Carseats

Tara - posted on 02/10/2010

If your in a crash and your baby is forward facing, they can internally decapitate. Which means they'd look fine but they would be dead. It is 500 times safer to have your baby rear facing until at least 1 year and 20lbs. Search Youtube for crash test studies, or memorials to children who have died due to being turned around too early. It's very grim! In Canada and the US they are currently trying to revise the law so that babies are kept rear-facing for even longer, up to 2 years and 30lbs. If you think your babies feet or legs are getting squished, they aren't and I would certainly take a broken leg, over a broken neck, any day! Did you know that if your in a crash and your infant is not buckled in correctly you could be brought on criminal charges? I am constantly amazed at how upset people get when they are told to keep their babies rear-facing. We protect our kids from everything we can, but when it comes to keeping them as safe as we can in one of the most dangerous situations, people feel righteous in saying they'll forward face their 6 month old to save their feet. Go ahead and do what you will, I hope none of you are ever faced with the worst, because now you know your wrong and if your baby dies, you'll have to live with that, forever.

Lauren - posted on 02/10/2010

I used to work as a flight attendant...irrelevant you might be thinking, but during my month of training we learned about plane crashes. During this time we talked about how many mothers board an aircraft and think that it is safer to buckle their "lap infant" into the seatbelt with them, then to just have them on their laps (Fact: if you buckle your baby into the seatbelt with you and the plane has to come to an immediate stop on the runway your body weight would be slammed into your child forcing your baby into the seatbelt and to put it bluntly, squishing your babies internal organs......you still might be thinking this is irrelevant....we ALSO learned that the "brace position" where you put your head between your knees in preparation for a crash is also designed to injure you....it is designed to break your neck and kill you (happy thoughts I am full of...) It is designed to do this because it is cheaper to pay off a wrongful death lawsuit than to pay residual medical bills..............................................................................................................................................................now let me get to my point: When you are facing forward and you get in a head on collision your car STOPS and your body continues to move at the rate the car was moving.....so NOW....picture your babies noggin and its motion in a head on collision. If the seat is forward facing and the car stops, your babies head flings forward at he neck joint....if the seat is REAR facing your babies body is pushed into its seat......


long story short. Babies SHOULD BE kept rear facing for as long as possible...hope that helps!!!

Emily - posted on 02/04/2010

Feet touching the back of the seat while rear-facing is NOT an indication that it's time to switch to forward-facing. It is not dangerous or uncomfortable for a child to have their feet touching the seat. Far more dangerous for a young baby to suffer a head or spinal injury in a car accident because they were forward-facing.

Emily - posted on 02/04/2010

NO SIX-MONTH OLD SHOULD BE FORWARD-FACING!!!!!!!!



Most state laws state that babies should be rear-facing until at LEAST one year AND 20 pounds (not OR), but now the AAP is recommending 2 years. It is just not safe for our little ones to be forward-facing. You can move to a convertible seat, but please please please make it rear-facing. Sorry, not trying to yell, I'm just very concerned about the safety of our babies (not to mention the fact you are probably breaking a law if you are forward-facing).



http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/rear...

Jacquelyn - posted on 02/25/2010

Also, you can get a regular carseat that can be used rear facing... I had to upgrade from an infant carrier because my daughter was uncomfortable and very fussy.

Jacquelyn - posted on 02/25/2010

The minimum law requirements vary from state to state, I believe in most the child must be at least 1 year AND 20lbs. It is recommended to keep them rear facing as long as they haven't reached the weight limit of the carseat, which is usually 35lbs.

Jennifer - posted on 02/25/2010

by law no child should be forward facing before 1 year old! You can get a bigger car seat,but it must be rear facing until child is one

Heather - posted on 02/25/2010

you could put her in a convertible carseat if she is over 26 inches long.....she has to be rear facing until she is 1 yr old. i think the rule of thumb is their head has to be an inch below the top of the infant seat and their feet can't hang over either. i have a convertible seat for my girl that i'm goint to put her in soon. her feet hang over a little in the infant seat. i would definitely wait until she is 1 before having her face forward, just for safety reasons. they are better protected at this age if they are rear facing.

