Rear Facing to Forward Facing Car Seat

My husband and I have been having the same issue -- I've wanted to keep 12 mo. DD (26.5 lbs., 32 in.) rear-facing for safety reasons, but my mostly-SAHD DH wants her turned around in our van because it'll be so much easier for in & out. We asked the pediatrician at out 12 mo. visit, and she said that since our DD is "sturdy" she thinks it would be fine to switch her to forward facing - she'd have no concerns. So, take that for what it's worth - just the advice of one dr. to one patient. :)

We have not actually switched her seat yet, but that's mostly due to lack of time.

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My doctor told me that as soon as a child walks they are safe to have in a forward facing as their neck muscles are strong enough to be in a regular car seat, so if he's not walking he still needs the safety of a rear facing seat. I had tall kids and most of them stayed in a backward seat until they were one until the doctor told me this, my kids all walked when they were 9 months.

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My daughter is 17 months, and we still have her facing backward (although she is very small for her age < 10 percentile in both height and weight, so it is a little easier to do).

When we switched to the convertible car seat I did a google search to learn more. From my understanding, they recommend keeping a baby rear facing as long as possible because if the baby is facing forward, and you have a head on collision, the babies neck may not be strong enough to handle the impact. The website I found showed video of how having a head on collision would affect the baby if he were rear facing vs forward facing. That footage pretty much convinced me to keep her rear facing as long a possible.

I also read that getting hit from behind doesn't produce as much impact because the car is going in the same direction as the impact. And that you are more likely to get into a head on collision than get rear ended. I'm not sure I believe that last point, but I didn't do more research to see if it had any support.

So, my opinion is that it's a gamble either way (it's better to be forward facing in a rear ended collision) but we've decided to keep her rear facing as long as possible. Once it becomes too uncomfortable for her to be rear facing, we'll switch her around. Also, when we put her in other peoples cars, I don't worry about putting her rear facing because she is much older than the legal limit for being forward facing.

Hope that helps...

A.

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I had the same problem with my first two boys. I asked my Pediatricians both times an they both said it is important to keep them rear facing until 1 year no matter how big they are because the neck muscles are not developed enough to handle an accident facing forward before 1 year.

girl turn him around! :) once my son's feet touched the car seat, and like you, i was tired of having to HEAVE him up into the car in that dang carrier, i switched him. i figured that if, when picking up the carrier by the handle, the handle actually bent, he was too big for it. if he's solid and strong, walking and all of that, he's ready. i have a big boy too, 95th percentile on height and weight. it'll make your life so much easier, trust me! if you're still not sure call your pediatrician. but the law, and i'm not trying to pooh-pooh it, but it IS over cautious, because these are "the nation's children..." but it's really designed to make sure the smallest and weakest kids are protected. our kids being on the opposite side of the spectrum well...i always figured, my kid looked like a two year old, so, there ya go. now he's two and looks (and acts) three! enjoy the newfound freedom of no carrier!

I say turn the site around. When my kids were little I turned them around as soon as they stop sleeping through the car ride. My oldest walked at nine months and could get in and out of his car seat on his own at 14 months.

oh, it's fine to turn him around, esp if his legs are scrunched. take it from a peds nurse who has huge whopping kids herself. :) my cousin was in a car wreck once and his leg bent up on the seat in front of him and shattered all the bones in his leg and now it's full of hardware. i would hate for your son's legs to be damaged because they're bent up on the seat in front of him.

I've heard this as well. I read somewhere, I think maybe over in Switzerland (I know it's over in that region over seas), they sometimes keep a child rear facing till sometimes 5 y/o because they say a broken leg heals a lot quicker then injuries that can be sustained forward facing. BUT it's honestly your judgement call. You should do what you feel is safest. If it works for now, go for it, once you can't manage it anymore, then you could switch. My 2.5 y/o is on the bigger side as well, and I waited till he was over a year to switch him to front facing. I can't remember how many months, but I know it was before 18mo.... Anyhow, good luck, I know making decisions like these can be tough!

Good morning A.! If he has to bend his legs to sit in the carseat, then it is time to turn the car seat around. It is actually safer to turn him around, then have for him to have his legs bent. I learned this when my son was 13 months old (from a police officer who was doing a car seat inspection). He installed the car seat for me in the forward facing position. Maybe an officer in your area could do this for you too. Good luck and enjoy your bundle of joy! K.

If he is having to bend his legs in the seat then it is definantly time to turn him around. If there was a rear end collision it could break his legs or worse......

I too have Britax Boulevards for both of my children, ages 13 months and 2 1/2 years. After doing extensive research on car seat safety, I have decided to keep both of them rear facing to the limits of the seat. When having to decide between leg injuries and spine injuries, I'll pick the legs. Of course, as someone else said, you can teather the seat while rear facing, which should help prevent leg injuries if an accident does occur. With my 2 1/2 year old, I now let him get in the van himself and then climb into his seat, so that takes care of some of the difficulty of having to lift him that high. Hopefully in a few more months, he can start helping you by climbing in himself!

If he has to bend his legs every time and is getting harder for you then it's time to have him face forward now that he's past the pounds limit. He will probably enjoy seeing what's in front of him.

