Rear Facing Seat Turning Forward

The whole reason WHY you face those little nuggets backwards are because of their big ol' noggins. You see, A., in the instance that you get rear-ended and that dear baby is facing forward, well, her darling little head is gonna just snap off like a chicken neck.
So, its hot there in Georgia? it cant be hotter than the Gulf Coast of Texas!!!!
This is what cha' do...PLAN when you are going somewhere (doesnt have to be more than 10 minutes) start the car, turn on the AC, cool the car off, load the kid and WHAMMO!!! you're in the clear!!!! Is DD in the sun? Buy the sunscreens that pull down at the Dollar General.
Case and point....she is just TOO SMALL to face foward.

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please keep her rear facing for as long as you can, right up to the limits specified by the carseat manufacturer. find another way to cool her off, maybe you can do something with the material under her? the carseat covers are usually kind of acrylic-ish, maybe put a soft cotton towel under her to absorb the sweat and give her a little air circulation underneath? and lots of drinks. play around with the windows, maybe cracking a window in back will create airflow through the car to bring the air conditioning towards the back.

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There are new suggested guidelines that have kids facing back as long as possible; even to age 4 in some European countries.

PLEASE go to YouTube and look at the crash test videos: rear facing versus front facing.

I promise you won't turn your miracle around after watching.

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Yep, it would be horrible to turn her around right now. It would be horrible to turn her little body at a year old too!

Cool the car off before you put her in it. Bounce the vents up towards the ceiling so they bounce down to her, and buy a little foam clip on battery operated fan to clip to the back seat to blow back onto her. Make sure she has a sippy full of cool water and don't worry. She wont' die of heat stroke in a running vehicle with AC running. :)

Please google EXTENDED REAR FACING and JOELS JOURNEY for more information on why your little one should remain rear facing.

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One year of age AND 20 pounds (minimum requirements).
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/carseats/g/rear_facing.htm

Maybe you could find a fan to put in the back to circulate the air.

I googled portable car fans and this one came up:
http://koolatrononline.stores.yahoo.net/koolatron-12v-aut...

Hope that helps :)

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http://www.kyledavidmiller.org/

Rear-facing as long as you possibly can. Open the windows, get an adult to sit back there with one of those squirt bottle/fans. Give her a cold compress or water bottle. Trade in the car if you have to. If there *were* a tragic auto accident, you need to know that you took every possible precaution, not just the minimum allowed by law. (And since forward-facing at her age IS against the law, you would be held liable for her death.)
PLEASE try anything and everything before you risk her life like that.

2 moms found this helpful

I am dealing with the same thing right now and I do have a clip on fan but it is very easily put in a place that is not right on top of my daughter. It keeps her so much cooler.

And YES it would be horrible to turn her at this point! She is no where near the recommendations-and the new recommendations are rear-facing till age 2!!! Their little bodies are just so much safer in the event of a crash if they are rear-facing. The force of the crash is distributed around them rather than them flinging forward and their little head and neck bearing all that force. Google videos of crash tests for rear facing. It is very convincing why we all need to follow the new recommendations. And don't let people say they will be cramped, uncomfy, to tall, etc. My daughter just turned 2 and is the 95th percentile for height and she fits rear-facing just fine.

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please leave her rear facing. start the car and let the ac run. i actually just invested in a remote car starter for that very reason. do not get a fan, like some others have said, in a crash it could become a hazard. good luck!

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DON'T DO IT!!!! Think about the physics of getting in a car accident. When you break you fly forward. A baby's neck just isn't strong enough for that kind of trama. Yes, no neck if ready for it, but we have had years of strengthening our necks. She has only 10 months. Granted 2 months till the legal age to turn around isn't very far away, but two months in baby months is about a year in our time. (kinda like dog years lol) The longer you can keep her rear facing the better. Trust me I was tempted to turn my son around when he started to get hot in the back seat, but it's just not worth it in the end.

I found this. WATCH IT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8gU9zzCGA8
I'd suggest that if it's both you and your hubby, you sit in back and get a squirt bottle with a fan and just spray her every once in a while. And when it's just you driving (do this too with your hubby), give her a sippy cup fill it with ice water and when she isn't drinking from it make sure it's in her lap or somewhere close. That's what I do and it keeps my boy cooler.

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It is illegal to turn your daughter at her age. The AAP recommends turning your child to forward-facing around 2 years of age, but the law requires your child be rear-facing until at least one year old (and at least 20 pounds, I believe). Onestepahead.com offers soft clip-on fans so that it won't pinch your daughter's fingers (they're made with foam, I think) that might help your daughter without risking her life or breaking the law.

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To the rear for a year...don't risk it because she's hot.

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Yes...it would be a bad idea.

www.seatcheck.org for laws in your state. I believe the minimum is 1 year rear facing...longer is better.

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It is less that it would be horrible and more that it would be extremely unsafe. The 20-pounds-AND-one-year thing is a MINIMUM, and children are safer the longer you can leave them rear-facing. I would get a clip-on fan to attach to the seat.

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The same thing happened to me when my son was almost one. Go ahead and turn her around!! She will still be strapped in tightly, but she'll get the cool air she needs.

