When Should I Use a Forward Facing Car Seat for My 11 Month Old?

The rep I talked to from Britax said that its always a good idea to keep them rear facing as long as you can. We used the Britax rear facing until his legs were way too long to fit comfortably that way but you can use the Britax marathon and round about rear facing util like 33 pounds.

A. J

I started using mine when my son was around 10-11 months old. If they are over the weight and have pretty good control of their neck then I found no reason to not go ahead since my son was so uncomfortable rear facing when he got too long for it.

You should wait till after his 1st birthday, though extended rear facing is best because it would help protect his spine if you were in a crash. Extended rearfacing is to keep you child rearfacing till he reaches the limit for rearfacing on the seat you have.

I waited much longer past the regular guidelines to turn my daughter around. From researching, it was safer to keep her rear facing for as long as possible. I waited until her feet were touching the seats, and then I turned her around. She was 15 or 16 months old.

http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/stayrearfacing.aspx - a good website that addresses this issue.

It is HIGHLY recommended to keep them rear facing until at least 12 months old and 20lbs. (I don't believe it is actually law in Texas, but it is in some states.) In fact I had a friend who went to one of those car seat clinics just one day before her son turned a year old, and they still had her put it in rear facing! But yes, you have the guidelines correct. However, if your child is doing ok facing backwards, you should consider keeping him that way longer. It is much safer. I only just turned my seat around when my son hit 23 months. He just crossed his legs in the car and was perfectly happy. I also went to the car seat check when I switched him and they told me over and over how great it was that I kept him rear facing so long. In case, you are interested, we registered for the free car seat check through Plano Presbyterian Hospital. It is open to anyone and they really give you a lot of useful safety tips.

I agree with Joanna, it is recommended to keep them facing backwards till they are 12 months old and at least 20 lbs. So even though a child is 1 yr old, he may not ride facing forward if he weights less than 20 lbs and vice versa. Fortunately my kids are always above 20 lbs when they turn 1, so I switch the carseat the day after their first birthdays.

Goodluck with your little one.

H.,
I totally agree with Julie on this one. At nine months my daughter was well over 20 lbs. I confronted her PED about it and she said it was perfectly fine to move her to the forward facing position. I know many people detest against that, but as long as your little one has head control he will be just fine, besides he's 11 mths close enough in my book. But, your the mom and its your decision. Good luck girl!!! Take care!

We have a 17 month old daughter that is still rear-facing, and I plan to keep her that way as long as possible. It is by far the safest way for them to ride in a car, and I would do anything that might prevent her from injury or death. It is hard sometimes to not be able to see her, but I wouldn't change a thing. Good luck!

I agree that the longer you can keep them rear facing the better. The older they are the better muscle control they will have.

I think it is also important to point out that the age and weight are ONLY a guideline for babies that are on target as far as physical development. It is NOT meant that ALL babies are ready at age one and 20-lbs.

If you have any doubts about whether your baby is physically ready, ask the doctor. A lot of doctors will tell the parent(s) at the one year check-up that they can or they should wait to turn the carseat around.

Hi, H.. If your son is comfortable in his carseat facing back then leave him. The longer they face the rear the better, the safer. However, if his legs are crunched then turn him. My daughter was almost 18 months old before I turned her seat around, but she was and still is tiny. My son was right about a year, and my baby is 11 months old and doing ok, even though she is 20 pounds. She will probably be another month or two facing rear. I just think of the comfort of the child. Hope it helps.

