To Soon to Switch Car Seats?

RF is the safest way for you child to sit as long as he is within the weight limits of the seat, if he has outgrown his infant carrier then you can get him a convertable seat and most convertable seats will RF till about 30 to 35lbs (depending on the seat) even if he is tall its still safer to have him RF and yes like someone said, it is possible for him to get a broken leg in a crash but there is a greater chance of a broken neck if he is forward facing and a broken leg will heal but there is nothing you can do about a broken neck. my DS is 23 months old and 27# and 36 inches and he is still RF in his Cosco Scenera http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5716972
which was only $40. after he outgrows that seat we plan on getting him a britax regent which will keep him 5pt harnessed till he is 80 lbs.
if you have any other questions feel free to send me a message

hello N....well my advice to you is, change car seats. my son was about 9 months old when we took him out of the carrier seat. he was just to heavy, and uncomfortable. we bought a car seat that could be a forward facing or rear facing. he stayed in the rear position for about a month, but he was happier facing forward. as long as you have him in the forward facing seat correctly, and it buckled in tightly...he should be fine. but altimutly it's up to you. hope this helps =)

He has to be both 1 and be over 20 pounds there are car seats that do both rear and forward facing that he would be much more comfortable in. Wal-mart has the car seats for like thirty dollars.

TN carseat law- Tennessee state law requires that infants under one year of age and weighing less than 20 pounds ride in a rear-facing car seat. If the car seat has a rear-facing weight limit over 20 pounds, the infant may remain rear-facing beyond one year and 20 pounds. Children under age 4 must ride in a car seat. Tennessee requires that all car seats be federally approved and used according to manufacturer's instructions.

I agree with previous posters, you could purchase a convertible carseat, and that will give your child more leg room and they will be more comfortable. Right now your baby's neck muscles are not strong enough.Then once your child turns 1 you can turn the car seat around. It's actually recommended that you leave your child rear facing as long as possible. hth

N.,
check out this link. It has TN laws concerning carseats. I hope it helps.

http://d199662.site27.bokhosting.com/files/pdf/New_Child_...

You may have to cut and paste into your browser. it has other useful information on it as well but the carseat part is like the 2nd and 3rd pages.

The law says one year old AND 20 pounds. Try one of the convertable car seats that can be rear facing now and forward facing later. Britax is the best but it is pricier than the others. I have always nused Britax for my kids since they got out of the bucket seat (they didn't make a Britax bucket seat back then or I would have used it.) Check the height limits on the seats. Some of them can be rear facing until 30- or 35 pounds so they should fit taller kids rear facing too. Hope this helps.

I just checked out the website that Holly mentioned. Lor is wrong. There is a law regarding backwards and foreward facing!! The child must be rear facing until 1 YEAR OLD AND 20 POUNDS!!!

N. - I have copied the law below straight from the TN Dept. of Safety website. It appears that your child must be at least 20 lbs. AND at least 1 year before you can turn him around. You may have to invest in a rear facing car seat that has a higher weight limit (assuming yours does not - mine maxed out at 22 lbs.)

Good luck!

T.C.A. 55-9-602

Children under one (1) year of age, or any child, weighing twenty (20) pounds or less, must be secured in a child passenger restraint system in a rear facing position, meeting federal motor vehicle safety standards, in a rear seat, if available, or according to the child safety restraint system or vehicle manufacturer's instructions. (Note: If the child safety seat has a higher rear-facing weight rating, usually 30 or 35 pounds, it may be continued to be used in a rear-facing position so long as the child's weight permits. Check the manufacturers instructions accompanying the child safety seat for more information.)
Children age one (1) through age three (3), and weighing more than twenty (20) pounds, must be secured in a child safety seat in a forward facing position in the rear seat, if available, or according to the child safety restraint system or vehicle manufacturer's instructions.

They have car seats that you can use forward or backwards facing and they would give him more room to stretch his legs. I don't know what the law is in TN but I would call the police department to ask them. I have changed most of my children over before they were a year. I thinks sometimes they have to much say on were and how are children sit. If you were in an acident and your sons legs were all bunched up because they didn't have enough room. I would think that they could get hurt. I don't know what you should do but if it was me I would get my baby into a bigger car seat just to have him be more comfortable. Hope this helps.
M. S.

It doesn't matter how much he weighs if he's not 1yr yet. It's 1 AND 20+ lbs not one or the other. Actually, it's a whole lot safer for kids to stay rear facing until 30-35lbs. I keep my kids rear facing until they're at 2 or 30lbs just because that's the safest way, and their safety is what's most important. I'm surprised your ped didn't tell you that and would go against the law for saying you could turn your baby, no matter how big. It's not as dangerous for the legs to be crossed or scrunched up as it is for stuff to be flying at them because they don't have the seat protecting them. He might be too big for the carrier and ready for a real car seat, but it still needs to be turned rear-facing.

I have been told and have read more websites, that it IS over 20 pounds AND 1 year old, however, many websites say different things, so definitely go by your state laws.

I did further research and learned that if your child is over 20 pounds, you can purchase a car seat made especially for heavier babies that are still rear-facing.

Happy to admit when I am wrong, thank you to Amy who personally emailed me to point out the fact that I was incorrect with what I said before. I was going by my own state laws (website), and didn't even realize that N. was from another state.

Take care.

I do believe it is either or. I am not positive but I know my son was not heavy enough at a year so I had to wait to turn him around. I do know a friend of mine turned her daughter around as soon as she was 20 pounds and I think that was a round 8 or 9 months. I would listen to your pediatrician. He or she is the expert not your in-laws. I do know how the in-laws can be. I would just tell them that they are not the experts, when they had kids, car seats weren't even a big deal. You could probably call the police department and ask them. They should know!