Rear facing car seats are designed to mimic a whiplash movement in the event of an accident. First the seat will stay put, but stretch the seatbealt as the force will pull it forward, next the seat will go back up against the back of the seat. When this occurs (the second part) if the child is too big several things can occur. If the seatbelt stretches much and if the seat wasn't put in VERY tight, when the seat comes up, any part of the child that is outside of the protective edge of the carseat, will come into contact with the seat back of the car - with force. This will commonly include the head and legs and if the force of impact is very severe, this will break bones. I have discussed this with several people in the medical and law enforcement field, because both of our children were longer, but didn't weigh enough. Both of the Highway patrolmen explained that the reason that you needed to stay rear facing until one year of age was that was when the muscles in the neck could handle the force of holding their head in an accident. They both went on to explain the above effects if you stayed in rear facing too long. I hope this helps, I was concerned about what was the safest for my children also!!

if he has to bend his legs to sit rear facing, then it's time to turn it around. It is easier to get them in the seat when they are front facing too. When you install the carseat front facing put your knee in the seat when you buckle it up and get it real tight and use the seat belt metal clip that comes with most car seats to hold the seatbelt tight. The seat should not move at all when properly installed. If you can move the seat sideways or it moves forward then it isn't tight enough.

I would usually put my knee in the seat to put more weight on the seat and get the seat belt adjusted to where it was tight then take it back out and put the clip on the seat belt right next to the buckle so the seat belt cant slide through it and then buckle the carseat back in and check to make sure it's tight by trying to move the seat.
You can also take it to the police station and have them show you how to properly install it or have them check and make sure it's tight enough.

It is safe to have them forward seating when the seat is properly installed and your baby will be more comfortable.

I think that it is perfectly safe to turn him around at this point. In fact I think that it is safer to turn him around, you will be able to see him better, and at this age I'm sure he is capable of much more than he ever has been. My son is twelve now so of course "they" were saying different things back then, but I'm sure that I turned him around when he was about 6 months old, because I remember him being so small in the big carseat. You are driving a big, safe vehicle, let him finally see where he's going. :)

Yes you are right studies are showing that it is safer to be rear facing past 1 yr and 20 lbs it is now recomended to up to 30 or so lbs.Since he is 26 lbs now it won't be much longer till you can face him forward

I'd go ahead and turn him forward facing. It's more important that he's in a 5 point harness with a car seat that is tether strapped to the car (at his age and weight) rather than being forced to sit with his legs scrunched up staring at the seat in front of him. I agree with rear facing for as long as possible and to at least meet the guidelines set by the law, the manufacturer and your peditrician while they're in infancy, but he's past the 12 month mark and even further past 20 pounds now.

Plus, it is easier for you to see his smiling face when you look back at him if he's forward facing. You have to do what you feel comfortable with but I would also consider you son's comfort. All my children enjoy riding in my vehicle much more now that they are all old enough to sit facing forward and look outside the windows at the world around them while we drive down the street. Happy Trails!

We kept our daughter rear facing until just about 3 weeks ago. She's 21 months old. It's OK if they have to bend their legs, it's still safer to have them rear facing for as long as possible. My daughter sort of sat indian style in her chair. If you think about it, it's probably more comfortable than the alternative... now that she's forward facing her legs just dangle there... I imagine they fall asleep after a while.

As long as he is within the carseat manufacturer's weight limit for rear facing (and he probably is, because Britax's are awesome seats), then he's fine staying rear facing.

Here's info about rear-facing:
http://www.carsafety4kids.com/rearfacing.html and http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html

OK A., I am a national Child Passenger Safety Instructor, the American Academy of Pediatrics and our new recommendation is not 12 months and 20 lbs, but at least 18 months and the rear facing weight on the seat, the seat you have will tether rear facing, use it if you can. Do you know of somewhere where you can have your seat checked?? They can show you how to tether it. The rear facing weight should be at least 30-35 pounds on your Britax. You obviously bought a Britax because you are worried about safety. Forward facing puts so much on the neck and spine and turning around to early, and being in a crash has been documented to stretch the spine up to 2 inches!! We go through extensive training and in our training there have been no documented cases of leg injuries in crashed where the seat was correctly installed. Leg injuries are fixable spinal cords are not!! Goto safekids.org and find a fitting station in your area!! I hope this helps!! If you have any other questions please ask! Thanks! A.

My 19 mo-old is about the same size and still rear-facing. They say it is safest to leave them rear-facing until they reach the carseat's weight limit for that position. And I asked the pediatrician about the fact they have to bend their knees and she said their knees could be up around their ears and it would be okay (LOL)! I don't know if he'll be happy to stay rear-facing for so long, but it is apparently safer. And I will say in my minivan with captain's seat in the middle row it is easier to reach him and see him (in the mirror mounted on the headrest) than it is to reach and see my daughter in her forward facing carset.

Just playing the devils advocate here. But, what if he were in an accident? The seat will first be thrown forward, and then bounces toward the back before it settles down. If his legs are slightly bent, could you be risking the baby's legs getting broken? I know it probably isn't a problem, but that is why we use the seats, is the JIC reason. I would follow the manufacturer's instructions. But, that is JMHO.