My son is now 2, and didn't face forward in the car until he was 14-15 months old. Facing backwards is by far safer for kiddos, according to the police who evaluate car seat installations in Plano. This is a milestone that is good to prolong. :)

You are mom and you should do whatever you are comfortable doing! I know that it says 20 lbs. And 12 months, but i turned both my children around way before that. My son would do everything he could to turn in his seat and look forward so at 8 months i turned him around, he weighed like 17 lbs. And my daughter is almost 16 months and still doesnt weigh 20 lbs. But i turned her around when she was 9 months, i think. Both my kids were walking when i turned them around. Everyone says its safer to wait, but in my opinion if the accident is bad enough it doesnt matter what direction the seat is facing if they are going to get hurt then there is nothing we can do to stop that. Not all accidents happen at the front end of the vehicle. That may sound horrible to some but it is the truth. Some may say i even put my kids at a greater risk but what it ultimatly boils down to is what your comfortable with. Good luck and you do what you feel is right and with a desicion you feel good about!

You don't want to turn your baby front facing till after a year, not just becasue of weight but there bones are not as strong. My ped told us that they are highly recomending and going around to all the ped office and having them stress to leave child in rear facing to at least 18 months. If he is happy facing the rear I would leave things be, never hurts to take the safer route.

Well, I was told by the pediatrician and the hospital that the child MUST be at least 20 lbs and at least 12 months. You can't turn the child unless he meets both requirements. However, I have not found in my searching that TX requires this- doesn't mean that it's OK to turn the baby around yet.

The safest place for him to be is rear facing. There are lots of websites that talk about carseat safety and they agree that the longest you can wait to turn the child, the better. My girls all sat rear facing in a convertible carseat that can be rear facing until 35 lbs. Not to say I waited that long to turn them (my almost 4 year old is 35 lbs!) But I kept them rear facing as long as possible.
http://www.inventiveparent.com/rearfacingcarseat.htm

S., mom to four girls four and under

My son hit 20 lb right before his first b-day. The day of his b-day we turned the seat around.

I had to use a forward facing car seat on my son at 9 months because he weighed 0ver twenty pounds. I did some checking. As long as they are sitting up and can support their head. It is OK to switch.

H.,
We started using one when my son turned a year old and he weighed 19.5 lbs. At that point he was already so long that he could NOT sit rear facing comfortably. I know the DPS says to teach them the "criss-cross applesauce" where they sit rear-facing and cross their legs against themselves but I thought that was ridiculous and our son screamed everytime we put him in the car seat. Your son meets the requirements for forward facing. Just place him in the center if you can, that's what we did. Good luck.
M.

Hi H.!!

you can find info at this web page, I just cut and paste some of it . . . http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/carseatsafety.cfm

and go to "Car Safety Seats: A Guide for Families 2007 "

Rear-facing seats

All infants should ride rear-facing until they have reached at least 1 year of age and weigh at least 20 pounds. That means that if your baby reaches 20 pounds before her first birthday, she should remain rear-facing at least until she turns 1 year old. It is best for children to ride rear-facing to the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer.

There are 2 types of rear-facing seats: infant-only seats and convertible seats. Convertible seats can be used rear-facing for infants, and then turned forward-facing once your child is old enough and big enough to do so safely.

Infant-only seats

Infant-only car safety seat
Small and have carrying handles (sometimes come as part of a stroller system).
Have a built-in harness.
Are used for infants from birth up to 22 to 30 pounds, depending on model.
Many come with a base that can be left in the car. The seat clicks into and out of the base, so you don't have to install the base each time you

They have to be both or you can get a ticket for it. 20lbs and 12 months. I can't just be one. I had my daughter backwards til she was about 1 1/2 cuz she was so small.

My two sons each hit 20 pounds at 6 months. Both could lift their head before leaving the hospital (and only go stronger) Their pediatrician said to not at any cost move them to forward facing before 12 months...we actually went a little over twelve months before turing them around.

I ditto most of the responses below on waiting!

As a carseat technician, this is a subject that is very near and dear to my heart.

First things first, please watch this video, and then seriously reconsider turning your baby around at 1 year old. (This is for any mama considering turning their baby around ASAP, not specifically H.)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=psmUWg7QrC8 - the crash test clips in this video are enough to scare me out of turning a little one forward facing so early.