Good luck,
H.

My daughter was 20 lbs before her 1st birthday, but her pediatrician always told us that she had to be 20 lbs AND 1 year old.

When her Graco Infant car seat seemed too snug, I bought her a Cosco Scenera-Touriva 5 pt convertible car seat. They are about $40 at Wal-Mart. You can use it rear facing for up to 35 lbs, and then turn it around when he is a year old.

The small print on my son's car seat said he had to reach both the minimum height and minimum weight before flipping the seat around. It does not say anything about minimum age. The avg kid reaches those minimums by age one. Your son (and mine) reached those limits earlier. You probably have the same statement on your car seat. Show it to your in-laws. OR have the doctor write this down that it's OK on a prescription pad. I don't believe any state has a law about the orientation of the seat. The only law is about restraining your child in a moving vehicle.

go up to your local fire department or police station and they will be able to tell you.

Safety of your son is the most important thing to consider here. My son was also tall and heavy (about the same as yours at this stage). I started putting him in a forward facing reclining car seat at 8 months because he legs had to be bent in order for his infant carrier to fit in to the carseat base. Having your son scrunched up is not the best situation. Think about what would happen to his poor legs if you were in an accident.

The care seat safety laws are there as a guide with the intent to keep children safe (the law does state BOTH age and weight as criteria). Common sense still has a place in your decision. Also, check out the ratings on your current carseat. Most infant carriers are not rated to carry a heavy/tall child anyway. Do what you and your pediatrician feel is best for your child.

N.,

You should not switch your son to a forward facing car seat until he is a year old. The reason is that even though he is over 20 lbs, his neck muscles are not strong enough to be in a forward facing seat. That is the reason they say you can after 1 year. There are many car seats you can by that can be used as backward facing and forward facing and they are a little bigger when they are in the backward position than most. Hope this helps!

M.

The issue with turning a child forward is whether their neck muscles are strong enough. If they are not developed enough then facing them forward too young can cause very serious injuries to your child. Our ped. told us to try to keep them rear facing as long as possible, or as close to their first brithday as we could. Hopefully your baby isn't given you grief about getting into his seat. If he's still doing well, even though his legs may not look that comfy I'd keep facing him to the rear. Their are also some front facing seats that can be used rear facing. These bigger seats usually have a little extra length in the legs than your typical rear-facing only seats. Good luck with your decision!

hi!

my son is 4 years old and he has been turned around forward facing since he was 9 months old too. i had the same problem he was just too big for his car seat. my pediatrician said go for it too. but i didnt have inlaws that said no, but its you and your husbands decision. if he says yes i would change him.

T.

You can switch car seats once his head is one inch from the top of the infant seat. If his head is nearing the top its time to switch.

Your in-laws are correct. The child MUST be 20lbs and 1 year of age. We had the opposite problem my daughter had to wait until she was over 18 months old to be turned around.
For safety reasons - if you were in an accident his ribs and internal organs and such could be extremely damaged if he were forward facing.
On a side note, if for some reason you were to be stopped by the police, in some areas you could be sighted for possible child endangerment if he were forward facing and not a year old. Not worth risking this or your child safety.

i would ask the dr. or i would go by your loca police station with the baby and ask them. i know if the are too long and you are in a wreck it could hurt there legs if there are still facing the back. i would go by the police station or even the DMV.

I work for my local police department and I know that each department should have and officer that is certified with child safety seats. Try calling your local police department and asking about the TN laws. They should be able to help you with that information.

My son has been facing forward since he was six months b/c he is above average for his age too. I don't know the laws in TN but if his doctor says it's ok I am sure it is.

The law is they have to be in a carseat until 4 yrs old, then booster until 8 yrs old. If your child is so long and is 25lbs he cant be comfortable in a backward carseat. I would turn him around i am sure his neck muscles are strong enough if he is as big as you say. Good luck and do what makes you comfortable remember he is your child. God bless. My sisters daughter was also big for her age she was 9 months and still in a backward seat and was involved in a fender bender and her daughter leg was fractured due to her leg being so cramped up with no room to move. She fine now and a bundle of joy

well i went through the same kind of thing when my daughter turned 1 she was only 16 1/2 pounds and the docotr said she had to be 1 AND 20 pounds but if your docotr is saying he can turn around and you feel its ok then id say do what you and the doctor thiks is best for your son! especially if hes all squished in rear facing position! but there are car seat out there that are mad for bigger babies that can be rear faced and forward faced! i got one for my daughter at 1 and just kept it rear facing til she was 20 pounds....WHICH BTW...was just a couple weeks ago at 21 months!!! lol i thought shed be in a rear facing carseat til she was 2!!! lol but i hope that helps you out a little! Good luck

I'm not sure about the law ... I'm not an expert in that! ;) But, I know we switched my son to a convertible car seat around 5-6 months because the infant car seat was way too small for him. My daughter may make it longer in the infant seat (she's smaller than him) -- she's already almost 5 months old and doesn't seem as squished in the infant seat as he used to.

However, I did think you were supposed to keep your children rear facing (and I did think it was the law ... but again I'm no expert on this) until 1 year of age. His convertible car seat (still in it at over 2 years old now) can be rear facing or forward facing. And, he went in that by about 6 months rear facing, then we faced it forward at one year.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

P.S. Just found this Web site that has the laws for each state and car seats in the form of a table ... very helpful! You can check it out at http://www.elitecarseats.com/custserv/custserv.jsp?pageNa....