was told from the Health Unit as my daughter was long baby too So we ended up buying a new car seat sooner that we expected. But I think that your sons safety should come first!!

Tiffany - posted on 01/14/2010

You may also want to look at the laws in your area. In the U.S. each state has a different set of car seat laws. Where I live it's 20 pounds and at least 1 year before they can be forward facing. There is a lot of studies that show rear facing till 2 years if possible is best, but like I said it's not required here. If the car seat won't support your baby’s weight in the rear facing position then you may need to buy a new car seat that will.

Amanda - posted on 01/14/2010

It's safest to keep your baby rear facing until at least 1 years old. After that you can switch to a forward facing car seat. You can buy carseats that are both forward and rear facing.

Sarah - posted on 01/14/2010

Hi, I'm not sure were you live, but guessing not in the states because of the kilograms. Anyway, here a child should stay rear facing til one years old or 20lbs. I would wait til your baby's one. you can buy bigger car seats that can go both ways. Meaning, you can put it rear facing until the child is one or 20lbs, then turn it forward facing, you need a convertible car seat. If you go to a baby store they should be able to help you, find just what you need. Also, do you have any programs thru the police, were they show you how to put the car seat in properly? If so they can also help you, is good to know the correct way,too.

Here is a link to the babysrus site that shows you some convertible car seats, that's the kind you'll need--

http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?...

Melissa - posted on 01/14/2010

Until children are a year old they do not have the muscles in their neck to keep them safe if you were to get into a collision while they were front facing. It is recommended that until children reach the age of 1 year they remain in a rear facing child safety seat. It is not about their weight they may be heavy enough to face forward but if their bodies haven’t developed the muscles then they should not be faced forward.