I cannot stress this enough, PLEASE KEEP YOUR BABY REAR FACING AS LONG AS HUMANLY POSSIBLE!
Most convertible carseats on the market rearface to 33 or 35lbs, and you should take advantage of that weight limit and keep your baby rear facing till he hits that weight limit!

12 months and 20lbs is the BARE MINIMUM that you can turn them around, but just because it is a choice, doesn't mean it is a safe choice! In many other countries children are rear facing till they are 4 or 5 years old, and the injury statistics over there are shockingly lower than they are here in the US.

I have a 2 year old niece who is 27lbs and will not be turned around until she hits the 35lb weight limit of her seat.

Here are a couple links for you!
http://www.car-safety.org/rearface.html
http://www.childrestraintsafety.com/rear-facing.html
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/StayRearFacing.aspx
http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRP7ynNI8mI - another video about rear facing

Also know that it doesn't matter if their "legs are crunched" while they are rear facing, your child will be fine, crunched legs are NOT an issue nor a reason to turn them around to forward facing. If you were ever to be in a crash, a broken leg could be fixed if your child were to get hurt (and really there aren't very many reports of "broken legs" due to extended rear facing) but a small 20lb child cannot have their snapped spinal cord repaired because they were forward facing.

To anyone who reads this, I am more than willing to help parents with anything car seat related (installations, shopping for a new seat, etc etc) just email me!!!

Follow the advice on your car seat. If you have an infant carrier get a convertable seat and keep the baby rear facing until the weight limit says to turn him around. Everyone always thinks weight will keep a baby safe but it is spinal developpment as well as muscle tone. And if your car doesn't have side curtain airbags then keep the child in the middle seat. Look up this link if you need more information and convincing that rear facing is best. And my advice, spend the money on a high end 5 point car seat that can be used until the child reaches 60 lbs or greater.

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

I am always amazed that parents will spend more money on crib bedding then on a high quality carseat that gets used multiple times each day....

I have heard that it's best to keep them rear facing as long as possible, but they are SO ready to turn around by the time they are a year old. The rule is at least 20 pounds AND 1 year old, so you really should wait 1 more month if he's 11 months.

-T.

We kept both of our boys rear-facing until they were 20 months. It is the safest position for them in the car. Now I'm wishing I hadn't made such a big deal out of switching my oldest to a booster with a belt-positioning seatbelt when he hit 40 lbs. I should have upgraded seats to keep him in a 5pt harness. He's now 50 lbs and feels so big using a "grown-up" seatbelt while little brother is still in a 5pt harness (and will be for quite a while longer as he's only 33 lbs). Their carseats expire next year, so I'm trying to think of a "cool" way to get my then-6yo back into a 5pt harness.

It's funny how we moms are so eager to rush into every new stage isn't it? :-)
As long as he's not complaining about how he rides, I'd leave him rear facing at least until he's 1.

If he's a bear to deal with in the car, turning him around might solve part of the problem.

I turned her when she was 22 pounds. I figured the extra 2 pounds was ok... and she was fine with it...

J.

My husband has attended several safety seminars on car seats; he's an engineer they like to have all the answers, smile. At least 18 months is what all the safety classes recommend. Our son is 16 months now and well over the "safe" weight to go forward facing, however we are not in a rush to turn him around. We will have him ride rear facing until he hits the safe backward limit on our car seat. Think about the force of a child in a swing. When you take your son to the park and put him in a swing can he adjust to the force of the motion, or does he wobble in the swing? Something to think about. I don't mean to be gloom and doom, I just say leave them rear facing as long as you possibly can, it is the safest way to travel. I found some video links on utube to be very informative on car seat safety tests.

WE turned my son around at 15 months because we could not fit two rear facing car seats in our car (my daughter was born at that time).

My 19 month old daughter is still rear facing and will stay that way until she reaches 30 lbs, the rear facing limit on our convertible.

i would check wieght requirments for your chair....
if you already threw it out look online for your model.

I believe it is at 30 lbs...but not toatlly for sure on that