Holly - posted on 02/24/2010

Children should be in a rear facing car seat until they are the age of 1. My child isn't in the infant carrier anymore but she is in the covertible car seat facing the rear. She will be 6 months in a couple days and is 28" or more and over 18 lbs and still faces the rear. If you get in an accident a babies neck muscles aren't that strong yet so rear is the way to go for another 6 months.

Gina - posted on 02/24/2010

Legally, it varies slightly from state to state. I live in Georgia and the rule is 1 year or 20 lbs., whichever comes later.

Kelly - posted on 02/24/2010

Children MUST be in a rear-facing car seat until at LEAST one year AND 20 pounds. Ideally, the child should remain rear-facing for as long as you or she/he can stand it, because it is most safe when they are young. If you are using an infant carrier seat, your best bet is to switch to a convertible seat now, which you can install rear facing. If you can afford it, go with the Britax (Marathon is good) or Sunshine Kids (Radian is good) models. They are very safe, easy to use, and last a long time (up to 65 pounds, typically, instead of 40). Otherwise, there are plenty of very good convertible seats to choose from out there.
~Kelly (Mommy to 3)
P.S. Here's a website w/ government regulations and explaining some of this:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/site/nht...

Melissa - posted on 02/23/2010

In Canada our laws say no child can be forward facing until they are 1 year of age. When they are younger they do not have the same kind of control over their bodies so if need be get a convertable car seat that takes them up to a toddler size and have it rear facing!

Celina - posted on 02/15/2010

you arent suppose to until your baby is a year old and there is also a wieght requirement but i dont remember.

[deleted account]

Any baby can go into a regular carseat. Infant carseats ( with carry handle ) start at 5 lbs and go to 22-28 pounds depending the brand you buy. There are regular carseats ( that remain in your car ) that also made for 5 lbs and up some as high as 100 pounds. The only rule is that your child must be 1 years old, over 22 pounds and 27 inches long in order to face forward.

[deleted account]

In canada it is !

[deleted account]

Where in Canada are you ? We have to have ours rear facing till age 1, over 22 pounds and 27 inches.

[deleted account]

Anyone that faces the child forward in a carseat before the child meets all requirements : 1 years old, over 22 pounds and 27 inches. If you cant meet all requirements DONT face your child forward....if you choose to then it must be for your own convienience NOT the safety of your child. Those people shouldnt have children. I would pull over and fine anyone I seen with a child in a vehicle seated incorrectly

Tanya - posted on 02/10/2010

"they" say you should keep the baby rear-facing as long as possible, at minimum until they are 1 year old and 20lbs or more. Most regular (by regular I think you're asking about convertible seats?) car seats now have a rear-facing weight limit, some up to 35 pounds. Then you can turn them forward-facing when your child gets within one inch of the top of the shield or weighs more than the rear-facing limit for that seat, but not before their first birthday.

Angie - posted on 02/10/2010

Oh my gosh, I had this same question because my son is 15 pounds and 27 inches. I knew he was approaching the limit of his infant seat, but I also knew the law of 1 year and 20 pounds, with a recommendation of longer by experts. I was just wanting to get advice on convertible car seats so I could still have my baby rear-facing. I am appalled at some mom's lack of concern for their babies!!! There are so many car accidents on a daily basis. Is it really worth risking your baby's safety or their LIFE? I definitely am not excited to shell out more money on a convertible car seat when I already spent a bunch on an infant one, but it's something that cannot and should not be avoided!!

Emily, thanks for all your information and links. You definitely answered all my questions.