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I don't know if it would be terrible but at my doctors office it says that they are now encouraging people to wait until the baby is two years. We also have a skinny miny, she is 13 months and 18 lbs. We still have her facing backwards and I will do it as long as we can. I try to turn the car on before we get in but you might also be able to get a fan to blow on her. I got on babies r us and it looks like they have something you could attach in the car and also use while she is in the stroller. I saw that someone was worried about safety but maybe if you just attach it to the door or somewhere that it can blow on her but not be like above or or anything as to harm her in any way. Just some ideas.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3452272

Here is another one.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3601455

Hope this helps! Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I'd go with a clip fan and sun shades (there are sun reflector ones at babies r us you could try, or Safety 1st makes a static cling one). Rear facing is recommended for as long as possible; I bought a Radian XTSL to keep mine rear facing until 45 pounds.

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Better for her to be warm than seriously injured in an accident. I would NOT turn her around at this point just for the A/C. I really like the idea of a previous poster that suggested putting something cold in the seat with her to help cool her down. I also agree that a clip on fan is probably not the best idea....total projectile in an accident. Not only is it not safe for her to be forward facing, I would imagine it is illegal (I know for sure it is in TX). Keep her rear facing, dress her in light clothing and try to cool off the car for a few minutes before you get going. That is my best advice. Good luck!

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Hate to say it, but yes it would be. You aren't even supposed to turn them around until 2years old or 30 or 35 pounds. Sorry. We had the same issues.

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I would definitely wait until she was bigger until I turned her around - have you looked into a battery powered fan? They have them that fit on the strollers now - if you hung a clothes bar from the "clothes hangers" in the back, then I bet you could hang a fan from the bar.

Go to the car section at your local walmart and get a fan that plugs into the lighter and set it up so it will blow on her. That's what we do for our dog in the summer when we go on trips.

do NOT do the ice pack thing, she could get frost bite where the ice pack touches her. And they could end up in her mouth.

another idea - I think there are pads for the car seat to go under her that absorb sweat. Or maybe you need a new cover for your car seat made of different fabric that breathes better.

Sorry to tell you that facing forward doesn't help either. Car seats have horrible ventilation. What we've had to do is to "cool down" the car with the AC blasting for 10 minutes before putting our son in the car seat. Be careful to have an extra key before leaving your motor running. I made the mistake of locking my keys in the car and thinking that the remote lock would open it up. Nope, car stays locked and we had to call AAA. We also park wherever it is shady even if we have to walk all the way across the parking lot. We also pack cold iced water in his snack pack so that he can cool down quickly in the summer heat. Try to stay cool!

You have gotten great advice, I would suggest everything the same! We use a fan and cold sippy cubs. PLEASE DONT TURN HER AROUND!

It's tough to see that your kid is uncomfortable and know the solution but not know if it's "okay". I feel your pain. Honestly, I wouldn't do it. You could try dressing her in lighter clothes, maybe somehow rig a fan that can plug into your cigarette lighter (there are converters that can plug into the cig. lighter that have a normal "plug" on the other side), maybe even consider a more baby-friendly car. Just imagine if you turned her around and got into an accident that results in injury to her that would not have happened had she been seated correctly.

Good luck finding a solution!

Please, please, please do not turn her carseat around to make you feel better! Sweating a little is so much better than what might happen in an accident if the carseat is being used improperly. If need be, cool the car first, dress your daughter minimally or after you arrive at your destination, consolidate errands or save them for the cooler morning/evening hours, etc. Keep her hydrated and, if possible, stay home when you are worried about excessive heat. Safety first!

NO - she will not be as safe if you were in a wreck. She should not be switched around till she is 20# and or 12 mo old and even then only if you have a seat that is ment to be a front facing seat. The seat that you take in & out and carry around - shouldn't be put in the car front facing for any reason. They aren't made to be put in that way safely.

Try putting her in less clothing - even if it's just a diaper for the rides. Or place cold items (frozen water bottles or ice packs w/ towels wrapped around them) beside her to keep her a little cooler. Or if possible travel during cooler times of the day - morning & evening.

We don't have AC in our van & only one window will roll down - so we try doing our running early in the day. We are also trying to save up to have the AC recharged, but lucked out w/ a few cooler days.

Something else you might want to do is make sure she has a drink for in the car. That way she is able to recover the fluids she is sweating out.

I wish you luck in finding ways to stay cool!

she's too little. I would look at maybe getting a little fan you could clip back there. We have an adapter that you can put in the cigarrette lighter and you can plug regular things in it. Maybe one of those clip fans?

Try to see if walmart or some place sells a clip on fan that runs on batteries and put that in the back for some air.

How about a fan? They carry battery powered fans that clip to things in many sporting good stores with the camping equipment. You could clip it to the seat out of reach and help cool her off, but keep her rear facing and safer.

Get a battery fun fan.... some have a clip on thingy... put that in the backseat, clipping it on something, but out of her reach.

Oh, I just read the 1st post about it being a projectile. Yes!

Don't your windows open back there?

A baby can over-heat REAL quickly... keep her hydrated too!

I turned my boys around before 12 months, and they did just fine. You have to do what you are comfortable with, but I think a 2 year old would be very cramped and uncomfortable rear facing. My boys where long, so they had to be turned at around 11 month so give them enough space. If your daughter is small for her age you may want to wait a while longer to turn her though.

NOT a good idea... also, while a clip on fan sounds like a good idea, it's really not... think about it, if you get in a wreck, that becomes a projectile aimed at your baby. When we got our car seat inspected they told us not even to hang toys or use mirrors for that very reason. My best solution would be to get some re-freezable ice packs, wrap it in a dish towel, and put it behind your baby in her car seat... or maybe fill 2 bottles with ice-cold water and put them next to her...