We hit the weight limit on the car seat right as he turned 2.

There are now seats with higher weight limits for rear facing and would look in to that if there is a #2.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. Her pediatrician gave the okay; weight wise she was within the threshold and her legs were just so cramped. It made life so much easier and she began to actually enjoy being in the car. I will be honest, until I moved here, I had never heard of people waiting until 2+ to go forward facing.

I don't think it has to do with living here as much as the recommendation changing last year to at least 2 years.

For the poster that made the stupid comment about the helmet. Keeping your kid rear-facing is such a simple move that makes your kid 5x safer. There's nothing impractical about it (like wearing a helmet all day). Do what you want with your kid but others may be interested in doing some research, there are plenty of videos of crash tests available online showing the difference in impact of ff vs rf (google it). When an adult's head snaps forward in a car wreck we may get whiplash but the same impact can break a kid's neck since their developing spine isn't nearly as strong, and their head is proportionately more heavy. I'll be waiting until at least 2 and probably longer to turn my kid. It may be uncomfortable for the kid (which is debatable anyhow) but the alternative is much, much worse. In Europe they recommend (or mandate?) rear-facing til age 4.

We are also ERFers, but the European method doesn't hold up here, in my opinion. First, it's not all of Europe, and secondly, they have different cars, car seats, and car safety laws that makes it much, much easier to RF than here with our cars and car seats. If the Europeans had our cars and seats, I bet they'd have a lower rate of RFing. It's just not comparable.

3.5 for my son, and hopefully that long for my daughter as well. Kids don't mind their legs being bent, and there's no danger of their legs being damaged. I believe the researchers who have studied this.

Anonymous wrote:

For the poster that made the stupid comment about the helmet. Keeping your kid rear-facing is such a simple move that makes your kid 5x safer. There's nothing impractical about it (like wearing a helmet all day). Do what you want with your kid but others may be interested in doing some research, there are plenty of videos of crash tests available online showing the difference in impact of ff vs rf (google it). When an adult's head snaps forward in a car wreck we may get whiplash but the same impact can break a kid's neck since their developing spine isn't nearly as strong, and their head is proportionately more heavy. I'll be waiting until at least 2 and probably longer to turn my kid. It may be uncomfortable for the kid (which is debatable anyhow) but the alternative is much, much worse. In Europe they recommend (or mandate?) rear-facing til age 4.

Totally agree. I remember when a friend of mine casually mentioned keeping kids RF as long as possible (this was before the recommendation changed) and she mentioned those crash test videos on Youtube -- I checked them out, and it's so scary.

I'm sure you can find videos of the crash tests to compare. When you see what happens to their heads/bodies when rear facing rather than forward facing, it is VERY convincing.

Re: helmets. . . I've often joked to my husband that by the time we become grandparents, it will be the norm for children to wear helmets in the car, too. (No one wore bike helmets when I was a kid; now it's unthinkable to go without.)

Anonymous wrote:12 months.

Same here.

2 YO. Turned do to extreme car sickness when RF. Also very unhappy, difficult to manage kid RF. FF fixed all problems. We don't drive on a daily basis.

Anonymous wrote:1. Her pediatrician gave the okay; weight wise she was within the threshold and her legs were just so cramped. It made life so much easier and she began to actually enjoy being in the car. I will be honest, until I moved here, I had never heard of people waiting until 2+ to go forward facing.

I don't think it has to do with living here as much as the recommendation changing last year to at least 2 years.

For the poster that made the stupid comment about the helmet. Keeping your kid rear-facing is such a simple move that makes your kid 5x safer. There's nothing impractical about it (like wearing a helmet all day). Do what you want with your kid but others may be interested in doing some research, there are plenty of videos of crash tests available online showing the difference in impact of ff vs rf (google it). When an adult's head snaps forward in a car wreck we may get whiplash but the same impact can break a kid's neck since their developing spine isn't nearly as strong, and their head is proportionately more heavy. I'll be waiting until at least 2 and probably longer to turn my kid. It may be uncomfortable for the kid (which is debatable anyhow) but the alternative is much, much worse. In Europe they recommend (or mandate?) rear-facing til age 4.

Child #1: 12 months

Child #2: 2 since April and RFing until he reaches the height limit on his seat (which will be soon, as he's a tall kid).

DD is 36 inches at age 2 and is still RF in a Britax Marathon. She FF for two weeks while we were on vacation a couple months ago but hasn't complained about going back to RF.

Anonymous wrote:13 months. Having your child wear a helmet all day is also safer, but we didn't do that either. so if you want to put him in a helmet and keep rear facing for 3 years, listen to some of the pps.

Agreed. Having all of the adults, including "shotgun" passenger rear facing is also safer. We decided against that option.

Anonymous wrote:13 months. Having your child wear a helmet all day is also safer, but we didn't do that either. so if you want to put him in a helmet and keep rear facing for 3 years, listen to some of the pps.

I don't understand the helmet comment/comparison. If a child's typical daily activities (e.g., playing, running, jumping, eating, reading, coloring, napping, etc.) were as dangerous as riding in a car, I would definitely agree that wearing a helmet is safer...

The second my son turned 2 year old! Was going to do it at 1 but the new regs came out about a month before and I had to hang on for another year.

Anonymous wrote:13 months. Having your child wear a helmet all day is also safer, but we didn't do that either. so if you want to put him in a helmet and keep rear facing for 3 years, listen to some of the pps.

My daughter HAS to be in the car on an almost daily basis and it does not take me anymore time to get her in her seat that rear faces, than it would the other way around. I really do not understand your comparison to wearing a helmet all day long. If you are insecure with your choice to forward face, that is on you. It does not bother me either way what other families do!

13 months. Having your child wear a helmet all day is also safer, but we didn't do that either. so if you want to put him in a helmet and keep rear facing for 3 years, listen to some of the pps.