Sarah - posted on 02/10/2010

Babies should for sure stay rear facing until 12 AND 20lbs. My 6 mos old is 27" and 21 lbs but will face back until 12 mos! My eldest boy was just as big and did fine in a convertable front to back car seat. If their feet touch the seat that's fine, it's for NECK saftey they face backwards, not leg comfort. My sister kept her 3 girls facing back for 2 yrs, they would just cross their legs. So move on up to a bigger seat just make sure it faces back to keep that little neck safe in a wreck! :)

Corinne - posted on 02/10/2010

My little guy is 6 month old today. He's 28 in long and 20 lbs. He's in a big car seat, but rear-facing. I'm in Canada and here's what my provincial law states "The law requires using a rear-facing car seat until the baby is at least 9 kilograms (20 lb.)

The law is a minimum requirement. It’s best to keep your child rear-facing until they are at least one year old or until they have reached either the maximum height or weight limits of the rear-facing seat.

Birth to 9 kg (20 lb.)
Rear-facing seat
Use away from an active airbag"

Donna - posted on 02/09/2010

As a mother of 4 kids and living in nova scotia the baby has to be 22 pound and at least 1 year of age no younger if your baby is getting to big for hte infant carseat there are biging carseats for babys that can got rearfacing but they have to be over a year and 22 pounds or over
if they are a year old and still not 22 pounds they have to stay rear facing until they reach 22 pounds.

Hailey - posted on 02/09/2010

Florida law (if youer in fla) is at least 20 lbs AND 1 year old.

[deleted account]

Generally accepted (and is the law in most states) that a child remain in a rear facing child seat until the child is at least 1 year of age and at least 20 pounds. The American Academy of Pediatrics however changed their recommendation last fall (after our babies were born) to remaining rear facing until 2 years of age and weighing at least 35 pounds.

There are car seats that are designed to remain rear facing through this stage and then become forward facing when your little one outgrows his infant car seat. I figured financially that I would just buy a convertible car seat that started as a rear facing infant seat through a belt positioning booster.

As far as I'm concerned, if you don't put the car seat forward facing the baby won't know the difference.

Emily - posted on 02/08/2010

Just wanted to add, since we're discussing carseat safety. Make sure when you buckle the top buckle, you slide it up to armpit/nipple height. If it it too low, like down by their belly-button, it will not adequately support the top part of their body if they were in a crash. Also make sure the straps are nice and snug. Car seat straps don't retract like adult straps do, so we have to make sure they are always snug.

Julie - posted on 02/08/2010

Your daughter is getting too big for her infant seat, not many babies fit in an infant seat for a year. You should get a convertible carseat that can be rear facing or forward facing. I know the laws vary by state and country but here in California your baby must be rear facing until a year and 20 pounds, and many recommend longer.

Teresa - posted on 02/08/2010

My son is 6 months and weighs 20 1/2 pounds. I just recently switched him from the infant car seat to the bigger forward facing one. BUT my seat can be set up forward facing and rear facing. Maybe you can meet in the middle like me. He is in the bigger seat but still facing the rear. Maybe when he reaches 9 months or if you decide to wait till 1 year, you can just set the chair forward facing when you know your baby is bigger and stronger.

Nicola - posted on 02/08/2010

hi there, children have to be 9 months old at least, i no she may be getttin to big for her rear facing car seat but my friend has done courses on carseats etc for her job in halfords and some people have put there children in a front facing car seats at an early age, have had a crash and the childs neck was broken and the child was paralized due to the childs neck being so fragile and the spinal cord being damaged, some children have even died, i would wait as long as possible until you put her in a front facing car seat, hope this helps

Cassandra - posted on 02/08/2010

also it is not against the law to have a child 9 month in a forward facing carseat

Cassandra - posted on 02/08/2010

depending on the car seat you can actually have 6 months old in forward facing but i would not recomend this until there 9 months as this is what it tells you on some car seat instructions hope this helps

Sheryl - posted on 02/07/2010

they have to be a year old and meet either the weight or the height it says it on the carseat. its aganist the law for them to be forward faceing if there under a year

Kenya - posted on 02/07/2010

They are supposed to be 12 months old or weigh more than 22 pounds before you can put them in a regular car seat. If she outgrows the car seat before she turns a year, they have rear-facing convertible seats. I think they want them rear-facing for safety reasons for the first year.

Angie - posted on 02/07/2010

YOUR ARE SUPPOSE TO WAIT TILL YOUR BABY IS ONE YEAR OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF YOU HAVE AN ACCIDENT OR EVEN HAVE TO COME TO A QUICK STOP,, YOUR BABYS NECK ISNT STRONG ENOUGH AND CAN GET WHIP LASH

Billyjean - posted on 02/07/2010

well my son is 6months and he is in a forward facing car seat but he also weight 221/2 pounds and he does just fine in it.

[deleted account]

You can move her into any carseat rear facing thats made for 5lbs and up. All children must remain rear facing till the age on 1. I think it should personally be based on size cause my son is 5.5 months old and is almost 28 inches long and weighs just under 19 pounds.

Emily - posted on 02/06/2010

outrageous? haha.. you can do whatever you want. I am merely providing information. you can do with it what you want. sheesh.

Alicia - posted on 02/06/2010

alright so when u have my babys for me, you can choose how im gonna do things. it is completely outrageous the way you are too much involved in what i should be doing.

Emily - posted on 02/06/2010

Meagan: The only reason I "yelled" is because this is one of those issues where children's lives are at stake and it appears so many people are misinformed. And I did provide more than one link with more information. Also, laws are way behind the current recommendations (that are research-based). So just because everyone's laws are different doesn't mean you have to do only the minimum of what your law requires. If my law stated we could forward-face at 6 months, I would still be keeping my baby rear facing until at least 2 years.

Karen - posted on 02/06/2010

Sarah, our pediatrician told me that we could start looking at convertible car seats (our daughter is 5 & 1/2 months old). A good friend of mine is a car seat tech and she told me that the "higher ups" in the car seat world are recommending that children stay rear-facing until they are two years old. She said it doesn't matter that their feet are up against the back seat. Thats what I know! Hope that helps.

Kimberley - posted on 02/05/2010

Read the manual of your current car seat. The current one tells you what the limit is for weight and length. Keep her there int hat seat until you have to buy the new one. Each seat is different. However with most, I think you have about 5 or more pounds to go.

[deleted account]

Emily, Our carseat laws have just been revised and still remain that from 6 months can be changed as follows:



Babies aged 0 to six months must be secured in an approved rearward facing baby capsule or infant restraint that is properly fastened and adjusted.



Babies and children aged between six months and four years of age must be secured in either an approved rearward facing child restraint or an approved forward facing child restraint with built-in harness that is properly fastened and ajdusted. It is recommended that a baby remain in an approved infant restraint for as long as possible.



Children who have reached four years of age must be secured in an approved booster seat with a H-harness or a booster seat with a secured adult seatbelt that is properly fastened and adjusted. The child must be secured in this manner up until they turn seven years of age.



The rules recognise that some children may be too large or too small for a specific type of child restraint.



If your child is too small to move into the next level of restraint, you should keep your child in the lower level restraint for as long as possible (for example, a child who has turned four but is too small for a booster seat should remain in a forward facing child restraint with a built-in harness).

If your child is too large to fit into a child restraint specified for your child's age, your child may move into the next level of restraint. A child is too tall for a booster seat when the level of the child’s eyes is above the level of the back of the booster seat.



So we just follow our laws as do all of you, we can only do what our laws and requirements allow us to. Obviously they believe that we can change our seats around to face forward at that age as again all CARSEATS are also different. Your car seats might have different shells to our that will allow up to 30 pound in the rear facing position but our convertable seats are only up to 17 pounds (8kg) in the rear facing position and up to 30 pounds (14kg) forward facing.



Again this is just my opinion as is everyone's comments are on this thread, so instead of "yelling" as this poor mother, offer her the correct government pages for information or places that she can visit to receive the right information.

Hannah - posted on 02/05/2010

The longer you can keep a baby in rearward facing, the safer for him/her.

Sarah - posted on 02/05/2010

in pennsylvania which is the us the law is one years old! i would never put a 6 month in a forward facing car seat that is endangerin the life of ur child..just my opinion

Becca - posted on 02/05/2010

Where I come from the guidelines state that the baby must have all of the above to be forward facing:
-20lbs
-1-year-old or more
-able to pull to a stand on their own
- and is too big for the rear facing seat (if they still physically fit rear-facing it is apparently the safer position regardless of weight or age)

Sarah - posted on 02/05/2010

Hi most car seats say from 20lb or 9 month. wow your daughter is small, my son is 5 month and is 17lb 12oz lol but he is a big baby ol

Emily - posted on 02/05/2010

There are also 2 car seat safety boards on this site.

This is a very helpful post:

http://apps.facebook.com/circleofmoms/e_...

Emily - posted on 02/05/2010

Yes of course, all laws are different, but yes in the United States most if not all states have laws that a baby must be at LEAST a year old before forward-facing. And many other countries are now following suit and adjusting their car seat laws as well. Alicia, check the laws in your state. If you feel like risking the law and your baby's safety, by all means forward-face at 6 months. But keep in mind not all car seats work in all cars. If your car seat won't rear-face in your SUV, maybe you should return it and find a carseat that WILL work with your car and will be safe for your baby.



Quote from www.usa.safekids.org:

Q. When can I turn my infant forward facing?



The American Academy of Pediatrics has recently revised their recommendations to say that children should ride in rear-facing child safety seats as long as possible. They also maintain that children should be a MINIMUM of 12 months old AND weigh at least 20 pounds before they face the front of the vehicle. Until that time, their bones and ligaments are not developed enough to withstand forward-facing crash forces. The rear-facing position reduces the risk of spinal cord injury in a frontal collision, since the safety seat's shell supports the neck and spreads crash forces across the entire back. Most infant-only seats have a limit of 20 or 22 pounds, but most current convertible safety seats have rear-facing limits of 30 pounds or more. These seats provide better protection for children, even beyond their first birthdays.

[deleted account]

My daughter is 6 months and is forward facing as she fits Australian requirements. Our requirements state to turn a child forward facing when that child hits 6 months or 8kg. Obviously some of the mums that have responded to this thread aren't from Australia so everyone just needs to understand that all laws are different and just follow the requirements made by the car seat manufacturer or see the ambulance service, as I found they were fantastic in when to determine to turn the car seat around.

Alicia - posted on 02/04/2010

ok so my carseat is saying 20 pounds or 29 inches. my daughter is 28 inches, and im sure she will hit 29 inches by the time she is 6 months old. our other carseat also goes both ways, but does not fit in my SUV backwards. so with that being a problem my daughter will be 6 months old and in a forward facing carseat.

Cassie - posted on 02/04/2010

you change there car seat when there feet start touching the back of your car seat. or when there 20lbs. NEVER put a 6 month old in a front facing car seat. that is so dangerous!! were i live if they are under 20lbs and there feet are not touching the back of your car seat they have to be in a rear facing car seat. and let me tell ya everytime you get pulled over and if you have a baby in the car thats the first thing they check out is the baby.. if you put your 6 month old in a forward facing car seat. you could be breaking the law! and not to mention if you was to get into a wreck it could cause serious damage! keep your baby in a rear facing car seat no need to rush into things..

Kristine - posted on 02/04/2010

my doctor told me when they reach 20lbs or their first birthday. Which ever comes first. they do make bigger rear facing carseats the convert into into forward facing carseats.

Gemma - posted on 02/04/2010

My son is 6 months old and he is in a forward facing car seat. I had to change him to forward facing as he is so long and it was squashing his feet. He was placing his feet on the back car seat and they were being pushed as there was not enough room. My car seat says it should not be changed to forward facing until the baby weighs over 9 kgs, which my son does. It is best to wait as long as possible as it is safer for your child, but if like me, you have good enough reasons to change and you really need to, then you should. You can get these padded inserts that fit into a car seat which will give your child more support. Some car seats come with them, but if you live in the UK, then Argos and places like that sell them. Hope this helps.